Donahue (pt. 3) - Racially Based Jury Nullification with Professor Paul Butler

On this episode of Donahue, Professor Paul Butler of George Washington University Law School discusses his theory of strategic jury nullification as outlined in "Racially Based Jury Nullification: Black Power in the Criminal Justice System," his article published in the Yale Law Journal. He is joined by Emerson Elliot (President of New Jersey's Fully Informed Jury Association), Keith Waters (President of the National Bar Association), and Amy Jackson (Former D.C. Prosecutor).

Since the production of this piece in 1995, Professor Paul Butler has modified his original thesis and now advocates what he calls "strategic jury nullification 2.0." Professor Butler argues that the criminal justice system is broken, not just in regards to African-American defendants, but indeed to all of society. In his book, Let's Get Free, Professor Butler criticizes America's "lock 'em up" culture, and he argues that, before voting to convict, jurors should always consider the fairness of the law under which the defendant is prosecuted and the societal costs of incarceration. Specifically, he argues that jurors should nullify when the defendant is charged with a non-violent and victimless crime, such as drug possession or drug dealing between consenting adults.

This is the third segment of this episode.

For the first segment of this episode, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z5vKEEEsOI

For the second segment of this episode, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_M_kXEmdw

For the fourth segment of this episode, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IGolxM-P8E

For the fifth segment of this episode, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KaK8w8kHTM

For the sixth segment of this episode, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d90a0cCXLLQ


For more information on jury nullification, see:
http://www.jurorsforjustice.com

Also, see Professor Paul Butler's book, Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice.
http://www.letsgetfreethebook.com

For more on Professor Paul Butler, visit:
http://www.professorpaulbutler.com

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Jury Nullification
• Professor Paul Butler
• Paul Butler
• criminal law
• justice
• race in America

[4usNojustice]

Professor Butler is a Warrior Attorney

[dedicateddad]

Oops.

Should be:

"...Imprisoning people - for anything that does not harm another person against their will - IS MORALLY WRONG..."

[dedicateddad]

Instead of focusing on "non-violent" you should be focusing on "victimless."

Imprisoning people - for anything that does not harm another person against their will.

Folks who harm only themselves do not belong in prison. Further, ANY law restricting what I may do - providing I harm nobody else - is unjust and should be nullified.

You'll also note I made no distinctions of race - nor should you. I HOPE the years have served to teach you that injustice is what justice SHOULD be: COLORBLIND!