Jury Nullification Protestor Out Of Jail, Vows To Continue To Hand Out Flyers, Files Federal Lawsuit Against Judge

by | Jun 7, 2013 | Outside the Shire

 

Mark Schmidter is a free man after spending 104 days in the Orange County Jail. He was convicted late last year of indirect criminal contempt by Chief Judge Belvin Perry for handing out flyers at the Orange County Courthouse in the months leading up to and during the Casey Anthony trial. He says his fight over free speech is not over.

Those flyers explained the right of jurors to nullify convictions if they thought the law was wrong, even if a defendant had committed the crime. Schmidter says he will jump right back into the fray now that he has served his time.

To read the entire article, watch news report, click here.

San Diego Mayor Urges‘Jury Nullification’ In Medical Pot Dispensary Case

by | May 22, 2013 | Outside the Shire

The concept of jury nullification is catching on nationwide. According to LibertyCrier.com:

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has injected himself into a federal criminal case against the operator of a medical marijuana dispensary, intensifying his standoff with federal prosecutors on cannabis enforcement issues.

Filner’s urging jurors who’ll be chosen for the trial to reject federal law in favor of state statutes under a centuries-old legal concept known as “jury nullification”– whereby jurors can refuse to convict people under laws they believe should not be applied.

 

To read the entire article, click here.

Miami: Jury Acquits Journalist Arrested While Videotaping Police

by | Nov 12, 2012 | Outside the Shire

A jury acquitted a Florida photojournalist who was arrested on January 31 while documenting the eviction of Occupy Miami protesters. The police accused Carlos Miller, author of a popular blog about the rights of photojournalists, of disobeying a lawful police order to clear the area.

– Timothy B. Lee, LibertyCrier.com

One thing that worked in Miller’s favor was that he was able to recover the videography that the police had erased, and use it against them in court.

Unfortunately for nearly all victims of police abuse, there is no evidence such as video.  In many of those instances the false accusations are assumed to be true, especially if all police involved tell the same lie. One wonders how many more  lives will be ruined or damaged by false witness on the part of police? False testimony aided by gullible jurors who refuse to believe that the police are just as human as the rest of us, just as given to sin and corruption can severely impact and victimize innocent people.