However I am pretty much against telling Juries left and right they actually have this power. It just creates too much mischief. Let them figure it out on their own.
It is a interesting issue that gets debated from time to time. It gets real complicated because jurors do take a oath and yeah the DA does a lot of juror questioning that they can uphold the letter of the law and not get concerned about what the Judge might sentence the guy too.
. I once had a defense lawyer that fought tooth and nail to get a Jury nullification instruction included. His guy pleaded out before the case was done so I never got to see if the Judge was going to bite on that instruction I was opposing left and right. It was a horrible set of facts and even I felt sorry for the defendant. So needless to say I was not pleased with my adversaries tactic. It might have worked
See Judge Jack Weinstein Again Sings the Praises of the Jury’s Nullification Power
However expect more of this as more conduct gets criminalized and we have absurd mandatory min sentences in every case and take all discretion away from Judges
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