Jury Nullification Pros And Cons

Superior Essays
Show More
Sources
1.Constitution.Org. (1994, January 1). History of Jury Nullification. Retrieved from Constitution: http://www.constitution.org/jury/pj/fija_history.htm
2. Julian Heicklen. (2017, November 1). Jury Nullification . Retrieved from Personal.psu: http://www.personal.psu.edu/jph13/JuryNullification.html
3. West's Encyclopedia of American Law. (2008, January 1). Jury Nullification. Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/jury+nullification

History

I. Pre1700 (English and US): For the English to protect themselves from the “tyranny” government in the Pre1700’s, they came up with a system of juries. With the first “case” being introduced in 1670- William Penn and William Mead (Quaker activists) were charged with unlawful assembly. According to the article written by Julian Heicklen, the judge of this specific case would not accept any other verdict in court other than guilty- jurors of the case refused to convict the two of those crimes, and because the judge was so mad that the jurors didn’t perceive the “convicts” of being guilty, he forced the …show more content…
1700 to 1799 (English and US): It wasn’t until 1735 that America was introduced to jury nullification when a printer of “The New York Weekly Journal” named John Zenger attacked one of the kings appointed officers Governor William Cosby. Zenger’s lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, put himself on the jury and stated that the court’s law was unacceptable because Zenger never said anything in his articles that were untrue or false. After a few short minutes passed by, the jury nullified the law, and determined that Zenger would be proclaimed as “not guilty”- and ever since the “truth” has been a defense in all blasphemous cases. Later, in American history, state constitutions started being passed (for example: Georgia Constitution of 1777 and Pennsylvania of 1790) stating that the jury of cases should be the judge of the law, and the eyes of what’s facts and what’s

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of The Fifth Amendment
    • 1912 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of The Fifth Amendment

    The fifth amendment is part of the bill of rights in which each amendment specifies not only our rights but our protections against the government when needed. It is stated within the amendment that “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury…”. Similarly, it is also divided into three separate clauses that enhance the major phases when dealing in a criminal investigation and prosecutions. The first one is the grand jury, secondly right to self-incrimination, and finally double jeopardy. The way it came to be in this order was due to not only history, but by also the clarification Alfredo Garcia initiated.…

    • 1912 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Chance Medley: A Necessary Evil Indirect
    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Chance Medley: A Necessary Evil Indirect

    Nevertheless, in 18th century, the usage of verdict slightly…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Analysis Of Amy Bach's Ordinary Injustice
    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis Of Amy Bach's Ordinary Injustice

    The power of juries has proven to play a large factor in wrongful convictions, although the jury selection process is meant to select people who won’t nullify or wrongfully convict it still…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Salem Witch Trials Research Papers
    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Salem Witch Trials Research Papers

    Austin Bell Professor Schroeder Religion 321 25 November 2015 Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials are a very well known piece of American history that is still heavily researched today. These trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts starting in February of 1692 and ending around May, 1693. The trials consisted of a number of different Salem residents being accused of partaking in witchcraft activities.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Crime And Punishment In Colonial America
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Crime And Punishment In Colonial America

    Crime and Punishment in Colonial America In Colonial America, crime and punishment were a new idea that was just starting to be formed. During this time, they had a different set of rules and regulations that had to be followed in their towns and states. For each town, or even state, they had their own rules to follow, based on the men in charge during this time. Colonial America had forms of punishments that would not be allowed during this day and age because they would be considered inhumane and unlawful. While it was often considered a more simple time, it is amazing what was thought of as punishment for a crime and one could also draw the conclusion that the more horrific the punishment, the more of a deterrent it would be for the next…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Arguments Against Jury Nullification
    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Arguments Against Jury Nullification

    Jury nullification is a way of people showing what they think about a law: The ultimate purpose of any true justice system is to help society by removing and punishing people that are dangerous to it. Specifically, all democratic regimes are based on the idea of people possessing the power, believing that leaving the government to society itself is the best way to go about making decisions because the people are competent and are the best at knowing what is good for them. Keeping jury nullification allows the people to show what they think about a law. For example, if many marijuana cases were nullified this would be a clear indication that the people don"t think these laws are good for society, the laws need to be altered, or the sentences are unreasonable. Consider this, laws are made for the good of society so if society feels like a law is not beneficial the law's purpose is undermined.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Jury Nullification In The Justice System
    • 2583 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Jury Nullification In The Justice System

    The key topic that is under debate throughout this paper is jury nullification and how its procedures work within the justice system, as well as some of its strengths and weaknesses. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding jury nullification being used as a primary rectification in the justice system as it tends to make equal outcomes become unequal outcomes. Jury nullification is a process in which a jury reaches a verdict of not guilty despite the fact that the defendant is actually guilty of the actions he or she is being charged for. The jury nullifies a law that is believed to be immorally wrong or wrongfully applied to the defendant.…

    • 2583 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Judicial Override Pros And Cons
    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Judicial Override Pros And Cons

    Students at The University of Alabama weigh in on the House Judiciary Committee’s decision to send the bill that would end judicial override to the House floor on Wednesday. The committee voted 10-2 on the bill that would no longer allow judges to rule on the death penalty, shifting the responsibility to the jury instead. “It would appear that having 12 people on a jury making the decision would be more valid because there are more opinions,” said Carter Helm a freshman majoring in marketing from Chattanooga, Tn. Jameson Evans a sophomore majoring in computer science from Moscow, Idaho weighed in with his experience from his home state. “A jury always makes that decision in Idaho and it has never been a problem,” he said.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jury System Dbq Essay
    • 1073 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jury System Dbq Essay

    Juries The jury system has been a part of our society for hundreds of years. It was first created to give all defendants that option to be judged by their peers for their charges instead of by solely a judge. This provides an excellent opportunity to those who feel that their peers can give them a verdict that is not decided by the professional judge.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Racially Based Jury Nullification Summary
    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Racially Based Jury Nullification Summary

    Introduction The article Racially Based Jury Nullification: Black Power in the Criminal Justice system was written in December, 1995 in a Yale Law Journal by Paul Butler, and than later republished in 2015 in Introduction to Legal Studies. This article was published in North America, for academics in law stream, or anyone with an interest in law. The author poses different views on the racism in todays court rooms faced by African American, particularly by the men. In this essay, I will be analyzing this case from the perspective of white girl so I really can’t say shit on the subject.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jury Nullification
    • 1033 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jury Nullification

    There are many controversial issues in the United States criminal justice system. In recent years, the contentious issue of ethnic discrimination has been in the forefront of several trials. There are some individuals who believe that jury nullification should be used by minorities on juries to acquit defendants of color. Jury nullification is defined as a process where a jury acquits a defendant, even though the members of the jury believe the defendant is guilty of the charges. The concept is that the system is biased toward the ethnic majority and nullification can be used to balance the system for minorities.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Jury Nullification
    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of Jury Nullification

    IV. For Nullification Based on the tacit allowance of jury nullification that is present today, and the stated allowance of it in death penalty cases, jury nullification should be brought out of the darkness and instated as a right in trials. The benefits of jury nullification are clear, and include the fact that juries can respond to unanticipated circumstances in the moment that laws cannot and that they can look at exigent circumstances and choose to grant a defendant freedom when those circumstances are clear. There are three main ways that nullification should be made known and legal.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jury System Dbq Analysis
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jury System Dbq Analysis

    Over the years, jury systems have precedent the way we reach a verdict based on the trial. Moreover, it has been proven that jury systems have shaped Americans to be self-governors (Document B). Evidence shows that in a twelve month period bench trials have only 65 percent of criminals that have been convicted and 87 percent of criminals have been convicted in jury trials (Document A). This proves that jury systems are able to prosecute more and deliver more justice than bench trials. To begin, I support jury systems based on open minded peers reaching a verdict, prevention of corruption, and civic participation/knowledge for citizens.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Deceit And Lies In The Crucible, By Arthur Miller
    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Deceit And Lies In The Crucible, By Arthur Miller

    In the play “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller we see many themes and lessons in the story. The main theme is focussed on deceit and lying and how lies can lead down a dark road which results in the ruin of many. The Crucible is a fictional play based on the Salem Witch Trials which occurred between February 1692 and May 1693 and resulted in over 150 people being accused of witchcraft and 20 executed. The story focusses on the story of John Proctor and Abigail Williams, his niece, and how lies, jealousy, revenge, and deep seated feuds caused a community to turn on each other in a vicious circle of accusations and misunderstandings. The characters in the play who lie significantly are Abigail, John Proctor, and Mary Warren…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Isaac C. Parker: The Legend Of The Hanging Judge
    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Isaac C. Parker: The Legend Of The Hanging Judge

    Legend of the “Hanging Judge” While in search of a piece of Arkansas history I came across a familiar name when research brought me to Judge Isaac Parker. Remembered today as the “Hanging Judge”, Isaac C. Parker had an impressive thirty-five year career in public service. He became a frontier attorney, later served as a city attorney, state judge, a two year term representative to Congress, and his most notable legacy as a federal district judge in Fort Smith, Arkansas for twenty-one years. Isaac Charles Parker was born October 15, 1838 to Joseph and Jane Parker.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings