Liberal activists should do everything they can to get on a federal jury so they can vote against charges brought by the Department of Justice, according to a left-wing group.
As reported first by the Washington Free Beacon, a group called Freedom Trainers has been hosting webinars and distributing materials on “jury nullification.” The George Soros-funded group Community Change is the “fiscal sponsor” of Freedom Trainers. It claims to oppose “authoritarianism.”
The group aims to use “jury nullification” to resist the DOJ and exploit the jury process to resist Trump.
Materials obtained by the Free Beacon provide advice such as “Vote ‘not guilty’ for any reason you believe is just” and to consider if “anyone [was] actually harmed.”
The group also tells jurors to consider whether the law, in the individual’s view, is unconstitutional. Liberal politicians have claimed from the beginning that President Trump’s deportation efforts are unconstitutional.
Both the DOJ and a legal expert criticized the efforts to undermine the federal jury system for political aims.
“While we respect jurors’ role in the judicial process, the Department takes jury nullification and interference with official proceedings extremely seriously,” the DOJ told the Free Beacon. “Any group attempting to improperly influence juries who should serve as impartial arbiters of evidence should be held accountable.”
The Judicial Crisis Network also condemned the malfeasance.
“These latest attempts challenge the constitutional right to an impartial jury and, even worse, encourage citizens to bypass laws passed by our elected representatives,” President Carrie Severino told the Free Beacon. “This is just one more aspect of the legal system these extreme groups are trying to infiltrate.”
This is not the first time jury nullification has been proposed as a way to undermine legitimately passed laws.
In 2022, a Wesleyan University professor, along with several other legal scholars, floated the idea of jurors voting to acquit anyone charged with violating pro-life laws.
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