r/nottheonion • u/ArgentineBeauty • 19h ago

Reese Witherspoon Chosen as Jury Foreman After Jurors Thought She Went to Law School Because of Legally Blonde

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/reese-witherspoon-jury-duty-mix-1763528
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u/20_mile 17h ago

I guess the jury does get to toss out the law if they think the law is dumb

My brother was on a jury for a POC accused of selling drugs. Upon arrest, the cops threw him into the back of the cop car and filled it with pepper spray and let the guy choke for twenty minutes.

My brother and a couple of other jurors were able to convince the rest of the members that, even if he was guilty of the crime, he had already served his sentence, and shouldn't have to be punished a second time.

Not Guilty.

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u/wayoverpaid 17h ago

Legit.

In an ideal world "excessive brutality imposed by police has tainted this entire attempt at justice" would be a thing lawmakers would have to deal with, and confirm or deny if the cruelty is acceptable. We know it's happening, but now we have a clear instance, so sign your fucking name to it! No? Then let it be forever enshrined in case law that anyone who gets pepper sprayed in the back of a vehicle can use that as credit.

This is a half baked idea and I can see potential problems with it... but that guy was basically lucky he had the jury he did, and that should be made consistent.

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u/Shazzbot1 17h ago

I believe this is called jury nullification. They agreed the dude the crime, but they don’t agree that it should be punished.

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u/_thisisvincent 16h ago

Ohhh fuck jury nullification mention on Reddit

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u/pleasedothenerdful 14h ago

You never see that!

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u/Clovis69 14h ago

Shshshssssshhhhh...we can't use the JN words cause that makes the lawyers get all defensive and the judges act like it'll end the world

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u/Justausername1234 11h ago

Well, it's because mentions of Jury Nullification make reasonable people wonder about the opposite... What if the jury finds guilt in a person who they thought was innocent...

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u/LeastCoordinatedJedi 15h ago

Based jury, thanks for the weirdly uplifting-depressing story.

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u/SkyShadowing 16h ago

Working on a novel where this concept is touched on, shouldn't any lawyer worth their salt be trying to argue this is Outrageous Government Conduct?

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u/20_mile 13h ago

It all depends on the jury makeup. Will the people sitting care about punishment already served, or do they care more about technicalities, or the alleged amount of drugs?

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u/Awkward_Pangolin3254 14h ago

the cops threw him into the back of the cop car and filled it with pepper spray and let the guy choke for twenty minutes.

That's stupid as fuck for a whole host of reasons. What happens next time the officer whose car that was is driving down the road with their hands on the steering wheel, when suddenly their eye itches?

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u/MurderMelon 14h ago edited 6h ago

forward thinking

...

cops

pick one

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u/Terramagi 14h ago edited 14h ago

They pull over and find another black person to brutalize.

Fire hot, water wet, bird fly, sun shine, cop beat

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u/WesternOk5765 14h ago

Yikes that's disgusting that your brother refused to uphold the law.

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u/20_mile 13h ago

Yikes that's disgusting that your brother refused to uphold the law.

My brother was literally a member of the jury. Juries render verdicts.

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u/WesternOk5765 9h ago

Your brother is a dishonor to his country.