• Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    3 days ago

    Having him be released under jury nullification would send a powerful message to the elites.

    Honestly, an activist film maker should make a movie about how people arrested for helping fugitive slaves escape were often released under jury nullification. Get the idea out there.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 days ago

      In 1988, the Sixth Circuit upheld a jury instruction: “There is no such thing as valid jury nullification.” In United States v. Thomas (1997), the Second Circuit ruled that jurors can be removed if there is evidence that they intend to nullify the law. The Supreme Court has not recently confronted the issue of jury nullification. In 2017, a jury was instructed: “You cannot substitute your sense of justice, whatever that means, for your duty to follow the law, whether you agree with it or not. It is not for you to determine whether the law is just or whether the law is unjust. That cannot be your task. There is no such thing as valid jury nullification. You would violate your oath and the law if you willfully brought a verdict contrary to the law given to you in this case.” The Ninth Circuit upheld the first three sentences of the jury’s instruction and overruled the remainder but deemed that instruction a harmless error and affirmed the conviction

      If the jury is nullified, it will end up back at the SCOTUS, and under the current circumstances, the majority of the court is FULLY and OPENLY owned by the oligarchs.

      We need an acquittal.

      Also, if it looks like he’s going to get out, I would not be at all surprised to see him oofed with more ‘lost’ footage.

      • Revan343@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        3 days ago

        I would not be at all surprised to see him oofed with more ‘lost’ footage

        I expect this is how it’s actually going to go down