A Montana man with a string of convictions and a reputation as a drug dealer was going on trial for distributing a small amount of marijuana found in his home — if the court could find jurors willing to send someone to jail for selling a few marijuana buds, reports the Los Angeles Times. Several potential jurors were excused by Judge Robert Deschamps when they said they could not vote for a conviction. "We've got a lot of citizens obviously that are not willing to hold people accountable for sales in small amounts, or at least have some deep misgivings about it," said the judge. "And I think if I excuse a quarter or a third of a jury panel just to get people who are willing to convict, is that really a fair representation of the community? I mean, people are supposed to be tried by a jury of their peers."
As marijuana use wins growing legal and public tolerance, some jurors may be reluctant to convict for an offense many people no longer regard as serious. "We'll hear, 'I think marijuana should be legal, I'm not going to follow the law,' " said prosecutor Mark Lindquist in Pierce County, Wa. "We tell them, 'We're not here to debate the laws. We're here to decide whether or not somebody broke the law.' " Drug-law reform advocates say juries should follow their consciences and refuse to convict — a concept known as jury nullification, widely used during Prohibition and in the Jim Crow-era South. "This is one of the first times in a number of years there's a general discussion around this powerful but rarely used jury tool," said Allen St. Pierre of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "But going back 20 years plus, there's been some tumult in the courts where the issue is cannabis and the person being prosecuted wants to turn to the jury and say, 'Yes, I am guilty, and here's why.' "
Posted by Dan Givens
Thursday, December 30, 2010 09:10
If you ever find yourself being questioned to participate in a jury (Voir Dire) especially for a drug-related case, remember this: You don’t need to lie to the court to get yourself placed on the jury.
You’ll typically get questions like “could you apply only the laws in this situation?” You may be tempted to tell the court you are against prohibition laws, but don’t. Answer the question “truthfully.” In the same way that you could put your hand down a garbage disposal and turn it on, you could “apply only the law.” In the case of the garbage disposal, you could put your hand down and turn it on but you NEVER would. You could convict this person based on these laws (but you NEVER would). Be sure to leave that last part out when questioned. You have told the truth and now you can help to nullify the jury.
Posted by ed
Monday, December 27, 2010 01:41
The majority of the people believe marijuana should be legalized. For sure we could use the tax money. Agree with jsknow on about every one of his points.
Posted by Alan
Monday, December 27, 2010 06:41
Judges selecting only jurors who promise to non-nullify? This is a kangaroo court. This judge needs to be impeached, then imprisoned. In a place like Montana, he needs to watch his back!
Posted by Montana’s Jury ‘Mutiny’ Keeps Making Headlines, Now Being Called A “Game-Changer” « “If you think you're free, there's no escape possible.”
Sunday, December 26, 2010 01:42
[…] “Jury Nullification” Becomes An Issue In Some Pot Cases […]
Posted by jsknow
Sunday, December 26, 2010 11:45
Why is the most useful plant known, a plant that has never killed anyone, illegal? It’s illegal because corporations fear competition from superior, safer and more environmentally friendly hemp products and because the Government loves to oppress jail and steal from the people! Alcohol, tobacco, petroleum, cotton, timber, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, just to name a few all see marijuana as unwanted competition.
The laws prohibiting marijuana are NOT a result of any harm from marijuana. They are the result of racism, lies and greed. Read the well documented proof of that and a lot more marijuana TRUTH in these two articles: “MARIJUANA AND HEMP THE UNTOLD STORY, Thomas J. Bouril” and “WHY IS MARIJUANA ILLEGAL, Pete Guither”, click the links to those articles on this webpage:
Internet Explorer web browser: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
All Other Browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html
Posted by Bob Constantine
Sunday, December 26, 2010 10:36
http://www.fija.org/
CLICK LINK ABOVE TO FIND OUT MORE ON JURY NULLIFICATION AND ENDING DRUG WAR !
Posted by Dank Weed Administrator
Sunday, December 26, 2010 10:19
Some day in the future, 3-5 years, when Marijuana is a tolerated and accepted product sold in eCommerce – and even now – you can visit http://www.dankweed.com
For now it’s just a blog, but some day we’ve invested in the site to be the source of the world’s dankest weed, either in imagery/video/blogs or whatever else.