1. Jury Nullification
... in 1776. Early in American history, jury nullification decided the well-known seditious libel trial of John Peter Zenger. The journalist was put on trial for having criticized the royal governor of New York in his newspaper. Although the law at the time clearly prohibited publishing any statement ... praised as a hallmark of freedom of the press in the United States." (Iowa State Bar: Position Papers) Jury nullification again made its mark on American history in the mid 19th century. Northern jurors began to refuse to convict abolitionists who had violated the 1850 fugitive slave law. C...
- Word Count: 2789
- Approx Pages: 11
- Has Bibliography