by L. Reichard White
April 20, 2024 - One of the strongest protections against run-away government was crafted into the Constitution of the American Republic by founder James Madison. It was trial by a jury of twelve of your randomly chosen peers.
The strength of this protection is seriously underrated. Since conviction requires unanimous agreement by the jury, any one of the twelve jurors can block any prosecution by simply voting “not guilty.” They can do this based not only on the asserted guilt or innocence of the defendant, but on the validity and acceptability of the law itself.
This is called “Jury Nullification” and was widely understood, accepted, and regularly used until around the time of the Dred Scott Decision.