Kort Explores conundrums of the human condition

My first unwanted education in the perversities of the criminal justice system occurred years ago, shortly after the first Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA) had been imposed on the prohibitionists by the direct vote of the citizens.

The California Supreme Court recently handed down a landmark decision that redefines the relationship between citizens and government. In the conclusion of the majority decision, the court declared: "We reaffirm, therefore, the basic rule that jurors are required to determine the facts and render a verdict in accordance with the court's instructions on the law. A juror who is unable or unwilling to do so is 'unable to perform his [or her] duty' as a juror and may be discharged."(1)

From/with information provided by
The Fully Informed Jury Association

The federal government has finally allowed a grudging token of justice in a case that has been dragging on since 1990. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the convictions of Darlene and Jerry Span on federal charges of "assaulting" federal officers.

No society can be absolutely free. Anarchy will not support the most basic infrastructure necessary for civilized existence. Any functioning society must maintain at least basic prohibitions against murder, robbery, etc. The extent to which these prohibitions are understood and voluntarily respected by the population determines the actual level of "freedom".

With material supplied by Fully Informed Jury Association

Are you as amazed and appalled at the outrageous verdicts our court system regularly delivers as I am? Every lawyer I've ever talked to has repeated that any trial is a "crap shoot" regardless of the facts and evidence - you can be absolutely right and still lose your case. I've recently seen and read a number of interviews of jurors in controversial cases complaining that they wanted to return a different verdict - sometimes exactly opposite the verdict they actually returned.