I did not know
the rights of a juror but felt the judge was completely out of line.
Jury nullification is
the right of jurors to vote Not Guilty, even if they believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the law has been broken.
This landmark case firmly grounded in English common law rights that were carried overseas by the colonists, including freedoms of religion, speech, and assembly, as well as the fundamental
right of jurors to render a general verdict based on conscience, including setting aside the law when a just verdict requires it.
In many such cases, the frames would not necessarily generate opposite answers; this is seen in an earlier post about jury selection cases, where
the right of a juror to be seated correlates with the right of the defendant to a representative jury.
Not exact matches
Your god as you describe it plainly would be an ASS HOLE, for threatening eternal torture for «sins»
of a short mortal lifetime, and would be convicted
of human
rights abuse by any reasonable set
of jurors.
The
jurors listened as lawyers argued that the trial was about the
rights of midwives and parents to choose home birth, and they were aware
of the daily presence
of midwife advocates who filled the courtroom in support
of Cryns.
But you know what, one
of the
jurors sai that, the judge latched on to that, he said that's exactly
right and I thought that's all you can ask for in this situation.»
«This is not about whether the political beliefs
of the BNP are
right or wrong,» he told
jurors on Thursday.
Venditto's defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo
of Manhattan, said he and his client were «hopeful» that
jurors will «work through the evidence and come up with the
right result.»
If for any reason you're unable to watch the video
right now, the gist
of their statement is that a
juror from the Avery trial contacted Ricciardi and Demos to say that he / she believes Steven Avery was not guilty, framed by law enforcement, and had voted to convict because
of fear for his / her personal safety.
Organized by the Judicial Council and Administrative Office
of the California Courts, in partnership with the Constitutional
Rights Foundation and the California State PTA, the National 1st Amendment Cartoon contest seeks to increase student understanding
of the Bill
of Rights and the United States Constitution, as well as to help educate youth about the role
of the judicial branch and their role as future
jurors.
Working as a cooperative team, the 4 groups did get it
right, with three out
of the four correctly ranking 100 %
of all 12
jurors.
Also, the judge is within his
rights to punish the potential
juror if he determines that the potential
juror is actually lying about his ability to be impartial in an effort to evade jury service rather than because he sincerely believes that he can't be fair, and judges have wide authority to determine the credibility and truthfulness
of statements made to him in open court (i.e. if the trial judge finds that you are lying, this determination will almost always be honored by an appellate court considering the judge's actions).
I can say without reservation that I have been awed and gratified at the universal attitude
of jurors who wish to do the
right thing and give their time and attention in a sincere effort to follow the instructions
of the court and to be fair and judicious.
In a Maryland case (State v. Hutchinson) that followed Torcaso, a man convicted
of murder challenged his conviction on the ground that Article 36
of Maryland's Declaration
of Rights similarly required that
jurors profess a belief in the existence
of God.
Yet it was on that date in 1670 when a group
of jurors in London used their
right and power to invalidate an unjust law.
KGNU's report provides some insight as to why the District Attorney's office might be particularly fearful at this time
of the prospect
of having to prove cases before fully informed
jurors, aware
of their
right to conscientiously acquit via jury nullification:
While the Fully Informed Jury Association takes no position on this case, we are following it closely as the case relates to issues
of jurors»
rights and responsibilities.
The letter reads, in part: FIJA (Fully Informed Jury Association) and
Juror Rights Our question to each
of you is simple and straight to the point.
The
jurors had been informed
of their
right to nullify and found the law and charges against Darrell to be unjust.
As you can see, social media and social media content raise serious issues for the judiciary, with regards to independence, integrity and ethical standards, admissibility
of evidence, the availability
of ex parte information, the extent
of judicial notice, practice rules, the
right to a fair trial and
juror conduct.
He appealed, asserting that the trial judge's dismissal
of the
juror prejudiced his
right to a fair trial.
Individual
jurors each have the power to stop an unjust prosecution by refusing to convict, yet most
jurors today are unaware
of or explicitly misinformed about this
right today.
FIJA seeks to educate everyone about the traditional, legal authority
of the
juror to refuse to enforce unjust laws and the role
of the fully informed
juror in protecting human
rights.
Listening on the phone that morning I can attest that * name
of juror rights activist redacted * remained calm throughout.
In light
of this brief summary, and paraphrasing Justice Fish's point from Krieger, one could perhaps say that
jurors have the responsibility as a matter
of right to assess evidence and apply the law as set out by the trial judge, but also enjoy the power to refuse to apply the law «when their consciences permit
of no other course».
Helena, MT — On Thursday, September 5, 2013, activists across the country will celebrate Jury
Rights Day, marking the 343rd anniversary
of the day when
jurors refused to convict William Penn
of violating England's Conventicle Acts, despite clear evidence that he acted illegally by preaching a Quaker sermon.
If this explanation
of the
juror's ethical duties is
right, however, it leads to the question
of whether we structure the process
of jury decision - making in a way that encourages
jurors to act ethically.
It is well settled that parties have the «the
right to a panel
of impartial...
jurors from which to select the trial jury.»
Voir dire examination serves to protect that
right by exposing possible biases, both known and unknown, on the part
of potential
jurors.
Mark Iannicelli was arrested on 27 July 2015 at the Lindesy - Flanigan Courthouse in Denver, Colorado where he was allegedly handing out flyers informing people
of jurors»
right to conscientiously acquit by way
of jury nullification.
We'll have a lot more videos to feature on our blog Freedom Fridays and elsewhere on our website to educate potential
jurors about how they can use the opportunity
of jury service to protect all
of our
rights from abuse at the hands
of government.
The presumption
of innocence; holding the government to its burden
of producing real evidence; resolving every plausible doubt in favor
of the person targeted by the government; the
right to legal counsel
of your choice; and other Constitutional laws protecting the accused must be respected and enforced by every
juror and every person — in order to protect everyone's Liberty and Freedom from injustice.
At the same time, it's clear that these are people who value blogging, blog themselves and support a
juror's
right to do so in a way that does not impede, interrupt or corrupt the integrity
of a trial - by - jury.
Not only does the the New Jersey State Constitution guarantee freedom
of speech, but it also goes to extra lengths to specifically codify what is every
juror's inherent «
right to determine the law and the fact» — the exact concept that courthouse officials wish to hide from
jurors.
Volunteer attorneys can protect First Amendment
rights and support
juror rights education by assisting FIJA pro bono in securing injunctions against these types
of legal arrests, representing
juror rights educators who are falsely prosecuted for jury tampering, and so on.
Enlist the services
of local high school students to perform as mock
jurors (they'll gain a unique experience and you'll have about the
right educational demographic for your jury, but consider how to deal with confidentiality).
Attorney Robert W. Kelley publishes the Jury Selection Blog which reports legal news and cases about the
rights of clients, trial lawyers and
jurors during voir dire.
The Fully Informed Jury Association along with two co-plaintiffs secured an injunction in August 2015 against such arrests by the Denver Police Department
of juror rights educators handing out FIJA's Fresh Air for Justice and Your Jury Rights: True or F
rights educators handing out FIJA's Fresh Air for Justice and Your Jury
Rights: True or F
Rights: True or False?.
We had those two verdicts at the beginning and end
of the year, which shows that if the
jurors believe in your case, they are capable
of doing the
right thing despite the economy.
In defense
of those «unalienable
rights,» indeed, as the last line
of defense,
jurors can reject government tyranny by refusing to convict those subjected to prosecution for violating unjust laws.
However, there is a trend
right now in Florida courts where some judges are giving instructions on the law to
jurors at the beginning
of the case, as well as prior to deliberations.
Tags: clemency initiative, conscientious acquittal, Department
of Justice, Families for Justice as Healing, FREE HER Rally,
juror nullification,
juror veto,
jurors»
rights, jury, jury duty, Jury Nullification, jury
rights, jury veto, justice, mass incarceration, National Mall, nullification,
rights, Trial by Jury
Essentially, a
juror's racial bias constitutes a violation
of a defendant's
rights to an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, and prevents defendants from being able to prove a violation
of their constitutional
rights.
Tags: Boston, Compromise
of 1850, conscientious acquittal, Daniel Webster, Fugitive Slave Act, Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850, Gary Collison,
juror nullification,
juror veto,
jurors»
rights, jury, jury duty, Jury Nullification, jury
rights, jury veto, justice, Massachusetts, Millard Fillmore, nullification,
rights, Shadrach Minkins, Shadrach Rescue Cases
Tags: Boston, conscientious acquittal, emancipation, Fugitive Slave Act, Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850,
juror nullification,
juror veto,
jurors»
rights, jury, jury duty, Jury Nullification, jury
rights, jury veto, justice, Massachusetts, nullification,
rights, Shadrach Minkins, Shadrach Rescue Cases, slavery
Yesterday, a jury unanimously stood in defense
of juror educators»
right to share general education information about jury nullification and the Fully Informed Jury Association on Facebook, in delivering a Not Guilty verdict in the case
of Luke Lamb.
A hearing regarding this issue along with a motion for injunction against further arrests
of juror rights educators for sharing jury nullification information outside the Lindsey - Flanigan Courthouse in Denver is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, August 21 at 2:00 pm in the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse on the corner
of 19th and Champa in Judge William Martinez» courtroom.
«We need to remember that, for most people, the idea
of jury nullification is pretty radical,» points out long - time New Hampshire
juror rights educator Joel Valenzuela.
As for the concept that juries have not only the power but the obligation to nullify unjust rulings
of a judge, John Adams wrote, «It is not only [the
juror's]
right, but his duty... to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction
of the court.»