jury nullification
Panel rejects law
Jury nullification is a jury's decision to acquit a defendant despite believing the evidence proves guilt, effectively nullifying the law itself.
This occurs when jurors consider the law unjust or its application inappropriate: Historically, juries used nullification to refuse convictions under fugitive slave laws.
Courts don't inform juries of this power, and some jurisdictions prohibit defense attorneys from mentioning it.
- jurorTrial panel member
- acquittalFormal clearing of charges
- mistrialInvalid court proceeding
- jury selectionChoosing trial decision-makers
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
send a message · fugitive slave laws · civil disobedience · moral reasoning · grand jury · hung jury · trial by jury · conscience · reasonable doubt · jury duty · jury trial · peremptory challenge · abolitionist movement · prohibition era · civil rights movement · voir dire · miscarriage of justice · courtroom
- jury trialjury deliberation, jury selection, juror selection, voir dire, jury pool
- protestdemonstration, walkout, picket, protest march, sit-in
- Legal mythsMiranda rights, entrapment, undercover cops, castle doctrine, double jeopardy
- trial tacticsobjection, cross-examination, opening statement, closing argument, jury selection
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