The decision came as little surprise to legal scholars and criminal attorneys. Even so, juries have and will continue to acquit criminal defendants based on their beliefs that the crimes charged should not be criminal offenses. It's an age-old practice dating to at least colonial times, when publisher John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel against the colonies' British rulers. Today, California juries acquit some marijuana offenders who claim the drug eases pain and suffering from cancer, and in some cases, they set free repeat offenders facing life sentences for shoplifting under the three strikes law. A criminal defendant in California isn't acquitted when a jury is split, a concept known as a hung jury.
Prosecutors can retry a defendant and often do after a hung jury.
Most states, including California, demand unanimity to convict or acquit in criminal trials. Prosecutors are free to retry the case after a hung jury. The jury nullification case the high court decided yesterday tested for the first time what to do when a California judge learns that a juror isn't upholding the law. Generally, judges are powerless to alter verdicts that are favorable to defendants when juror misconduct occurs behind their backs. California judges now have the power of the law on their side when it comes to finding out about jury misconduct.