Via the blog Liberally Lean in the Land of Dairy Queen comes word of an outburst by a visiting judge in Tarrant County berating a jury for a not guilty verdict in a DWI case. See the brief transcript of his comments, in which he told the defendant he "absolutely [was] legally guilty of this offense" before declaring him "not guilty." Speaking directly to the jury, he compared their unanimous decision to the O.J. Simpson verdict, accused them of ignoring the law and their oath, and chastised them for engaging in "jury nullification," though he then acknowledged that even if that was the case, "you have a right to do that." Barry Green, author of LLLDQ, pointed out that:
The jury has an absolute right to disregard an Intoxilyzer result if they have a reasonable doubt about its accuracy. It's not jury nullification, it is following their oath and the law. How he doesn't know that is beyond shocking.MORE: From Texas Monthly's Daily Post blog.
It was visiting judge Jerry Ray who retired last year as district judge in Palo Pinto County. Before being judge, he was the elected District Attorney.
The jury has an absolute right to disregard an Intoxilyzer result if they have a reasonable doubt about its accuracy. It's not jury nullification, it is following their oath and the law. How he doesn't know that is beyond shocking.MORE: From Texas Monthly's Daily Post blog.
It was visiting judge Jerry Ray who retired last year as district judge in Palo Pinto County. Before being judge, he was the elected District Attorney.
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