Case Files
We are building the most comprehensive, online collection of legal cases about jury nullification, free speech in juror rights education, and other key cases in jury rights history. They are organized below in three categories, with cases in each category organized alphabetically (generally by last name or name of the group involved).
As we set up a case file for one of the below cases, it can be reached by clicking the case file name. Cases with clickable links appear in green and have a brief description below them. Check back in the future for new case files as we get them set up.
Jury Nullification Case Files
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Anthony, Susan B.
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Branch Davidian Trial
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Bushell, Edward
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Carriker, Kyler
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A jury acquitted Marine veteran and double amputee Melroy Cort of two felony charges for victimless firearms possession after he was arrested in Washington, D.C. with a pistol in his possession on the way to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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Hodges, John
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Kleinman, Noah
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Lee, Jae
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Moore, Tiawanda
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Penn, William
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Philadelphia Treason Trials
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In the throes of being hounded mercilessly by prosecutors threatening him with up to 50 years in prison for an intellectual property dispute that had already been settled privately to the satisfaction of the parties in the dispute, Aaron Swartz took his own life by hanging. David Segal, Swartz' Demand Progress co-founder, believes a thriving jury system with fully informed jurors could prevent something like this from happening in the future.
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Upstate Drone Action
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Willis, Antonio
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Woody, Elijah
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Zenger, John Peter
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A defense attorney moved before argumentation began to be allowed to argue jury nullification in this case by informing the jury of a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence they might consider unduly harsh for the crime charged. The judge agreed with the defense attorney and said he would permit it. Currently the trial is stayed pending outcome of the prosecution's appeal of this decision.
Juror Rights Educator Free Speech Case Files
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Mark Iannicelli and Eric Brandt were falsely arrested and incorrectly charged with seven felony counts each of jury tampering for sharing FIJA literature outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in Denver, Colorado. The charges were dismissed by the trial court. Denver's district attorney appealed this dismissal, and it was subsequently upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals. The current district attorney has again appealed, this time to the Colorado Supreme Court, which will review the case.
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Heicklen, Julian
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Mark Iannicelli and Eric Brandt were falsely arrested and incorrectly charged with seven felony counts each of jury tampering for sharing FIJA literature outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in Denver, Colorado. The charges were dismissed by the trial court. Denver's district attorney appealed this dismissal, and it was subsequently upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals. The current district attorney has again appealed, this time to the Colorado Supreme Court, which will review the case.
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Lamb, Luke
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Verlo, Eric; Janet Matzen; and the Fully Informed Jury Association
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Wood, Keith
Other Key Jury Rights Cases
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Batson v. Kentucky
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By a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld re-prosecution and additional punishment imposed by the federal government of petitioner Gamble for the same offense he pled guilty and was punished for in state court does not violate double jeopardy under the dual-sovereignty doctrine.
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Glasser v. United States