Jury Nullification and How Attorney's Let Down Their Client And The Jury!

[Rose Lear]

Last night, I watched the "Good Wife" on TV. This is a show that replaced Boston Legal and deals with today's issues from a legal perspective.

This episode was especially good because it highlighted the Jury at work. The case was about a young college co-ed who was accused of shooting her roommate. All the evidence at times pointed to a guilty verdict and yet there were things that were questionable.

The girls mother changed attorneys right before trial so the defense was gathering new evidence as the trial was in progress, so the question of guilt bounced back and forth.

What was so interesting was the jury, 6 men and 6 women started out split on the first vote. Men not guilty and women guilty. But as things progressed, as they examined the testimony on witness, looked at each piece of evidence, and drew on their conscience, this group of very diverse people came together with a unanimous verdict.

The jury notified the court that they had reached a verdict and the attorney's were notified. This is where the defense got cold feet. They counseled their client to plead to second degree which carried a 10 year prison term. The charge was first degree which if convicted would have been 40 years in prison. The defense didn't trust that they had presented a strong enough case and didn't trust the jury. The problem with this is that the young lady was innocent of the charges.

The Jury felt let down when the judge told them that they were dismissed without being able to give their verdict. What would the jury verdict have been in this case? NOT GUILTY! The jury didn't feel that they were given enough to convict and has reasonable doubt.

Below is a link to a very important interview everyone should listen to about JURY NULLIFICATION.

CLICK HERE to listen to an interview on blog talk radio with Ilo Jones, Fully Informed Jury Association. Click on March 2010 in the Archives and then the last show in the top of the center column.