Skip navigation
Prison Legal News
× You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.

Jury Nullification: Power To The People

Loaded on June 15, 2009 by Paul Butler published in Prison Legal News June, 2009, page 14
Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Prosecutors, Juries. Location: United States of America.
Jury nullification is power to the people. It’s a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit defendants who are technically guilty, but who don’t deserve punishment. Does this sound like anyone you know?

As a former prosecutor, I think it sounds like many of the non-violent drug offenders whom I ...

 

Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.

As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login

More from this issue:

  1. Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Connection with Private Prison in Texas, by Matthew Clarke
  2. Michigan Sex Offender Freezes to Death on Street As Housing Crisis Continues, by Jimmy Franks
  3. Massachusetts DOC Settles PLN Censorship Suit
  4. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  5. Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials, by David Reutter
  6. Washington DOC Pays Pro Se Prisoner $110,043 For Illegally Withholding Records
  7. Lawsuits Challenge Prohibition on Prisoner Pen-Pal Services in Indiana, Florida, by David Reutter
  8. Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group, by Matthew Clarke
  9. OIG Audit Finds Major Deficiencies with BOP Health Care, by Brandon Sample
  10. McNeil Island Prison Fined $28,400 for Improper Asbestos Removal
  11. Jury Nullification: Power To The People, by Paul Butler
  12. Cost of Defending Federal Death Penalty Cases on the Rise, by Brandon Sample
  13. As Economy Falters, Rehabilitative and Substance Abuse Programs Get the Axe
  14. $1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners, by David Reutter
  15. First Circuit Awards Defendant Costs Under FRCP 68; Plaintiff Rejected $10,000 Offer, Was Awarded $5,500, by Mark Wilson
  16. Michigan Jail Officials Lied and Hid Documents in Lawsuit Over Prisoner’s Death, by David Reutter
  17. Racial Impact Statements: An Effort to Eliminate Legal Racism, by Gary Hunter
  18. BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims
  19. Florida Judge Publicly Reprimanded for Trying to Ease Jail Overcrowding
  20. $875,001 Verdict in Beating of Massachusetts Prisoner, by David Reutter
  21. New Trial and JNOV Denial Upheld in $15,545,000 Michigan Prisoner Sexual Harassment Case, by Matthew Clarke
  22. $155,000 Settlement in Sexual Assault of Washington Jail Prisoner
  23. Florida U.S. District Court Rescinds Policy Restricting Access to Plea Agreements, by David Reutter
  24. Alameda County, CA Settles Juvenile Detainee Strip Search Suit for $4.3 Million, by John Dannenberg
  25. Protecting Your Health & Safety, by Brandon Sample
  26. PLN Awarded Summary Judgment In FOIA Case Again, by Brandon Sample
  27. California Prison’s Drinking Water Cited for Excessive Arsenic Levels, by John Dannenberg
  28. Nevada Ramps Up Prisoner Deportations – Even Those Ineligible for Early Release, by Matthew Clarke
  29. Indiana Court Denies Challenge to Monopolistic Prison Phone Contracts, by John Dannenberg
  30. Oregon Detainee Paid $30,000 for 90 Days Illegal Jail Confinement
  31. Oregon Prison Romance Nets Probation/Community Service
  32. Ohio Supreme Court Restricts Public Access to Court Records, by David Reutter
  33. Oregon Slow to Address Problems at Contract Juvenile Facilities
  34. Empty Oregon Jail Has Cost $1.25 Million; Grand Jury Demands Humility and Creative Solutions, by Mark Wilson
  35. Texas Lawmakers “Surprised” Over Hiring of Non-Citizen Prison Guards on Work Visas, by Matthew Clarke
  36. Florida Judge Criticizes State’s Efforts to Seize Prisoner’s Federal Civil Rights Judgment, by David Reutter
  37. California DOC Closes Prisoner Work/Restitution Center
  38. Madoff Fraud Bankrupts JEHT Foundation, Hurts Criminal Justice Reform Efforts, by Matthew Clarke
  39. Report Says New Mexico Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Families, by Dave Maass
  40. Michigan DOC Rehabilitation Programs Emphasize Education, Reentry Support, by Matthew Clarke
  41. California DA Says Incarceration Rate a Measure of His Success – Despite Wrongful Convictions, Prosecutorial Misconduct, by Gary Hunter
  42. Sheriff “Hollywood Hewett” Sentenced to 16 Months, by Mark Wilson
  43. New York Jury Awards $1,400,006 to Former Prisoner for Beating by Guards; Punitive Damages Later Reduced, by David Reutter
  44. Missouri Court Reverses $244,636 Incarceration Cost Award Against Prisoner, by Mark Wilson
  45. $4.75 Million Settlement in Virginia Jail Construction Accident Case
  46. Federal Prisoner Dies During Illicit Tryst With His Wife
  47. Systemic Constitutional Violations at Ohio Juvenile Facilities Leads to Settlement in Class Action; Guards Attempt to Block Relief, by Brandon Sample
  48. Supreme Court Holds Failure to Report to Prison Not a Violent Felony Under ACCA
  49. New Texas Prison Hospital Approved
  50. California Lifers Housed Out-Of-State in Federal Witness Protection Program Entitled to Appear in Person at Parole Hearings, by John Dannenberg
  51. Colorado DOC Settles Suit Over Provision of Education Programs to Learning Disabled Prisoner
  52. Florida Jail Supervisor Disciplined for Using Prisoner Labor for Brother’s Political Campaign
  53. Oregon Prison Manager Indicted for Misusing Prison Credit Cards
  54. Ninth Circuit: County Contractor that Counsels Bad-Check Writers Not Entitled to State Sovereign Immunity from Suit, by John Dannenberg
  55. Ninth Circuit Strikes Down BOP Regulation Precluding Early Release for Prisoners Who Complete Drug Treatment, by Brandon Sample
  56. South Carolina Prison Official Remained on the Job a Year After Indictment
  57. Ninth Circuit: California Federal Habeas Petitioner Sufficiently Exhausts State Court Remedies When He Presents Facts Necessary to Support Constitutional Claim, by John Dannenberg
  58. Prisoner’s Free Speech Rights Violated by Legal Mail Opened Outside His Presence; Qualified Immunity Denied, by David Reutter
  59. $25,000 Settlement in Washington Detainee Contracting for TB in Seattle Jail
  60. D.C. Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Deliberate Indifference Gallstone Claim
  61. Sixth Circuit Upholds Conviction and Sentences for Jail Guards Accused of Abusing, Killing Prisoners, by Brandon Sample
  62. News in Brief:
  63. Washington: Violation of Community Custody Conditions May Be Enforced While Offender Is Reincarcerated
  64. Amnesty International Sources Given Journalistic Protection

More from Paul Butler:

More from these topics: