Jury Nullificaion

A bill prefiled in the New Hampshire State House for 2017 would require state courts to fully inform jurors of their right to nullify.

House Bill 133 (HB133) would require courts to “inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy.” An unusually short and concise bill by modern standards, it reads, in part:

At the request of the defendant or the defendant’s attorney, the court shall instruct the jury as follows:  “If you have a reasonable doubt as to whether the state has proved any one or more of the elements of the crime charged, you must find the defendant not guilty.  However if you find that the state has proved all the elements of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt, you should find the defendant guilty.  Even if you find that the state has proved all of the elements of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt, you may still find that based upon the facts of this case a guilty verdict will yield an unjust result, and you may find the defendant not guilty.”

HB133 is an important piece of legislation, as it would bring to light the indispensable right of last resort for regular people sitting in the jury box to stand up against laws that violate their rights.

Source - http://www.activistpost.com/2017/01/new-hampshire-bill-require-courts-inform-juries-right-nullify.html

Many jurisdictions deny that any such right exists. However, what is the point of having a jury of your peers if it is not to rule whether the application of a particular law is unjust?

Here is some further discussion of this topic:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification_in_the_United_States