Father Of 8 Sentenced To Jail For Distributing Jury Nullification Pamphlets

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The Bill of Rights enables a jury to find a defendant not guilty if the law in question is unjust, flawed, or otherwise untenable. It was largely due to jury nullification in federal marijuana cases that federal attorneys ceased to prosecute cases of marijuana possession.

PliscaPlace

A former pastor from Michigan discovered the hard way that informing people of their rights under the law as jurors doesn’t sit well with the U.S. government when a judge sentenced him Friday to eight weekends in jail, six months of probation, and fines — all for passing out pamphlets discussing jury nullification.

Keith Wood contends passing out the information is well within his constitutional rights to inform potential and selected jurors that, enshrined in the Bill of Rights lies the potent ability to find a defendant not guilty if the law in question is unjust, flawed, or otherwise untenable — even if the accused indeed technically violated.
Jury nullification thus arguably acts as citizens’ access to checks and balances: When legislators craft worthless, harmful, inequitable, or just plain ‘bad’ laws, jurors can, in essence, refuse to enforce any punitive measures — refusing to find a person guilty of breaking…

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