The deck is stacked in the U.S. federal justice system

Here are some interesting facts I learned while researching the U.S. federal justice system for The Wrath of Leviathan:
• Defendants do not have a right to a preliminary hearing. The government opts for a grand jury indictment instead.
• The defense is excluded from grand jury proceedings, and grand juries indict almost 100% of the time. (Unless it’s a police officer being indicted, in which case the percentages are reversed).
• The federal government has a 99% conviction rate.
• The federal system has mandatory minimum sentences and no parole.
• The judge sets the rules in the courtroom and these can be harsh depending on the judge.
• There’s a concept called jury nullification. Jurors have the power to acquit defendants if they disagree with the law, even if they believed the defendant committed the crime. The Constitution gives you the right to vote your conscience. If a law isn’t just, or is being used unjustly, you can reject it. Juries rejected the return of slaves in the 19th century and have acquitted peace activists. Prosecutors and judges have no power to retaliate against the jurors. The problem is, judges will not allow anyone to mention this power to the jury.
• A necessity defense is a similar concept. It argues that the defendant had to break the law in an emergency situation, to avoid a greater harm from occurring. For example, driving with a suspended license to take someone to a hospital. Very occasionally, a judge will allow it. In 2018, a Boston judge acquitted 13 pipeline protesters on the grounds that the climate crisis made it necessary for them to commit civil disobedience. This is extremely uncommon, though.