Reply #14: It's a kind of civil disobedience ...........

[Tangerine LaBamba]

Just like a picket or a protest, only with much more immediate and concrete results.

Now, consider the OJ Simpson murder trial - that was a case of jury nullification gone bad, because the jurors never even considered the evidence, but decided that OJ was being persecuted because of his race.

We all know how well that one worked out, don't we?

Jury nullification verdicts drive prosecutors nuts.

It's a great experience, serving on a jury. For years, here in Virginia, licensed lawyers were automatically excluded from the jury pool. Then the law was changed and I got called.

After thirty years as a litigator, I was dying so see what went on inside the jury room. It was a terrific experience. I was thrilled to see how seriously the jurors took their roles, but I was also appalled at how much of their decision-making was based on their personal experiences and not solely on the evidence presented.

They made the big mistake - I warned them - of electing me foreperson. I explained the law to them, over and over, and when we were deadlocked, I let them know that I now worked on my own as a writer, and that I'd be happy to come back the next day, and the next day, and ................

It was a fair verdict.

Have fun.

:toast: