Jury nullification

Jury nullification is a jury on purpose ignoring evidence or refusing to apply the law as explained in the jury instructions.^[1] A jury may feel the application of the law is unfair, unjust, or immoral in some way^[1] or may want to "send a message" about some social issue.^[1]

Jury nullification is not a legal function of a jury and is not usually considered to be consistent with a jury's duty to judge a case on the facts and the law.^[1]

It is clear that juries have the power to nullify.^[2] However, it is another question on if they have the right to nullify.^[2] Once the verdict of not guilty is returned, double jeopardy applies and so the defendant cannot be tried again.^[2] If a judge learns that a juror intends to nullify the verdict, the judge has the right to remove that juror.^[2] Typically, jurors are not told by the court that they have the power to nullify. Judges fear if they told jurors they would have jury anarchy on their hands with jurors doing whatever they please. However, jury nullification can provide valuable feedback and is sometimes useful if it is used wisely.^[2]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "Jury Nullification". Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Doug Linder (2001). "Jury Nullification". University of Missouri - Kansas City. Retrieved 1 March 2016.