If you actually believe that the person your judging does not deserve punishment, then this is a risk that you should be willing to take.
Comment on YSK about Jury Nullification, if you're an American and you don't, look it up.
makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I will also warn that you are likely committing perjury when they ask at the jury if they have an inability or refusal to follow the instructions or the law of the judge. Now this is difficult to prove, but it’s not something risk free
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 3 days ago
That is not actually true.
The right to a jury trial is guaranteed to the accused by the constitution. You are empowered by that constitution. You owe a constitutional duty to the accused; not to the court, judge, or government.
The law is not limited to the acts of Congress and the States that the defendant is accused of violating. When the judge asks if you can follow the law, you are free to remember that the "Constitution is part of that law.* Where legislated law is in conflict with your constitutional responsibulity, your responsibility supersedes that legislation entirely.
Cephalotrocity@biglemmowski.win 3 days ago
You’d think so, but no. You cannot be punished as a juror for voting your conscience. So long as you don’t say “I intentionally lied during voir dire to sabotage due process” they cannot even ask you why you voted the way you did unless you volunteer for questions afterwards.
makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 3 days ago
You’d be surprised at how stupid people can be. Obviously we’re all dancing around one case and I assure the members of that jury will be pestered about it for a long time after
Susaga@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Yeah, people can be stupid, but they can be less stupid if they know the things they should know. Hence this post.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I think you’d be hard pressed to find any lemmy users who did not already know about Jury Nullification, sadly however most users seem to have a poor understanding of it. As though Juries should just make up the law for cases they hear based on the vibe of the case.