Spats McGee
Administrator
Yes, what Aquila Blanca points to is jury nullification: the power of the jury to nullify a law. From the federal Model Jury Instructions, 2001 version (the only copy that I could get to quickly):
Whether jury nullification is a proper exercise of the jury's powers is a debate more properly discussed in another thread. However, I would like to put AB's quote in a little more context:
Ladies and gentlemen: I will take a few moments now to give you some initial instructions about this case and about your duties as jurors. At the end of the trial I will give you further instructions. I may also give you instructions during the trial. Unless I specifically tell you otherwise, all such instructions both those I give you now and those I give you later are equally binding on you and must be followed.
This is a civil case brought by the plaintiffagainst the defendant. The plaintiffallegethat the defendant_______________. The defendantdeny[ies] that allegation. [If defendant has a counterclaim or affirmative defense, it should be stated here.] It will be your duty to decide from the evidence whether the plaintiffis [are] entitled to a verdict against defendant.
From the evidence you will decide what the facts are. You are entitled to consider that evidence in the light of your own observations and experiences in the affairs of life. You will then apply those facts to the law which I give you in these and in my other instructions, and in that way reach your verdict. You are the sole judges of the facts; but you must follow the law as stated in my instructions, whether you agree with it or not.
In deciding what the facts are, you may have to decide what testimony you believe and what testimony you do not believe. You may believe all of what a witness says, or only part of it, or none of it.
In deciding what testimony to believe, consider the witnesses' intelligence, their opportunity to have seen or heard the things they testify about, their memories, any motives they may have for testifying a certain way, their manner while testifying, whether they said something different at an earlier time, the general reasonableness of their testimony and the extent to which their testimony is consistent with other evidence that you believe.
Do not allow sympathy or prejudice to influence you. The law demands of you a just verdict, unaffected by anything except the evidence, your common sense, and the law as I give it to you.
You should not take anything I may say or do during the trial as indicating what I think of the evidence or what I think your verdict should be.
Whether jury nullification is a proper exercise of the jury's powers is a debate more properly discussed in another thread. However, I would like to put AB's quote in a little more context:
It may not be amiss, here, Gentlemen, to remind you of the good old rule, that on questions of fact, it is the province of the jury, on questions of law, it is the province of the court to decide. But it must be observed that by the same law, which recognizes this reasonable distribution of jurisdiction, you have nevertheless a right to take upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy. On this, and on every other occasion, however, we have no doubt, you will pay that respect, which is due to the opinion of the court: For, as on the one hand, it is presumed, that juries are the best judges of facts; it is, on the other hand, presumable, that the court are the best judges of law. But still both objects are lawfully, within your power of decision.
State of Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 U.S. 1, 4, 1 L. Ed. 483 (1794)