Judge Long, who hopes to be reelected this fall, is opening Pandora's box by appearing to tell jurors, from the authority of the bench, what they can read or think outside the specific parameters of the case at hand. You could have been infected with this dangerous legal concept from any of those sources. It is foolish for Long to make an issue of it. If word gets out that Judge Long and the bailiff think that this material, or prior knowledge of jury nullification, disqualifies a person from serving on a jury in Phelps County - people will be lining up to get copies. The Old Power Disease.
Judges like to think they are kings of OUR courtrooms.
Lawyers hope they can influence juries to render decisions in their favor because it enhances their business reputations. Both fear juries because they can't predict or control them. The unpredictability factor with the jury system is an unwelcome reminder that judges and lawyers don't really control everything and they just don't like that. Jurors do have power. That's the dangerous idea that has caused such a flap in the Phelps County Courthouse.