Understanding Jury Nullification (Video)

Jury nullification is when a jury comes back with a “Not Guilty” verdict, even though they believe the defendant to be guilty. The jury nullifies a law they believe to be wrongly applied to the defendant or to be immoral. Now imagine how this could be applied.

The most famous nullification case is the 1735 trial of  John Peter Zenger, charged with printing seditious libels of the Governor of the Colony of New York, William Cosby.  Despite the fact that Zenger clearly printed the alleged libels (the only issue the court said the jury was free to decide, as the court deemed the truth or falsity of the statements to be irrelevant), the jury nonetheless returned a verdict of “Not Guilty.” 

The last stand against tyranny can take place in the jury box. The legislative branch may pass unconstitutional laws and the judiciary branch may uphold them. However, the individual citizen has the last say in the jury box. Learn your rights as a juror. Most likely, you will not be told about them in the courtroom.