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> In the fantasies of legal academics, jurors think about Blackstone routinely. I was on a jury that completed service yesterday, a domestic violence case, and
by hirundo 3y ago
> In the fantasies of legal academics, jurors think about Blackstone routinely.
I was on a jury that completed service yesterday, a domestic violence case, and I brought up the Blackstone ratio early in the deliberations. I am not sure that my argument swayed votes, but there were several members who were in favor of convicting on the more serious charge, and they relented in the face of this argument and others that the prosecution had not proved it. We found not guilty on this charge and guilty on a lesser charge that was clearly proven.
I and I think all of the others would have convicted on a preponderance of evidence standard. So it looks to me like the "n Guilty Men" logic is still an important part of garden variety jury deliberations.
- qingcharles 3y agoA lot of these cases are overcharged, with a more serious but unsustainable charge added on, to try to make sure the defendant enters a plea deal rather than attempt trial. This defendant got lucky by going to trial and having a jury that did the right thing. Although I assume they were still pissed they got convicted on the lesser lol
- giantg2 3y agoHere's an example from today that says there was never any evidence to support the more serious charge they charged this guy with. He did take a plea as well (looking at the story and the reckless conduct statute, I'm not sure why he would even plead to that) https://www.yahoo.com/news/prosecutors-drop-felony-charges-against-195126116.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/prosecutors-drop-felony-charges-a...
- qingcharles 3y agoLOL. Of course Reckless Conduct. I was offered Reckless Conduct. It's a catch-all crime you can use to charge anyone with anything. It's a very low-level misdemeanor. Prosecutors use it as a plea negotiation when they need a conviction at all costs to save face. Especially Cook County prosecutors.
- giantg2 3y agoAt least in my state reckless standards would have to be that the action is more likely than not to cause harm. I could see if the guy was shooting off rounds, or pointing the gun at people. It just seems insane that leaving it in your room would be reckless even though it's not going off by itself. I would roll the dice at trial, even if I would need an appeal. Fucking insanity - there shouldn't even be enough probable cause to support the arrest since a preponderance of the evidence doesn't support it.