“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Trial by Jury. Thomas Jefferson considered it “the only anchor ever imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” Jury nullification makes that possible, which is why the government doesn’t want us to know, learn, or use it....
One of the best things that our American ancestors did was to include the right of trial by jury in the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment states in part: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial an impartial jury...
The right of jury nullification is considered by many to be the “last bastion” of liberty and a final check against government oppression. But does this apply to all cases? Does it allow juries to nullify constitutional law? In “The Jury’s Constitutional Judgment,”...
How do you balance the scales of justice at a time when Americans are being tasered, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, hit with batons, shot with rubber bullets and real bullets, blasted with sound cannons, detained in cages and kennels, sicced by police dogs, arrested and...
Jury nullification – the ability to acquit someone who violates immoral, unjust or unconstitutional laws – is a vital tool in the defense of liberty. In fact, one might say it is the last line of defense at our disposal within our political and legal system....
Several years ago, I wrote on this site about the contributions to the American Founding of Josiah Quincy. Another little-known Founder who should be more widely celebrated today was Theophilus Parsons. Parsons was from the same Massachusetts circle that produced...