Taft2016
Verified User
"never heard of jury nullification?" SY #175
I've been a FIJA* fan for quite some time.
BUT !!
Before deliberation the law judge "charges" the jury.
And in so doing, a law judge may or may not instruct the jurors to obey the law. Jury nullification is about ignoring the law, ie:
- Yes. The defendant is guilty, but was justified in stealing the car, to get his daughter to the hospital to save her life. -
Basically the government officials in our criminal justice system:
- the DA & ADA
- the law judges
oppose FIJA.
I understand their position, even if I don't robustly endorse it.
* Fully Informed Jury Amendment: enshrining jury nullification as a legal option into our legal system
Except the father wouldn't be charged with stealing the vehicle. States have a related lesser charge, in New York it's called "Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle."
Property theft crimes carry a presumption of keeping the property, which would not apply in this case, a case which would probably never make it to a jury anyway.