One of the greatest advantages of jury nullification is that it allows the public to express their opinion of laws in effect, and allows the people to be more involved in the legislative branch of government. Some politicians, like William C. Goodloe, believed that jury nullification is necessary to our government. Goodloe even believed that the jurors should know that they can judge a case by opinion and not solely facts [1]. An example is the U.S. v. Lewis Hayden court case[2]. In 1850, a slave named Shadrach Minkins fled to Boston, and a year later was captured under the Fugitive Slave Act. However, members of Boston's Anti-slavery Vigilance Committee (Lewis Hayden being one of the members) freed Shadrach and escorted him to Canada where he began a new life. The liberators were arrested and tried, but were not convicted. Despite clearly violating the law by aiding Shadrach's escape, since many citizens of Boston did not believe slavery was just, the jurors nullified the case. Other examples of jury nullification are court cases involving alcohol during the American Prohibition. During prohibition, the sale of alcohol was illegal, yet many Americans violated those laws. Approximately, 60% of all alcohol control cases ended in jury nullification[3]. The majority of the public disagreed with the law, so the cases frequently ended with acquittals due to jury nullification. A similar trend is occurring presently with marijuana laws. Jury nullification is crucial to American juries, as it acts as a counter-balance to laws the government has passed that do not have public support.
[1] Ross, Kelley. “An Oath For Jurors”. Friesian.com, n.p. 1999. Web. 27 January 2014.
[2] Boston District Court. "U.S. v. Lewis Hayden". 1 April 1851. Web. 5 October 2013.
[3] Parlato, Frank. "Jury Nullification Has Long History Of Righting Wrong Laws". Niagara Falls Reporter, n.p., 5 June 2012. Web. 5 October 2013.
[2] Boston District Court. "U.S. v. Lewis Hayden". 1 April 1851. Web. 5 October 2013.
[3] Parlato, Frank. "Jury Nullification Has Long History Of Righting Wrong Laws". Niagara Falls Reporter, n.p., 5 June 2012. Web. 5 October 2013.