The Municipal Court in Santa Ana that is responsible for arraigning hundreds of criminal defendants each week has come under fire from the public defender's office for allegedly sidestepping well-established judicial procedures, such as providing attorneys for poor defendants. And minority advocates have attacked the Orange County Grand Jury in recent months over its lack of minority representation, accusing it of insensitivity. But some judges remain skeptical over FIJA's aims. Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald E. Smallwood said the group is welcome to protest, but he does not anticipate any wide-scale juror revolt. Smallwood added that he is not concerned that FIJA leaflets or the protest will interfere with jury selection.
FIJA members believe that jurors have the inherent right to nullify the law.
Such a right would allow a jury to acquit a defendant in a case where there is evidence of a violation if jurors believe the law is unjust, supporters say. FIJA claims reform will lead to a fairer legal system and rid of government interference. The organization collected more than 500,000 signatures in California several years ago in a failed wffort to place a measure on the ballot that would require judges to advise jurors that they can judge the law as well as the facts in a case. A similar bill died in the Arizona date Senate this past spring. But Mottahedeh of FIJA said opponents of jury reform wrongly assume that 12 jurors would come together and agree to do the unthinkable - such as unleashing a child molester or convicting an innocent but unsavory defendant.