I’ve bee watching the Brooks vs state trial, and before he makes his closing argument, the judge tells him NOT to inform the jury of their power to nullify the law.
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The Jury is only supposed to make decisions based on the law.
But the legal system is not allowed to see the reasons juries make a decision, and can not change that decision.
So if a jury thinks a law is unjust, they can declare someone not guilty, even if the evidence is clear that they broke that law, and the decision can never be reversed.
This is called jury nullification. It is technically not allowed, but it can happen as a consequence of hownthe legal system works.
Note that sometimes it can be used for “good”, like a jury deciding that someone should not be put in prison for life for a minor crime, but it can also be used for “evil”, like when Southern juries would refuse to convict for racist lynchings.
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