Members of the Republican party in the U.S. House of Representatives have launched a serious battle against the practice of training jurors to sneak onto a jury and then impose their political ideology on the case, irrespective of whether that comports with the proper legal outcome or not.
In plain terms, that means delivering acquittals for leftists on trial, no matter their guilt, convictions for conservatives, and appropriately aligned monetary damages in civil cases.
The Washington Examiner said it is Rep. Julia Letlow, of Louisiana, who has proposed the new legislation that targets training programs “that encourage jurors to disregard evidence and the law to send a political message.”
The proposal would ban federal funds going to groups that train prospective jurors to defeat the supposed neutrality of the judicial system.
Further, an amendment also has been developed to require the federal judiciary to examine the extent of the corruption.
“The provision directs the Judicial Conference, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, to report to Congress within 180 days on whether organized jury nullification efforts are affecting federal jury management and on the safeguards that exist to address them,” the report said.
Targeted are “organized advocacy efforts” that lobby people to approach jury duty “with the intent to vote contrary to the evidence.”
Letlow told the Examiner, “Far-left organizations are training jurors to ignore evidence and acquit criminals — even when the facts are clear. It’s a shameful violation of the rule of law and must be stopped.”
One example of the damage from the agenda came last November, when a jury “declined to convict a former DOJ attorney charged with misdemeanor assault for throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.”
The training, the report said, apparently comes from groups like “Free DC,” which has held “Juror Information Project” training sessions, in which people are encouraged “to use jury service to influence trial outcomes.”
Another group, Freedom Trainers, allegedly has gone further, holding webinars and telling people how to boost their chances of being picked for juries.
The agenda encourages people to acquit defendants even when the legal elements of a crime are present, as a form of “noncooperation.”
The report noted, “South Texas College Law Professor Josh Blackman said anyone who might be engaging in jury nullification is ‘not disputing that the defendants committed the acts — they’re saying they don’t agree with the charges.'”
