By Jon Augelli
Recently in Mecosta County, Michigan, a man was convicted of attempting to influence a jury - a misdemeanor which carries a one-year jail sentence - for distributing fliers on jury nullification outside of a court house.
In 2015, Keith Wood, father of 8 and a former pastor, was arrested for handing out roughly 50 fliers discussing juror rights, including the right of jury nullification – where the jury believes someone is guilty of breaking the law but does not convict him because the law is unjust or the punishment excessive. According to Wood’s testimony, he did not ask anyone he distributed literature to if they were potential jurors, nor did he obstruct the flow of pedestrian traffic. Only one trial took place that day, regarding an Amish man, Mr. Yoder, who drained a wetland on his property. Yoder took the plea, so the jury was not seated anyway.
Nevertheless, in Wood’s trial the court argued that the presence of such literature tainted the jury pool. The judge in Yoder testified against Wood saying that he was very concerned when he saw 12-20 jurors holding the pamphlets when they entered the courtroom and that he thought, “this was going to trash my jury trial, basically.” Wood’s defense attorney, David Kallman, tried to argue distribution of the pamphlets outside the courthouse was protected by the First Amendment, but the Judge ruled he was not permitted. "There were a lot of things we were prohibited from arguing to the jury," Kallman said. The trial took less than an hour before the jury (who, sadly, had not been given any of Wood’s pamphlets) found him guilty. Wood and his attorney intend to appeal the decision.
This is a horrifying precedent. How can a jury be effective if they are not educated of the full extent of their role and power? Jury nullification is critical in any free society because it gives the ultimate power, the power of conviction, back to the people. If they possess this, it no longer matters what the legislature passes. It is the last defense of the people against encroachment of their liberties by an overreaching government. Thomas Jefferson considered trial by jury, “as the only anchor, ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” All jurors must to be aware of the powers they possess in order to effectively dispense justice.
Our founders understood this well. A juror’s duty goes far beyond merely evaluating facts. John Adams explained that, “It is not only [a juror’s] right but his Duty … to find the Verdict according to his own best Understanding, Judgment and Conscience, though in Direct opposition to the Direction of the Court.” Viewed this way, a jury effectively wields more power than the legislature, because it can strike down or nullify laws it deems unjust, or punishments thought too extreme.
Sadly, the jury rarely serves this important role as a check on governmental power anymore. These days the justice system tries to obfuscate the true power of jurors from them. Judges no longer inform juries of their roles and rights, as they once did, and defense attorneys who inform juries without consulting the judge first can be cited for contempt. This is an abomination. If our country is to remain free, juries must be allowed to function as the founders intended. Juries must counter unjust laws like the war on drugs, mandatory minimum sentences, absurd licensing laws, bureaucratic overreach, and other injustices. Legislators and law enforcement do not rule over us, we rule over ourselves. The government is allowed power only by the consent of the governed. They would do well remember this, and we the people, especially as jurors, would do well do remind them from time to time.
Recently in Mecosta County, Michigan, a man was convicted of attempting to influence a jury - a misdemeanor which carries a one-year jail sentence - for distributing fliers on jury nullification outside of a court house.
In 2015, Keith Wood, father of 8 and a former pastor, was arrested for handing out roughly 50 fliers discussing juror rights, including the right of jury nullification – where the jury believes someone is guilty of breaking the law but does not convict him because the law is unjust or the punishment excessive. According to Wood’s testimony, he did not ask anyone he distributed literature to if they were potential jurors, nor did he obstruct the flow of pedestrian traffic. Only one trial took place that day, regarding an Amish man, Mr. Yoder, who drained a wetland on his property. Yoder took the plea, so the jury was not seated anyway.
Nevertheless, in Wood’s trial the court argued that the presence of such literature tainted the jury pool. The judge in Yoder testified against Wood saying that he was very concerned when he saw 12-20 jurors holding the pamphlets when they entered the courtroom and that he thought, “this was going to trash my jury trial, basically.” Wood’s defense attorney, David Kallman, tried to argue distribution of the pamphlets outside the courthouse was protected by the First Amendment, but the Judge ruled he was not permitted. "There were a lot of things we were prohibited from arguing to the jury," Kallman said. The trial took less than an hour before the jury (who, sadly, had not been given any of Wood’s pamphlets) found him guilty. Wood and his attorney intend to appeal the decision.
This is a horrifying precedent. How can a jury be effective if they are not educated of the full extent of their role and power? Jury nullification is critical in any free society because it gives the ultimate power, the power of conviction, back to the people. If they possess this, it no longer matters what the legislature passes. It is the last defense of the people against encroachment of their liberties by an overreaching government. Thomas Jefferson considered trial by jury, “as the only anchor, ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” All jurors must to be aware of the powers they possess in order to effectively dispense justice.
Our founders understood this well. A juror’s duty goes far beyond merely evaluating facts. John Adams explained that, “It is not only [a juror’s] right but his Duty … to find the Verdict according to his own best Understanding, Judgment and Conscience, though in Direct opposition to the Direction of the Court.” Viewed this way, a jury effectively wields more power than the legislature, because it can strike down or nullify laws it deems unjust, or punishments thought too extreme.
Sadly, the jury rarely serves this important role as a check on governmental power anymore. These days the justice system tries to obfuscate the true power of jurors from them. Judges no longer inform juries of their roles and rights, as they once did, and defense attorneys who inform juries without consulting the judge first can be cited for contempt. This is an abomination. If our country is to remain free, juries must be allowed to function as the founders intended. Juries must counter unjust laws like the war on drugs, mandatory minimum sentences, absurd licensing laws, bureaucratic overreach, and other injustices. Legislators and law enforcement do not rule over us, we rule over ourselves. The government is allowed power only by the consent of the governed. They would do well remember this, and we the people, especially as jurors, would do well do remind them from time to time.