The lamestream media told you:
Nothing.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
A fully informed jury is a bedrock principle of American freedom. Simply put, a jury of your neighbors (“peers”) has the power to decide the facts in a case if you’re charged, and the righteousness of the law you’re charged under. If legislatures pass laws that are unfair, your neighbors (those pesky peers again) can let you go, even if you’re guilty under the facts. It’s an ideal check on the system — prosecutors stop bringing bad cases, and legislatures stop the bad laws. It’s elegant, ingenious, a beautiful thing.
This played out swell in failed attempts to convict people helping slaves escape pre-civil war (deemed a crime), or catching grandmas with wine in the bathtub (during prohibition). The roots are in the trials of William Penn (Sep. 5, 1670) and John Peter Zenger (1735). The court told the juries to convict, and they refused (and were imprisoned for their audacity!). What good is a jury if it can’t make up its own mind?
Today, judges are determined to keep juries in the dark, won’t reveal excessive punishments awaiting minor offenses, give out checklists requiring convictions, and call fully informed jury actions “jury nullification,” a derogatory term meant to keep power away from juries and in judges’ hands. It’s a horrific abuse of power.
To combat this, three states have declared Jury Rights Day on Sep. 5th, to let the public know they, not the court, can decide the fate of a person charged, as it should be. The most recent declaration came from the great state of Alaska under… Governor Sarah Palin. Last year, in 2007.
Read Vin Suprynowicz’s marvelous piece on Jury Rights Day, and visit the fully informed jury association to educate yourself about this bulwark of liberty.
Do note however that if you are in a juror pool and talk up fully informed juries, they won’t let you sit on a panel. I did mention it’s a horrific abuse of power, right?
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