Jury Duty

[phase_dancer]

As a juror you are not only judging whether the defendant is guilty or not, you can also judge whether or not you think the law is fair. Particularly in drug related cases, if you believe the drug should be legal, you can say not guilty. This is called juror nullification and will lead to a hung jury, resulting in a mistrial, clogging up the legal system and furthering the case for drug decriminalisation.

The defendant's lawyer can not tell the jury about nullification and it is not widely known about but it has been accepted as part of the legal system for hundreds of years. You would be best to say to the other jurors that you do not believe there is enough proof, rather than telling them you dont believe in the law, as they can ask the judge to remove you from the jury.

Wow, this certainly improves the choices you have as a juror. Thanks for that most imformative post gettingfunkymonkey.

 

[Raz]

Just changed the title...I think this has grown beyond the original poster's question, but it's still well worth keeping open...any other comments/experiences, feel free to post, people...this is interesting stuff!

--Raz--