Free Talk Live

A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court last week.

Jurors – well, potential jurors – staged a revolt.

They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they weren’t about to convict anybody for having a couple of buds of marijuana. Never mind that the defendant in question also faced a felony charge of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs.

Jury nullification, a legal concept that dates back to 17th century England, remains perfectly lawful in the United States, according to a ruling by a federal judge last month.
U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood said 80-year-old Julian Heicklin, who was arrested by FBI agents for passing out pamphlets marked "Jury Info" from an organization known as the Fully Informed Jury Association to an undercover agent, was within his legal rights under law to do so. Prosecutors had argued that Heicklin was in violation of U.S. law, which prohibits influencing jurors through written communication.

With a majority of Americans now saying they don't think pot should be illegal, the prosecution demanded that the jury entertain no effort to practice nullification. Prior to opening arguments, the judge dismissed six potential jurors– including five of the first 13 interviewed– for revealing a disinclination or refusal to convict someone of pot possession.

Judges Roger Vinson, Casey Rodgers and Lacey Collier have asked Morgan to stop greeting prospective jurors as they board a trolley for the federal courthouse in downtown Pensacola.

"Your interactions with these prospective jurors raises legitimate concerns about the court's ability to seat fair and impartial juries, especially when considering the majority of those selected will serve on criminal juries,"

A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court last week.

Jurors – well, potential jurors – staged a revolt.

They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they weren’t about to convict anybody for having a couple of buds of marijuana. No, they said, one after the other. No way would they convict somebody for having a 16th of an ounce.

In fact, one juror wondered why the county was wasting time and money prosecuting the case at all, said a flummoxed Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew Paul.

...found in contempt of court for refusing to stand for the judge and jury.” Ali claimed that she had a right to a religious exemption...“Evidently, the Defendant’s professed religious beliefs did not prevent her from standing when she was introduced to the prospective jurors.”

Today, the Eighth Circuit reversed the contempt citations....

The appeals court also found that restricting distribution of literature to jurors summoned for jury duty was legally permissible, and that Schmidter’s conviction for contempt on those grounds should be upheld. Schmidter was re-sentenced today to serve 145 days in the Orange County Jail, and was immediately taken into custody.

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation prohibiting a form of therapy aimed at changing a minor’s sexual orientation from gay to straight, the first law of its kind in the nation, officials said Sunday. Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) introduced the measure based on his belief that so-called conversion therapy isn't based on science and is dangerous. “This bill bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide,'' Brown said in a statement. ``These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery."

"Because jury nullification potentially interferes with the enforcement of the law as written, courts may feel threatened by it." New Hampshire’s model jury instruction 3.17 lays out the power of jury nullification. In its model instructions to jurors, it reads, “Even if you find that the State has proven each and every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt, you may still find the defendant not guilty if you have a conscientious feeling that a not guilty verdict would be a fair result in this case.”