Nullification. What is it? Who can do it?

Coach is Right ^ | 4/22/15 | Ed Wood

[Oldpuppymax]

Nullification. It’s a word being kicked around a lot these days — from radio talk show hosts, to TV journalists, to the halls of legislature.

I guess the more recent idea came from the 1976 film “Network,” starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall and others. In the film, fictionalized TV news anchor Howard Beale became so enraged that he publicly challenged his viewers to shout out of their windows, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!”

Nullification is sorta’ like that. As noted previously in these pages, our elected officials are passing literally thousands of new laws every year, each preventing us from doing one thing or the other. I have challenged you, the reader, to identify just one human activity that is not controlled by one or more government rulings. No takers.

But the fictitious news anchor Howard Beale wasn’t the first to reach the end of his rope. How about Dr. Martin Luther King? If course, he called it “civil disobedience.” And he not only got away with it, but has been idolized ever since for having practiced it.

How about Ferguson? Were those just protesters seeking redress of their grievances through their version of “civil disobedience”? Attorney General Holder and the Revered Al Sharpton seemed to think so, but I imagine those whose shops were looted, pillaged, and burned might have other words for it.

So what do we do when we are subjected to laws we feel are improper — even unconstitutional? The simple answer has always been to get enough people of like mind together, and influence our lawmakers to change them. And if they won’t, change the lawmakers who made them. But in this era of professional “public servants” remaining in office for...

[Amendment10]

Obama & Thugs unthinkingly blame Bush for everything.

But if patriots were to blame everything on the 17th Amendment, then they’d probably be at least be partially right most of the time imo.

Both the federal budget from hell and the need to nullify unconstitutional federal laws these days are a direct consequence of the ill-conceived 17th Amendment imo.

The 17th Amendment needs to disappear.

[SpeakerToAnimals]

I was on a jury. The judge told us nullification was illegal. The defendant was acquitted.

[Dalberg-Acton]

“In a jury trial, a directed verdict is an order from the presiding judge to the jury to return a particular verdict. Typically, the judge orders a directed verdict after finding that no reasonable jury could reach a decision to the contrary.”

Judge overstepped his bounds. What is a jury for, in that case?

[MrB]

In certain jurisdictions, it has become known that no jury will convict young “minority” men of any crime,
so the DA has to plea deal on every one of them,

regardless of how heinous the crime.

[OneWingedShark]

Judge overstepped his bounds. What is a jury for, in that case?

Precisely right.
I think there's more than a bit of a push in the legal system to make juries essentially rubber-stamps — especially grand juries.

[Salvey]

In 1995, I was watching the OJ Simpson criminal trial in a public place when a black cleaning woman came by, looked up at the screen, then turned to me and said, "I could never find a black man guilty." Nuff said.

[TBP]

Jury nullification is a foundation of one of the essential, protected rights in the Bill of Rights.

John Peter Zenger was tried in Colonial days for criticizing the King in his newspaper, which he absolutely had done. The jury found him not guilty because the found teh law against it to be fundamentally improper because it violated Zeger’s (and their) fundemental rights.

[TBP]

Even then, the jury may, if it wishes, find otherwise.

[sphinx]

Obama has established that the president can ignore any law he dislikes. Perhaps it’s time to expand the precedent.

[GodAndCountryFirst]

Because the states are sovereign, they can nullify any federal law to keep it from having effect inside their borders. I can’t explain why no state has formally nullified the unconstitutional, freedom-killing Obamacare law. But we may yet see that happen.

[1Old Pro]

There is jury nullification and there is something more prevalent, Reality nullification. Reality nullification is like when the media and acedemia and liberal talking heads all promote the "Hands up don't shoot" lie, it never happened, it wasn't real. That is just one example. Another is how the media, almost daily now shows White on Black violence and never Black on Black violence. This promotes a misconception - it is reality nullification.

[Leep]

Reality nullification

Ah, the New World Disorder.

[Canedawg]

The Network scenario wasn’t nullification, it was acting out anger. JMO

[Canedawg]

“Even then, the jury may, if it wishes, find otherwise”
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Uh, no.

A directed verdict is a judgment as a matter of law if the criteria are met.

A motion for Judgment Notwithstanding Verdict (JNOV) also allows the judge to rule contrary to the verdict, and his ruling is appealable.