Jury
A jury is a body of lay people who act as factfinders during a criminal [[Trial | trial]. In some cases the jury may also act both finders of fact and finders of law. [1]
However, even in jurisdictions where jurys are restricted to factfinding, the phenomenon of jury nullification is both documented and accepted as generally constitutional. Jury nullification occurs when a jury choses to aquit an individual even though evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that they committed the crime.
Examples of jury nullification throughout history. In pre-Civil War United States, juries sometimes refused to convict defendants for violations of the Fugitive Slave Act. During prohibition juries sometimes refused to convict defendants for violating the 19th Amendment. Jury nullification may have occurred throughout the history of the United States when all-white juries failed to convict white individuals being tried for the murder of African-Americans.
Notes
- ↑ Indiana Constitution,Section 19 ("In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts.")
