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This is the first time I've heard someone say that a jury can set a legal precedent. I thought only judges, or courts of judges can do that in any meaningful wa
by euroclydon 14y ago
This is the first time I've heard someone say that a jury can set a legal precedent. I thought only judges, or courts of judges can do that in any meaningful way.
- saalweachter 14y agoActually, there's one thing the jury can do which is almost like setting a legal precedent -- jury nullification. It usually comes up around drug trials: juries aren't bound the way judges are to respect, well, anything. A jury can decide to (say) find a man not guilty of having marijuana even if he was smoking it in court, because they believe it does not deserve punishment. Likewise, juries could decide to begin nullifying patent law by always finding infringers not guilty, at least when the patents in question are as absurd as many people feel they are.