"fi" JURORS

[John]

Senate passes jury nullification

Bill would let peers disregard evidence

By Annmarie Timmins / Monitor staff

January 19, 2012

As expected, the Senate passed a bill yesterday that permits lawyers to tell jurors they can acquit a defendant even if the evidence proves his or her guilt.

In arguing for the bill, Sen. Fenton Groen, a Republican from Rochester, cited the conviction of Ward Bird, a Moultonboro farmer who spent 77 days in jail for pointing a gun at a trespasser.

A jury convicted Bird of criminal threatening and a judge sentenced him to the mandatory sentence of three to six years in prison. Gov. John Lynch commuted Ward's sentence last year under pressure from supporters who said the punishment did not fit the crime.

Under the bill that passed the Senate yesterday 15-9, judges must let defense attorneys tell juries they can acquit someone even if the evidence is there for a conviction. But the Senate's vote won't change the legal practice much.

Judges already permit defense lawyers to make that argument, according to Howie Zibel, general counsel to the state Supreme Court and Judicial Branch's liaison to the Legislature. In addition, the standard instructions judges give to juries tells them they "should" convict if there is enough evidence. The instructions do not say they must convict.

Groen said in a case like Bird's the severity of the law and the sentence did not fit his behavior. Bird brandished his gun to a woman who'd come onto his property. The woman told jurors Bird also chased her down his driveway, gun in hand.

The bill will go to the House, and if members there accept the Senate's wording, it will head to the governor's desk.

(Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 369-3323 or atimmins@cmonitor.com.)


http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/305898/senate-passes-jury-nullification

Thanks to EVERYONE who has been working hard on this. Sometimes (perhaps because they are just so steady) we forget we are standing on the shoulders of giants. Thanks to Red Beckman who got the modern "jury rights" movement started by informing Larry Dodge and Don Doig who founder FIJA national (1989) of the concept, and folks like Dick Marple (here in NH) who has been steadily alerting folks to (and doing lots of the early groundwork on) this issue for decades. While we still have lots of work ahead of us, where would this issue be without these guys and folks like them?

[Free libertarian]

Howard Zibel obfuscated.  Okay i'll be more blunt, I think he's a paid liar.   There is a difference between SOME judges "allowing" a defendant to argue nullification and a law ensuring they cannot be stopped from doing this. 

[KBCraig]

Howard Zibel obfuscated.  Okay i'll be more blunt, I think he's a paid liar.   There is a difference between SOME judges "allowing" a defendant to argue nullification and a law ensuring they cannot be stopped from doing this.

You caught that, did you?

I seem to recall a case or two where any proferred suggestion of nullification was shut down by the judge, rather firmly.