JURY NULLIFICATION

A sanctioned doctrine of trial proceedings wherein
members of a jury disregard either the evidence
presented or the instructions of the judge in order
to reach a verdict based upon their own con-
sciences. It espouses the concept that jurors should
be the judges of both law and fact.
The traditional approach in U.S. court sys-
tems is for jurors to be the “triers of fact,” while
the judge is considered the interpreter of law
and the one who will instruct the jury on the
applicable law. Jury nullification occurs when a
jury substitutes its own interpretation of the law
and/or disregards the law entirely in reaching a
verdict. The most widely accepted understand-
ing of jury nullification by the courts is one that
acknowledges the power but not the right of a
juror or jury to nullify the law. Jury nullification
is most often, although rarely, exercised in crim-
inal trials but technically is applicable to civil tri-
als as well, where it is subject to civil procedural