The Atlantic Says 'Everyday Americans' Must 'Protect the Law' From Trump and Embrace Jury Nullification

townhall.com

"No one is above the law."

Remember when that was the mantra of the Democratic Party? It, of course, only applies to Republicans. Career criminals with more than two dozen felonies or 14 arrests? Nope. The law doesn't apply to them.

Advertisement

Guys like James Comey, who lied to Congress? Nah. He gets a pass, too.

Now, The Atlantic is calling on 'everyday Americans' to obstruct justice via jury nullification.

Here's more:

Jury nullification is an old weapon against tyranny. America’s founding generation saw juries as charged with determining not just fact but also law—that is, jurors could decide to acquit the accused, even those who seemed guilty of what they were charged with, if jurors believed that the law itself was unjust. An 1895 Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Sparf, involving a murder at sea, officially stripped juries of the right to decide the law, ruling that they could consider only the facts of the case and how those facts relate to the law. Juries can still nullify, however, because judges have no authority to review a verdict of “not guilty.”

...

In some places, this is already happening. People called to serve on a grand jury in Washington, D.C., have consistently refused to aid the Trump Justice Department’s attempts to throw the book at people in marginal cases, such as those prosecuting people who protested ICE raids and the former Justice Department employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent. Jury nullification does not have to serve only elites. The wife who is indicted for obstruction for trying to protect her undocumented husband from being snatched by federal agents, the protester who is charged with assault for being thrown to the ground by a man with a badge and a gun—anyone charged or overcharged for resisting an unjust system of political persecution is entitled to the protection of a jury of their peers.

That category seems likely to grow. On Thursday, Trump signed a memo declaring his government’s intention to “investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts.” It is not difficult to imagine Trump attempting to prosecute those protesting his immigration policy on the grounds that, say, their criticism of ICE amounts to “isolating and dehumanizing” rhetoric that “foments violence” and therefore his Justice Department can prosecute political speech and association as precrime or thought crime.

Recommended

Advertisement

Of course, this is a slippery slope the Left won't like when applied to them.

But the writer, Adam Sewer, overlooks the reality of jury nullification. It's used when a jury believes the defendant is guilty, but the law is unjust.

So Sewer is saying that those charged and prosecuted by the Trump administration are, in fact, guilty. But juries should throw out the rule of law to stick it to the President.

Remember when that was a threat to democracy and a threat to our court system? Good times.

The proposition was soundly roasted on social media, where one person asked, "If his opponents are not guilty, why would juries need to nullify?" and another saying, "I’m sure I’m just overlooking Adam’s article on Biden’s war on Trump and his administration."

Another pointed out the glaring double standards:

"Rules for thee, but not for me" is the slogan of the Democratic Party.

"Again, welcome to the bottom of the slippery slope we all warned you about years ago," read one reply to the post.

Editor's Note: Radical leftist judges are doing everything they can to hamstring President Trump's agenda to make America great again.

Help us hold these corrupt judges accountable for their unconstitutional rulings. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.