Jury Nullification, Pat Robertson, and Marijuana Prohibition

December 23, 2010
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Last week, a Montana judge admitted that it was increasingly difficult for the courts to seat a jury liable to convict over simple possession of marijuana.

This week, Reverend Pat Robertson is promoting the reform of America’s draconian drug laws:

“We’re locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana and the next thing you know they’ve got ten years – they’ve got mandatory sentences and these judges, they throw up their hand and say ‘What can we do, it’s mandatory sentences.’ We’ve got to take a look at what we’re considering crimes, and that’s one of them. I mean, I’m not exactly for the use of drugs, don’t get me wrong, but I just believe criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of just a few ounces of pot, and that kind of thing, I mean it’s costing us a fortune, and it’s ruining young people. The young people go into prisons, they go in as youths, and they come out as hardened criminals.

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  • buddah belly

    That is an excellent question Matt, I bet that is why they force so many deals on cannabis cases here, because there is no way a jury is going to convict…That is why Roger Christie is in Oahu, so he can’t get a jury of his peers…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

  • http://www.fija.org Kirsten

    The Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA.org) applauds those jurors who refuse to enforce bad laws against their neighbors such as the jurors in this case. If there is no victim, then there is no crime!

    We will be conducting an educational outreach campaign in Hawaii in 2011, and invite you to contact us if you are interested in protecting yourself along with your neighbors through the authority of the jury from abuse by government. Our contact information is on our website.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    • Thomas

      Thanks for the information Friends for Justice is interested in this I will check your website out.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

  • Dwight Kondo

    What my oppressor fears intrigues me most.

    Pinch a joint between your forefinger and thumb, light it, then a dark empire is revealed to you.

    Pot is safer than your government.

    Notice: A marijuana smoker is often confirmed by the absence of gold on his body. Maybe a wedding band at most.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

  • http://hawaiinewsdaily go lakers

    I never in my life thought I would see a television evangelical say what Pat Robertson said.

    Great video……….

    And absolutely true.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

  • Thomas

    The whole system is corrupt. How can we respect these laws. The are not just or fair. The people responsible for this undermining of our constitution, freedoms, and justice system are the real criminals, not our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, or the other Americans criminalized by these oppressive laws. The marijuana laws expose a far greater problem we have with our system of government in America. We have been taken over by special interest and about the only thing we manufacture in this country these days is criminals. I am sick and tired of seeing my friends, family and those of other Americans destroyed for the economic gain or career opportunity of a select “special” few.

    The politicians and prosecutors are the ones who belong in prison and hopefully one day I will sit on a jury that judges those responsible for these crimes against our country.

    They can not claim ignorance the evidence is clear, prohibition is a scam, and the more than 20 million Americans persecuted by it for cannabis are victims.

    Any who continue to persecute them going forward should be treated as the criminals they are. Destroying good Americans for nothing is sadistic, cruel, and destructive to our country. Long prison sentences with mandatory minimums would be appropriate for those involved.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

  • Matt Rifkin

    the part I don’t really get is…if the judge couldn’t seat a jury because the jury pool said it would not convict the man (at least of the possession charge)…how did he manage to force the guy to take a plea with regards to the selling charge? if they can’t sit a jury, shouldn’t all charges be thrown out?

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