Is Jury Nullification Possible in Your Trial?

Jury nullification: is it a way to dodge a guilty verdict at the end of a trial? Actually, maybe it is. What is jury nullification, and what makes it so attractive in some cases?

Jury Nullification Defined 

There are sometimes cases in which juries believe that a defendant may be guilty, but they opt to reject the evidence in the case because they think the result of a guilty verdict would be unjust. It is known as jury nullification, jury veto, juror pardon, or conscientious acquittal.  A jury may be attempting to send a message about matters more critical than the specific case at hand, and they may believe they have the right to send that message through their verdict. In other cases, a jury may simply believe that the specifics of the particular case they are hearing should result in a not guilty verdict in spite of a belief that the law was likely broken by the defendant—maybe because the consequences are believed to be too tough for the crime, or because the circumstances around the crime somehow make a guilty verdict seem inappropriate, even though the accused probably did commit the crime.

Jury Nullifications in the Past 

Jury nullification has been around for centuries! Despite plenty of evidence pointing to guilt when people harbored escaped slaves, juries often found defendants “not guilty” when they wished to undermine Fugitive Slave Laws. The same was true when juries declined to convict guilty parties who’d violated laws related to alcohol control during the prohibition years, as juries chose to support community values by defying expected guilty verdicts. In more recent times, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, whose involvement in “mercy killings” was relatively clear, was found not guilty of murder three times. In other cases, juries who believed drug laws were much too harsh have been unwilling to punish minor drug offenders in multiple states. When the enforcement of written laws is rejected, eventually laws around certain matters become unenforceable, and laws ultimately change.

Is Jury Nullification Legal?

 One of the most commanding legal minds in the world, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, publicly asserted that she believes there is a place for jury nullification in our justice system. Jury nullification is completely legal across the country, though not necessarily encouraged. Occasionally prosecutors and/or judges will counsel juries that jury nullification would be a relinquishment of their duty, but it is nevertheless a power that juries have in most of the United States. Such verdicts cannot be overturned, nor can jurors be sanctioned for such a verdict (although individual jurors who promote jury nullification could be removed from a jury if another juror reports them). Whatever one’s thoughts on the issue, one study indicates that juries acquit when a judge would have been convicted in 19 percent of cases, and around one-fifth of these acquittals are a result of jury nullification.

 Do Jurors Know About this Option?

 In most cases judges tell juries that it is, indeed, their duty to apply the law precisely as it is provided to them, even if they disagree with the law. As much as defense teams may wish for jury nullification, they are usually not allowed to propose it in their closing arguments.  Unless a juror already knows about it, it probably won’t happen. And if a juror does know about it, it may not be a good idea to tell other jurors about it, unless there are clearly enough of them who already seem to be considering it that replacing them would be nearly impossible. While never exactly likely, it is always an option that dangles as a possibility in courtrooms across the country.

Fighting for Best Outcomes

The experienced, creative Miami criminal defense attorneys at The Law Office of Julia Kefalinos always fight for the best possible outcomes for clients.  To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation today.

Source:

fija.org/library-and-resources/library/jury-nullification-faq/should-i-discuss-jury-nullification-with-my-fellow-jurors.html