Jury Rights Quotes
In a campaign speech in Charleston, Illinois where there were a large proportion of settlers of Southern extraction he said the following which was at variance with sentiments he had expressed weeks before in a speech in Chicago:
Ever since that decision was written, lawmakers, judges and attorneys have worked very hard to minimize its impact and allow the jury to only decide on the facts and not the law. Only Maryland today preserves the right of the jury to decide what the law means and to judge it. Authorities, even democratic ones, do all they can to prevent what is called “jury nullification”. Regardless, juries often exercise that right regardless of the judge’s instructions.
Many of our Founding Fathers held the view that the Jurors should decide not only about the facts but also they have the final decision on the law. The concept of the jury not following the judge’s interpretation and instructions as to the law is called Jury Nullification of which many of the founders approved. In modern times however, most states require the jury to accept the judge’s instructions as to the law, and the Jury’s only role is to decide on the facts. Maryland is the only state left which allows the jury to make the final decision on the law as well as the facts. However, many jurors will silently nullify the Judges instructions and vote accordingly as jurors need not explain their reasoning in most jurisdictions. See {641742}, {590841}, {591140} & {591139} for similar views by other Founding Fathers.
