Juries Were Supposed To Be Able To Overturn Laws

by Clay Conrad.   History is clear. The law is unclear on exactly what a jury is. Juries can range from four to 12 members, depending on the state and case. In two states, criminal juries need not reach unanimous judgments. In some states, jurors can question witnesses. There have even been arguments for so-called professional jurors. Some believe   ... MORE

VIDEO: Jury Nullification, Jury Rights & Jury Independence

Jurors Need To Take The Law Into Their Own Hands

by Paul Butler, Washington Post.  I learned about jury nullification while serving as a prosecutor in the District in the 1990s. As a rookie, I was warned that in nonviolent drug cases, it would be tough to get a conviction, no matter how strong my evidence was. The experienced prosecutors explained that the African American jurors “didn’t    ... MORE

Robert Gebelhoff: How Powerful Should Our Juries Be?

Justice is a result, not just a process.  In 1986, Leroy Reed faced criminal charges he didn’t understand. A mentally disabled ex-convict from Milwaukee, Reed was charged with illegally possessing a firearm after his parole office discovered that he had purchased a .22-caliber pistol to go with a mail-order private detective course. While it was obvious  ... MORE

Ilya Somin: Supreme Court Dismisses Nebraska-Oklahoma Lawsuit Against Marijuana Legalization In Colorado

Drug warriors take one on the chin.     The Supreme Court today refused to hear a case filed by the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma claiming that neighboring Colorado’s legalization of marijuana violates federal law and inflicts various harms on them: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a lawsuit from Nebraska and         ... MORE

New York Judge Rules The FBI Cannot Force Apple To Unlock The iPhone Used In A Brooklyn Drug Case

Contradictory ruling to that in San Bernardino.   The U.S. Justice Department cannot force Apple to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data in a routine Brooklyn drug case, a New York judge says. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein made the ruling on Monday. The decision follows a California magistrate judge's order requiring  ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Justice Scalia & Constitutional Fidelity

Integrity matters. When the sad news came of the sudden death this past weekend of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, I wept for my friend. We had developed a happy friendship during the past 15 years, one which I had selfishly hoped would endure. He permitted his friends to see all of him. We knew him to be in private just as he appeared in   ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Attacking The Truth

They just can't take the inconvenient truth.  Among the many sad signs of our time are the current political and media attacks on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for speaking the plain truth on a subject where lies have been the norm for years. The case before the High Court is whether the use of race as a basis for admitting students  ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: The President And The Rule Of Law

Shackling an unconstitutional loose cannon.  Earlier this week, a federal appeals court in New Orleans upheld an injunction issued by a federal district court in Texas against the federal government, thereby preventing it from implementing President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration. Critics had argued and two federal     ... MORE

Keith Crosby: Stand Up Now Or Kneel Forever

Judge wisely.     In the United States a jury of 12 has much more power than the attorneys or judges want you to know. I urge all who are honored to serve either as a Grand Juror or Petit Juror to study and know this power before appearing to serve. John Jay, the first chief justice of our Supreme Court and a Founding Father, said, "It is presumed that ... MORE

Judge Rules Nobody Owns "Happy Birthday To You"

by Ted Johnson.       A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the lyrics to “Happy Birthday to You” are not protected by copyright, concluding that Warner/Chappell Music does not hold a valid claim to the song. It raises the prospect that royalties will no longer be collected from public performances of the song in movies, TV shows and other         ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Religious Belief And The Rule Of Law

The lesson for Kim Davis.  Shortly before the Labor Day weekend, a federal judge in Kentucky ordered the Rowan County clerk incarcerated for violating his orders. Five days later, he released her. The judge found that the clerk, Kim Davis, interfered with the ability of same-sex couples in her county to marry by refusing to issue them applications for      ... MORE

House Republicans Get Big Win In Their Obamacare Lawsuit

Court acknowledges the people's house has standing. There’s still another lawsuit against Obamacare working its way through the courts—and it just won a surprise victory. A federal judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit filed by the House of Representatives against the Obama administration over its implementation of the health law can   ... MORE

Protect Free Speech Inside And Outside Of Courtrooms

Because justice is a result, not just a process.  In 2012, an 80-year-old retired chemistry professor was indicted on jury tampering charges for passing out brochures in a plaza outside a federal courthouse in New York. Those brochures regarded "jury nullification," an option available to jurors who might agree that a defendant broke the  ... MORE

Judge Blocks Federal Power Grab Over State Waters

by Stephen Dinan.     “Inexplicable, arbitrary and devoid of a reasoned process” President Obama’s push to extend the EPA’s regulatory hand to ditches and small streams to enforce clean water rules was blocked Thursday by a federal judge, who said the administration had overstepped its bounds in trying yet another end run around Congress. Judge ... MORE

Judge Tells IRS It Can’t Hide White House Emails

by Mark Tapscott.   White House emails to the IRS about individual tax returns cannot be exempted by the embattled agency under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge ruled Friday. United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Section 6103 of the tax code does not justify the IRS from         ... MORE

AP: Federal Court To Hear Challenge To Jury Nullification

Free speech under assault.     A federal judge is scheduled to hear evidence in a lawsuit arguing that a Denver judge cannot bar people from telling potential jurors outside a courthouse that they have a right to ignore laws they believe are wrong. Attorney David Lane filed a lawsuit against the city and Denver police, asking a federal judge to   ... MORE

Explaining Jury Nullification To A Sitting Judge

by Scott Shackford.    I spent a day last week immersed in Los Angeles County's immense judicial system downtown after being summoned to jury duty. My experience was not quite as vividly terrible as Matt Welch's in New York, partly because Los Angeles lets you complete your questionnaire and orientation videos online well in advance, and thus I was   ... MORE

Ilya Somin: Rethinking Jury Nullification

The jury's equivalent power to prosecutorial discretion. Jury nullification occurs when jurors choose not to convict a defendant they believe to be guilty of the offense charged, usually because they conclude that the law in question is unjust or the punishment is excessive. When I first thought about jury nullification as a young law student,    ... MORE

Supreme Court Gets Lowest Favorability Rating In 30 Years

by Jennifer Harper.   Even politicians in robes are having a bad year. “Following major, end-of-term rulings on the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage, unfavorable opinions of the Supreme Court have reached a 30-year high. And opinions about the court and its ideology have never been more politically divided,” reports the Pew Research   ... MORE