{"id":1496,"date":"2021-12-02T13:09:56","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T17:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/?p=1496"},"modified":"2024-02-12T14:09:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T18:09:46","slug":"why-would-a-jury-choose-to-nullify-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/why-would-a-jury-choose-to-nullify-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Would a Jury Choose to Nullify the Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As previously explained, jury nullification<\/a> occurs when a jury fails to follow the instructions of the court and instead returns a verdict contrary to those instructions. UN Appeals judge and constitutional law expert Geoffrey Robertson suggests that an independent jury can disregard the strict letter of the law set forth in these instructions and return their verdict of acquittal due to feelings of \u201csympathy or humanity\u201d or simply based on common sense.<\/p>\n

Jury instructions themselves can be part of the problem. Jury instructions are summations of the law and reflect the litigants\u2019 best efforts to distill often complex laws in chunks that can be understood and applied by the jurors when evaluating the facts presented to them at trial.<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to criminal cases and the tacit but often necessary application of constitutional law principals, these \u201cchunked summations\u201d of the law are rife with potential pitfalls. According to Duke University School of Law Professor Brandon Garrett<\/a>, the use of constitutional rights in jury instructions\u2014and in evidentiary practice more generally\u2014is a subject that deserves far more attention in the bar and in scholarship.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As previously explained, jury nullification occurs when a jury fails to follow the instructions of the court and instead returns a verdict contrary to those instructions. UN Appeals judge and constitutional law expert Geoffrey Robertson suggests that an independent jury can disregard the strict letter of the law set forth in these instructions and return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,5,10,6,43,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-criminal-evidence","category-criminal-penalties","category-dui-defense","category-dui-trials","category-federal-criminal-charges","category-felony-offenses"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Would a Jury Choose to Nullify the Law? — Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog — December 2, 2021<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As previously explained, jury nullification occurs when a jury fails to follow the instructions of the court and instead returns a verdict contrary to — December 2, 2021\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baronedefensefirm.com\/blog\/why-would-a-jury-choose-to-nullify-the-law\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Why Would a Jury Choose to Nullify the Law? 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