Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine - Hardcover

Conrad, Clay S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1939709008 ISBN 13: 9781939709004

Publisher: Cato Institute, 2013

Synopsis

Juries have been delivering independent verdicts in the interest of justice for over 800 years, serving as the final check on government's power to pass unjust, immoral, or oppressive laws that leave citizens at the mercy of sometimes jaded or corrupt courts and legislatures. This was what the Founding Fathers feared, and this is the reason why they guaranteed trial by jury three times in the Constitution more than any other right. In Jury Nullification, author Clay Conrad examines the history, the law, and the practical and political implications of jury independence, examining in depth the role of nullification in capital punishment law, the dark side of jury nullification in Southern lynching and civil rights cases, and the purpose and legal effect of the juror's oath. This book should be of interest to historians, trial lawyers, criminologists, political scientists, and anyone interested in knowing how our criminal justice system works and how to make it better."

About this title

From the Author

Gratifying to see the responses
It is truly gratifying to see the responses this book has been getting. The book has been out less than four months as I type this, and the first printing is about seventy percent sold out.

Jury nullification is an extremely important topic for many reasons. Juries are, within their domain, the most powerful institution in America. However, few Americans know why the Founders were so insistent about the right to trial by jury (guaranteeing it three times in the Constitution and Bill of Rights - more than any other right) or what the intended role for juries was to be in this country.

While jury nullification has widely been discussed in the law journals, it has rarely come to light in the popular media - and when it has, usually inaccurately.

One reason jury nullification has so rarely been given a respectful hearing in the popular media is that juries are so routinely scapegoated for failures elsewhere in the system. The institution for generations has been the target of misguided abuse and criticism, while the fact that jurors have rarely abused their discretion almost never comes to light.

If this book can lead to enriching the popular debate on this topic with some history and respect, it will have served its purpose.

About the Author

Clay S. Conrad is a trial lawyer in Houston, Texas, with the law firm of Looney & Conrad, P.C.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cato Institute
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1939709008
• ISBN 13: 9781939709004
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 300