Assertion: jury | /r/CapableOf | nullify law
Facets:
value: by acquitting a defendant
type: MANNER
value: entirely
type: DEGREE
value: effectively
type: MANNER
value: in reaching a verdict
type: TEMPORAL
value: in order to achieve justice
type: PURPOSE
Source sentences:
text: On October 24, 2014, the New Hampshire Supreme Court effectively nullified the law, holding that the wording of the statute does not allow defense attorneys to tell juries they can "nullify" a law.
text: But did you know that, unlike judges, juries historically have been able to ignore the law in order to achieve justice in individual cases that involve unjust rules or their unjust application?
text: If a jury believes a law is unjust or unfair, it can reject that law.
text: Jury nullification occurs when a jury substitutes its own interpretation of the law and/or disregards the law entirely in reaching a verdict.
text: In other words, it is "the process whereby a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her.
text: In 1735, journalist John Peter Zenger was acquitted in New York by a jury that nullified a law making it a crime to criticize public officials.