| REDRESS |
|
|
|
BALLOT QUESTION WOULD LET DEFENDANTS CHALLENGE LAWS By Joe Kafka, The Associated Press, Reported in Las Vegas Review Journal, 09-23-02 PIERRE, S.D. - A measure on the South Dakota ballot in November would allow defendants to tell juries they can disregard a law if they don't like it, a prospect that has the legal profession aghast. Amendment A would let people accused of crimes argue that a law should not apply to their circumstances or that it has no merit. The practice is known as jury nullification. The proposed amendment to the South Dakota Constitution was put on the ballot after more than 34,000 signatures were gathered by a group that includes at least one advocate of legalizing marijuana use. The idea also could appeal to the libertarian right, tax protesters, gun owners and abortion foes. Opponents say the measure would cripple the legal system. "it is very offensive to those of us who believe in the constitutional form of government and common law," said Robert Miller, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Miller said the measure might be unconstitutional. "I think it has a lot of appeal for the small segment of our population that has no trust for government and especially no trust for courts and lawyers," he said. Jury nullification is not a new concept. Over the years, juries refused to convict people who harbored runaway slaves before the Civil War, sold alcohol during Prohibition or resisted the draft during the Vietnam War. | |
|
|
||
|
WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN FAIRNESS
| ||
|
| ||
