Jury nullification becoming an issue in pot prosecutions

[n2doc]

JOE MOZINGO

Julie Shemitz watched warily as the judge asked prospective jurors whether they or anyone close to them had a card for medical marijuana.

Ten hands lifted, a third of the jury pool.

"Look at all those hands," the judge said.

An assistant U.S. attorney, Shemitz knew that this would be a problem.

The defendant, Noah Kleinman, ran a North Hollywood pot dispensary. Federal prosecutors rarely targeted medical dispensaries these days, but they accused Kleinman of using the shop as a front to sell large quantities of marijuana to other distributors in Los Angeles and to street dealers on the East Coast.

Shemitz felt she had a strong case. Drug Enforcement Administration agents had emails, ledgers, surveillance records and witnesses, including Kleinman's partner, employees, growers and out-of-state buyers.

more
http://www.latimes.com/local/great-reads/la-me-c1-pot-prosecutor-story.html#page=1

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Good.

The 'war on drugs' has destroyed more lives than the drugs it supposedly combats. If the same amount of resources had instead been poured into rehab and treatment, rather than incarceration and military toyd for swat teams, the country would be a lot better off today.

[Ed Suspicious]

9. Prosecutor feels righteous in her decision to ruin this life despite all logic that points to the

unjust idea behind the ruination.

(snip)

"She didn't relish the outcome — Kleinman was a father of two young children — but she didn't second-guess her work.

"As a prosecutor, the thing we will not stand for is when someone doesn't take responsibility for what he does," she said after the trial concluded. "He's going to get a lot of time, and he should.""

(/snip)

[pscot]

18. What an asshole

[merrily]

2. I think jury nullification was one of the original reasons for a jury.

Juries were also supposed to know the details of what happened, even if it was only gossip they'd picked up in the 'hood; and they were supposed to know as well if the accused was basically a good person or a habitual troublemaker.

Now,all of the above is excluded from the purview of the jury, either because it is kept away from the jury entirely, as was the blood in OJ's car, or because the judge gives the jury instructions.

[tridim]

3. Fortunately the solution to this problem is very simple.

Cannabis is hereby legal, just like Spinach.

No more jury nullification needed, and no more lawyers, no more judges, no more crooked cops and no more freaking for-profit prisons.

[MohRokTah]

4. The problem is, this specific jury did not know about jury nullification.

They did not understand that no matter what the evidence was, they could still acquit regardless.

What needs to happen is a nationwide jury nullification education program needs to be conducted. Advertisements etc. explaining the power of the jury.

[Dustlawyer]

6. The other problem is that "Elected" Judges (RW especially) shape the verdict they want by

not letting in certain evidence that would ordinarily be admissible. There are too many (not all) Judges elected to do a certain thing, and by golly they do it justice be damned!

[marble falls]

10. Jury nullification is what allowed racist murderers to walk in the Jim Crow south.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

11. It was also used to nullify enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act.

If we have a jury system then juries have the ability to nullify, regardless of statutory requirements. The alternative, to have citizens judge solely by government officers, strikes me as much worse and they could just as easily not convict racist murderers.

[MohRokTah]

16. All white juries allowed that

[truth2power]

14. I wouldn't sit on a jury where someone was being prosecuted for pot...

buy, sell, grow etc. Nada!

This insanity has got to stop.

And you're idea about jury nullification is a good one. Nationwide education program.

[MohRokTah]

17. Every jury has the power to put the law itself on trial

[Bonx]

19. I would try my best to sit on that jury

I would nod my head at everything the prosecutor said & pretend to be a no-nonsense conservative drug warrior. Right up until I spoiled the verdict with an steadfast 'not guilty'.

[truth2power]

20. You do have a point, which does constitute jury nullification, as I understand it. n/t

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. Here ya go: The Fully Informed Juror Association (FIJA)

http://fija.org/

FIJA works to:
• Inform potential jurors of their traditional, legal authority to refuse to enforce unjust laws
• Inform potential jurors that they cannot be required to check their consciences at the courthouse door
• Inform potential jurors that they cannot be punished for their verdicts
• Inform everyone that juror veto—jury nullification—is a peaceful way to protect human rights against corrupt politicians and government tyranny

That is FIJA’s message.


JUROR’S GUIDE
On the Grand Jury
Juror’s Handbook
Current State Constitutional Authority for Jury Veto
If You Are Called For Jury Duty
If You Are Facing Charges

[Demeter]

5. For once, the People have a say

and it's about time.

Corruption in high places will not go away by itself. It has to be shown the door by civil disobedience and opposition.

[Sienna86]

7. Good.

Wondered recently about this.

[Lenomsky]

8. So he's Guilty ...

The jury deliberated for a little over two hours.

Guilty on all counts.

Kleinman looked shocked, face drawn, blinking slowly. He was ordered to return for sentencing Sept. 29.

[Romulox]

12. What a disgusting woman that prosecutor is. Truly a worthless human being. nt

[ck4829]

13. Come on people, we have a prison that's not quite yet filled to capacity!

[truth2power]

15. Privatizing prisons is such a good idea, don'tcha know...

Keep those beds filled. Otherwise you're losing money.

Kinda like running a bed & breakfast.

[Takket]

22. Tom Hartman

Tom Hartman just did a whole segment on this very issue and referenced this very thread on his show! "Posted by n2doc on democratic underground dot com".