JURY NULLFICATION

Jury Nullification

Jury Nullification

Thesis Statement

This is the position paper for race-based jury nullification.

Introduction

In our legal system, juries have a power known as “nullification”. This means that any single juror can refuse to condemn a criminal defendant if the juror believes that the law in question is unconstitutional. In effect, a jury can overturn any act of congress or any decision of the Supreme Court. (Collison, 2005)

It is hard to pin down when the courts began to obscure this right of yours. In the 1800's (as well as at other points in history) people have tried to “reform” the jury system. These ...