Question About Jury Nullifications

[Kingpoleon]

Can a jury nullification be appealed?

[Dereich]

No. In the standard jury trial the judge's role is to make findings of law while the jury makes findings of fact. Appeals are the same way; appellate judges can't challenge the jury's findings of fact, only the trial judge's findings of law. The jury is instructed of this division of duties and is expected to obey it. If you find some evidence that a juror intends to nullify before or during their deliberations (IE them admitting to someone else that they plan to do so or they make a pro-nullification statement during the trial) then they can possibly be removed without issue unless they've "poisoned the rest of the jury" with the idea. But after they've reached their verdict? No dice.

Jury nullification can't be appealed for a few reasons. For one, how do you prove that the jury verdict was based on nullification? All the jurors agreed under oath that they were making a verdict based on the facts. No monitoring or recording of jury rooms is allowed. Even if they later say that they chose to nullify, they could be lying for all anyone knows. The other big reason is that it opens the door to the even worse counterpart of jury nullification: judges openly putting their own interpretation of the facts above that of the jury. Nobody really wants a judge picking at a jury's reasoning and substituting their own; it undermines the fundamental right to trial by jury. The faith in juries necessary for the system of trial by jury to work is what created the loophole of irreversible nullification in the first place.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Haven't there been enough cases where judges and attorneys thought nullification took place and nothing has happened afterward?  I'm quite sure.  I don't know if there's case law striking down any appeals but I'm sure some attorney(s) have tried to appeal before.

[Torie]

My first year law prof in civil procedure was a big believer in jury nullification, and so am I. And there is not a damn thing anybody can do about it. If the law does a grave injustice in a particular instance (e.g., sending a kid to the slammer for 3 years for possessing drugs), you nullify.