Informing jurors of their nullification power: A route to a just verdict or judicial chaos?

Abstract

The current studies sought to test whether explicitly informing jurors of their power to nullify the law does invite "chaos," defined by jurists as undisciplined and biased juror judgment. A series of 4 studies using 1,003 adult Ss examined juror biases predicated on defendant status, remorse, gender, national origin, penalty severity, and extenuating circumstances using mock jury scenarios. No verdicts were amplified by nullification instructions, providing little evidence that such instructions invite chaos with respect to the biases examined in these studies. To the contrary, several results suggested that nullification instructions simply encourage jurors to nullify when the strict application of the law would result in an unjust verdict. Limitations of the studies and public policy issues are discussed.

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