Showing posts with label jury nullification. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jury nullification. Show all posts

The Government Is Not Us: Mother Faces 30 Year Prison Sentence For Using Cannabis To Treat Crohn’s Disease

by Carey Wedler.     A prime candidate for jury nullification. Last month, Kansas mother Shona Banda made headlines when her son was removed from her custody after he defended her use of medical marijuana to treat Crohn’s Disease. He had spoken up about her use at an anti-drug presentation at his school. This prompted the school to call to ... MORE

JURY NULLIFICATION: Jury Sends Message To Cops, Chase After REAL CRIMINALS; Acquits Man On Felony Pot Charges

by Matt Agorist.    In an emotional courtroom display Friday, Steven Ficano, 65, embraced his attorney and his wife after the jury read their verdict of “not guilty.” In 2012, Ficano’s house was raided by heroes protecting the citizens of Nevada from the horrors of marijuana plants. For the next three years, Ficano anxiously lived his life thinking that  ... MORE

All You Need To Know About Jury Nullification (PDF)

(but are prevented from hearing)  What is jury nullification? Jury nullification is the term given to the process where the jury of a criminal case acquits the defendant regardless if he has broken the law in question. The jury would do this in a case where they judge law to be unjust, therefore the jury can vote find the defendant innocent since    ... MORE

Jury Nullification: A Concept Every American Should Learn

by Kevin Mathews.     A juror can insist on justice. Did you know that, no matter the evidence, if a jury feels a law is unjust, it is permitted to “nullify” the law rather than finding someone guilty? Basically, jury nullification is a jury’s way of saying, “By the letter of the law, the defendant is guilty, but we also disagree with that law, so we   ... MORE

Tom Knapp: J-U-R-Y does not spell 'rubber stamp'

It's getting harder to prosecute victimless crimes. Break out the world’s smallest violin for prosecutors in Alachua County, Fla. They’re having problems finding citizens who will jail other citizens for marijuana possession. In one recent case it took hours to weed out (pun intended) prospective jurors who didn’t think marijuana should be illegal.  ... MORE

The Whiskey Rebellion: True History And Hidden Lessons

What you weren't told about the power of the people.   The standard version of the whiskey rebellion story, the one which I believed until I started reading on the topic, goes something like this….  In 1791, the Congress passed a whiskey tax.  In 1792, four back-woods counties in western Pennsylvania, unable to cooperate and accept the new  ... MORE

NH Bill Would Promote Jury Nullification Defense

The power to stand up to tyranny.    A bill in the New Hampshire State House would make it illegal for a judge to stop a defendant from telling the jurors about their ability to nullify unjust or immoral laws. House Bill 246 (HB246) would make it “an act of maladministration for a judge to deny or limit the right of the accused to inform the    ... MORE

Jury Nullification And Why It Matters In The Silk Road Trial

by  Eric Markowitz.  If you happen to be lurking around the Manhattan courthouse where Ross Ulbricht’s trial began on Tuesday, you may notice one of about a dozen signs urging you to Google something called “jury nullification.” Walk a little further, and you may just encounter activists handing out jury nullification leaflets. But if you ask them to    ... MORE

Matt Kaiser: Overpunishment And Rationality

Injustice by prosecutorial discretion.     Judge Jed S. Rakoff  has launched a firestorm of conversation about his criticism of the federal criminal justice system in the New York Review of Books and his proposal for how to fix it. First, a bit of backstory for those who do not turn to the New York Review of Books for commentary on the federal      ... MORE

Every American Needs To Learn About Jury Nullification

by Kevin Mathews.    Did you know that, no matter the evidence, if a jury feels a law is unjust, it is permitted to “nullify” the law rather than finding someone guilty? Basically, jury nullification is a jury’s way of saying, “By the letter of the law, the defendant is guilty, but we also disagree with that law, so we vote to not punish the accused.”   ... MORE

J D Tucille: NH Supreme Court Guts Jury Nullification Law

The judges want more law enforcement, less justice.    State snatches more power from the people. Insisting "It is well established that jury nullification is neither a right of the defendant nor a defense recognized by law," the New Hampshire Supreme Court this morning eviscerated a law that was openly intended and widely     ... MORE

Another Jury Nullification Success Story

from Tenth Amendment Center: The curious case of Doug Darrell shows the immense amount of power that is possessed by We the People, when we have the courage to use it. Doug Darrell is a resident of New Hampshire who cultivated marijuana for religious and medical purposes. After a National Guard helicopter spotted his plants, he was   ... MORE

Jurors Wield Power To Judge Law; Stop Gov't Overreach

You can fight tyranny.      Jury duty. It’s the setup to innumerable punchlines, a civic chore that some people dread and many try to avoid. But jurors hold a special place in society, serving as a final check and balance on government power. Consider the following scenario: An individual is charged with a victimless crime; a behavior our     ... MORE

Jury Nullification Works In New Hampshire Marijuana Case

When a jury finds punishment is unjust.   Jury nullification is a weapon that most American citizens don’t know they have. During a jury trial, a jury can find the defendant guilty, not guilty, or they can nullify the entire trial if they think the punishment is unfair. This is exactly what happened recently in New Hampshire, where a Rastafarian man   ... MORE

Dick Marple: Jury Nullification Keeps Government In Check

Sept 5th was Jury Rights Day.      It was on that day in 1670 that Quaker William Penn of London was arrested, pleaded not guilty and subsequently argued against England’s Conventicle Acts, which outlawed the practice of religions other than the Church of England. The judge instructed the jurors to find Penn guilty, but they refused to   ... MORE

VIDEO: The Law You Won't Be Told About

Utilize Jury Nullification To Make America Free Again

by Ed Forchion.   By design of the founders of America, U.S. citizens are the final arbiters of our nation’s laws via our jury system. I don’t think the founding fathers could have envisioned “America the free” becoming “America the prison country.” I was jailed for saying that in 2002 – we have political prisoners in America too. The incarceration rate in     ... MORE

How Jury Nullification Would Work In Anti- SAFE Act Case

by Frank Parlato.     At last opponents of the NY SAFE Act have a case that they can use to overcome the vicious, draconian, unconstitutional NYS SAFE Act, the monster child of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Brenden Morgan, 22, of Medina, NY, was charged by State Police with criminal possession of a weapon in the 4th degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Morgan   ... MORE