gunDriller
16th July 2014, 05:47 AM
"How Extreme Right-Wingers Are Using Marijuana as Trojan Horse for Their Schemes
Jury nullification is a long-term pet project.
Can members of juries really stand in judgment of the laws they are sworn to apply? Can jurors really choose to acquit someone of a crime because they believe a law is unjust?
This concept – known as “jury nullification” – has been promoted in previous decades by far-right extremists who sought to “nullify” a variety of federal laws by encouraging jurors not to enforce them. The cases involved civil rights laws, tax statutes and criminal acts by white perpetrators aagainst black victims. It was avidly promoted in the 1990s by members of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, particularly so-called “Freemen” in Montana who promoted the sovereign citizen ideology."
http://www.alternet.org/books/how-extreme-right-wingers-are-using-marijuana-trojan-horse-their-schemes?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
I'm slightly impressed. They managed to tie together Cannabis Legalization and Jury Nullification.
"A 2012 case, in which a New Hampshire man accused of growing marijuana was found innocent by a local jury, is widely regarded as an instance of nullification. Recently, New Hampshire magazine ran an article examining the question titled “Understanding Jury Nullification” that presented it in a largely positive light. Executive Editor Rick Broussard told Hatewatch that the magazine – which mostly features lifestyle-oriented fare – included the piece because nullification had become part of an ongoing legal debate in the state.
Far-right activists also remain prominent promoters of the concept, which continues to percolate in anti-tax and antigovernment circles."
Jury nullification is a long-term pet project.
Can members of juries really stand in judgment of the laws they are sworn to apply? Can jurors really choose to acquit someone of a crime because they believe a law is unjust?
This concept – known as “jury nullification” – has been promoted in previous decades by far-right extremists who sought to “nullify” a variety of federal laws by encouraging jurors not to enforce them. The cases involved civil rights laws, tax statutes and criminal acts by white perpetrators aagainst black victims. It was avidly promoted in the 1990s by members of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, particularly so-called “Freemen” in Montana who promoted the sovereign citizen ideology."
http://www.alternet.org/books/how-extreme-right-wingers-are-using-marijuana-trojan-horse-their-schemes?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
I'm slightly impressed. They managed to tie together Cannabis Legalization and Jury Nullification.
"A 2012 case, in which a New Hampshire man accused of growing marijuana was found innocent by a local jury, is widely regarded as an instance of nullification. Recently, New Hampshire magazine ran an article examining the question titled “Understanding Jury Nullification” that presented it in a largely positive light. Executive Editor Rick Broussard told Hatewatch that the magazine – which mostly features lifestyle-oriented fare – included the piece because nullification had become part of an ongoing legal debate in the state.
Far-right activists also remain prominent promoters of the concept, which continues to percolate in anti-tax and antigovernment circles."