I’ve been reading a lot about jury nullification, and I get that jurors have the power to acquit someone even if the law technically says they’re guilty. But what I don’t get is—why is this something that exists, yet courts don’t allow it to be talked about during a trial?

If it’s a legitimate part of the legal system, why is it treated like a secret? Would a juror get in trouble for mentioning it during deliberations? And what would happen if someone brought it up during jury selection?

I’m just curious how this all works in practice. If jurors can ultimately do whatever they want, what stops them from using nullification all the time?

  • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    10 hours ago

    Yeah it “makes sense” in a fairy tale kind of way but it’s obviously not based in reality.

    • atomicorange@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      8 hours ago

      Did you know that morality is not the same as legality? Some immoral things are legal and occasionally vice-versa.