A very nice story from Missoula District Court. The scare-mongering and gnashing of teeth is classic. The government employees cannot contain themselves because they’re terrified of the power of The People.
The story screams and whines about not being able to seat a jury in a case because the jurors, during questioning, wouldn’t do what the judge wanted. Yes, literally. The jurors were asked if they could convict a person for possession of 1/16 of an ounce of marijuana. If they would not, they were not allowed on the jury. In other words, if you won’t do what the judge tells you, he doesn’t want you on his jury.
The DA and other lawyers were irate and baffled. The writer of the article was angry. But know what? That is almost exactly how the jury is supposed to work. The only step missed was that the jury shouldn’t have been asked that question before the trial. Instead, the case should have gone to trial, all those jurors should have been put on the case, and then when it was time for a verdict, they could vote to acquit. In that case, justice truly would have been served. Instead, sadly, the defendant plead guilty to something.
If you are ever called to jury duty, know your rights. In most cases, the judge will openly lie to you. Sorry, but that’s the truth. Any judge who says, “As a juror, you are to judge the facts and not the law” is lying. You CAN and SHOULD judge the law. That’s your job as a juror. If you, personally, don’t like the law, you get to say NO. And no, you will not be prosecuted for it — no one has been (one was tried, but the judge lost the case eventually).
The jury box is one of the last defenses against tyranny. Judge the law — that’s your job.
