Federal jury instructions and the consequences of a successful insanity defense
Article Abstract:
Federal judges should remedy contradictory circuit court jury instruction policies and uniformly instruct insanity defense jurors about the consequences of a verdict favoring the defense. Accompanying such an instruction, however, should be a warning not to let the awareness of such consequences factor into the verdict. This will protect a defendant's right to an impartial jury and a fair trial while diminishing jurors' temptation to disregard the law to protect against the unknown but feared consequences of a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.
Publication Name: Columbia Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0010-1958
Year: 1993
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Villainous verdicts? Rethinking the nineteenth-century French jury
Article Abstract:
Close analysis of decisions rendered in French criminal courts from 1830 to 1865 refutes the claim that French juries were biased in favor of convicting property crime defendants. Nineteenth century French juries are often cited as examples of the failure of public participation in criminal proceedings, but French juries exhibited a complex understanding of evidentiary burdens and moral considerations. The verdicts are not easily reduced to statistical analysis, and any assessment must incorporate an understanding of specific evidence.
Publication Name: Columbia Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0010-1958
Year: 1996
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Informed conviction: instructing the jury about mandatory sentencing consequences
Article Abstract:
The general prohibition on jury instructions that inform juries of their nullification power should not be applied to cases involving mandatory sentencing. Citizen participation in the criminal justice system is intended to be a check on the potential for government oppression, and the risk of oppression is heightened in the mandatory sentencing context. The ban on jury instructions that communicate to the jury the right to nullify should not be reversed in general.
Publication Name: Columbia Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0010-1958
Year: 1995
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