Comment by altacc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by altacc | Hacker News Reader

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In the UK jury nullification came into the spotlight at the beginning of this year when four people who helped topple a statue of a slave trader in Bristol were found not guilty by a jury, even though they admitted doing so and there was video & photo evidence. The jury decided that they had acceptable reasons for their actions. [1]

The reaction from the right wing government and its supporters was barely short of apoplexy, followed by promises to appeal the verdict and change the law to remove this as an option for juries. (So far I don't believe any such legal changes have been made.)

Jury nullification is one of the strengths of the jury system, allowing a representation of the public decide if an act was truly criminal, and should be protected, otherwise it's just 12 people following a decision tree and no better than trial by judge.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/05/four-cleared...

The Bristol Four acquittal was not an act of jury nullification.

Under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, no offense is committed if there is a "lawful excuse" for the damage.

The defence argued that there was a lawful excuse on several grounds:

1. The defendants believed they were preventing a more serious crime (public indecency because of the statue's offensiveness).

2. The defendants believed the statue was owned by the citizens of Bristol (as stated on its plaque), who they believe consented to its removal.

3. Their right to freedom of expression and assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judge instructed the jury that they were allowed to consider questions such as the statue's offensiveness in deciding whether these excuses applied.

Huh? I had no idea the UK had juries. I live in a former colony where we don't have juries and just assumed the same would be true of the UK.

Juries originated in UK common law, the US mostly inherited the idea from there.

If you don't mind me asking, which colony is that? Would be interesting to know how that came about

UK got to A/B test governance systems

Fiji

> Jury nullification is one of the strengths of the jury system

I personally find jury nullification as the ultimate form of democracy.

I'm not sure it's democratic when 12 people can override the laws created by the representatives of millions, but it certainly is a hedge against tyranny.

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