this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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United States | News & Politics

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Jury nullification is the term for when a jury declines to convict a defendant despite overwhelming evidence of guilt. This can be a form of civil disobedience, a political statement against a specific law, or a show of empathy and support to the defendant.

“It’s not a legal defense sanctioned under the law,” said Cheryl Bader, associate professor of law at Fordham School of Law. “It’s a reaction by the jury to a legal result that they feel would be so unjust or morally wrong that they refuse to impose it, despite what the law says.”

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[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

To your last part, a judge can't JNOV if the verdict was not guilty.

From that wiki :

A judge may not enter a JNOV of "guilty" following a jury acquittal in United States criminal cases. Such an action would violate a defendant's Fifth Amendment right not to be placed in double jeopardy and Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.

So if they jury annul, that's the end, and there's really no recourse for the state at that point.

Agree with everything else you said though.