Preview

Arguments Against Jury Nullification

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
135 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Arguments Against Jury Nullification
Just like how police officers and prosecutors can make discretionary decision; Jury nullification is simply a power granted to jury to make discretion regarding whether criminal punishment is appropriate in a given case. Just as police and prosecutors take into consideration as whether the defendant’s behavior was a technical violation or whether other circumstances not recognized by the law justified or excused a defendant’s actions; it serves jury nullification to get rid of inappropriate prosecutions where police and prosecutors failed to do so. So when critics criticize jury nullification without knowing that similar judgments are being made by police officers and prospectors, people who have such bias view don't even realize their argument

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    cja 344

    • 1286 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jury Nullification “It is not only the juror’s right, but his duty to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.” This is what John Adams said of jury nullification. John Jay, who was the first justice of the Supreme Court said, “The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.” So what is jury nullification and how does it influence courtroom proceedings and judicial practices? The definition of jury nullification according to thefreedictionary.com website jury nullification is defined as a sanctioned doctrine wherein members of a jury disregard either the evidence presented or the…

    • 1286 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Basically means that the jury cannot be biased to the accused. If you had people on the jury who disliked you or immediately judge you, then most likely you are going to jail. The second part of this is, you can’t have someone who has been involved with the same crime. For example if a mother who is on the jury lost a son to a hit and run, and you’ve be accused of a hit and run, it would have already been biased. The trail must be held in the area the crime took place, or it wouldn’t be fair to the accused.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    When a person is found guilty of murder and they are given the death penalty, and later it is found that the person is innocent, you cannot correct it and bring them back to life. Is that justice? Every day in school we recite the pledge of allegiance and it states that we have justice for all but did Warren McCleskey receive the right justice? In the Preamble of the Constitution, the first thing it states is to establish justice. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and they have the rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Warren McCleskey received the death penalty after he was convicted of murder and the Supreme Court reviewed the case to figure out the proper sentence for Mr. McCleskey.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Speech: Not Guilty Jury

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page

    Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it is our privilege to represent P.J. Long in this case before you today.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The jury system is simply a system in which the verdict in a legal case is decided by a group of twelve regular citizens(the jurors). A lot of questions have been asked about the validity and importance of the jury system. I think the jury system is not a good idea and should therefore be removed because the jurors sometimes do not consider or even understand the evidence provides. They often let their personal feelings affect their verdict, or base it on unreasonable factors, and…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Within the criminal trial process, natural tensions ordinarily occur between all participants and procedures of which the system operates, for example Investigation, Trial and Sentencing are three key processes within the criminal justice system that require an appropriate amount of discretion in order to properly and lawfully achieve justice.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jury Nullification CJA 344 October 6, 2014 Johnny Cotton Jury nullification is defined as when juries believe a case is unjust or wrong and may set free a defendant who violated the law. Jury nullification has been an option of a jury in the United States. In the legal system that we use today, jurors have the power to give a non-guilty verdict even when the evidence clearly shows that the defendant is guilty. In cases like this, the jurors decide that the certain laws should not be applied to the particular case or that the laws are unjust for the case. In other cases the jurors may believe that the laws are certainly bias against the defendant to begin with. The 14th amendment in our Constitution promises that all persons no matter race,…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson describes the jury as “the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”( Dialogue on the American Jury: We The People in Action, 1) The purpose of juries is to ensure that no government is able to convict innocent people, or to give unreasonably cruel punishment. Although the juries we see today are very different from the first juries, they have always served the same purpose, to keep things fair for citizens.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jury Nullification

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The definition of jury nullification according to thefreedictionary.com website jury nullification is defined as a sanctioned doctrine wherein members of a jury disregard either the evidence presented or the instructions of the judge in order to reach a verdict based upon their own consciences. It espouses the concept that jurors should be the judges of both law and fact. The doctrine of jury nullification is based one important things, one that a juror can never be punished for the verdict they bring back to the judge, and second that a defendant cannot ever be retried once the jury has returned to the courtroom with a not guilty verdict.…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I just found out that I have jury duty Monday at 8:15am. Previously, I talked to a representative and rescheduled my time, however was told yesterday that there was no indication of that in their system. In spite of that, I still tried to reschedule yesterday, but they would not allow me to do so. Apparently, they are really enforcing attendance due to people not showing up. I have the summons document with me if you need it.…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Electoral College is an integral part of the current election process of the United States. Created during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the establishment of Electors was developed through debate of the Virginia Plan which proposed that Congress should elect the president. However, concerns of the president being controlled by Congress and fears over a small group of individuals being able to dictate who would hold office, presented the need to change the plan. The Committee of Eleven created the Electoral College in an attempt to proportionately divide state votes among delegates in the same numbers as their representatives in Congress. In understanding this, it becomes evident that the Electoral College and its processes…

    • 1746 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, according to Consitution Society, jury duty is one of the most important civic obligations you can perform. It is a federal law to serve in this duty. In the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the section of the Bill of Rights, it guarantees a citizen a speedy and fair trial by jury. Now think to yourself, wouldn’t you…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jury Narrative

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page

    I walked down the middle isle, acting scared. I felt the cold metal on my wrist but i wasn't worried. Not even the tight grip of the burly police officers could shake me. They were missing something, the hard evidence. There was no murder weapon, no witnesses, no fingerprints, nothing of mine. In fact i wouldn't of been there if it wasn't for my past of crime. The trial started, and they brought up evidence, where I lived, the half right motive, my past crimes, but they didn't have solid evidence. I watched my defendant stand up and point this out, along with my simple alibi and how my past shouldn't affect the decision of the jury. The jury took longer than i thought to decide, which worried me a little, but the final verdict was not…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. These groups include the police who investigate the crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. When there is a trial, a selective number of individuals are called before the court known as the jury. It is not only the right and duty of juries to judge the facts, but also what is the law. To ultimately determine a verdict, the jury must take all information into consideration plus the moral intent of the accused…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jury System

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Even though most people believe that the jury system is a necessity to having a fair trial, I believe the exact opposite. I believe that the jury is made up of 12 people that have no clue what they are even doing there. Ben Shapiro, a writer from The Patriot Post once wrote,” The problem with juries is that they are generally composed of the 12 people stupid enough to get out of jury duty.” I say that if we want to keep the jury system around, we have to make improvement to it. We need to educate the American citizen about what they do at jury duty, instead of them just getting there and then having no idea what to do. We cannot just expect them to know, we have to tell them.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays