More examples of the overlapping powers between state and federal governments

Helping Justice Overcome a Flawed Policy


"Senator Durbin's bill is in line with the history and purpose of the American criminal jury system, which has been likened to the "fourth branch of government" and the "final check and balance." His measure would allow jurors to know whether the verdict they are asked to return would be a just one. If not, jurors could refuse to convict -- nullify the law -- on their own initiative. Durbin's bill will merely allow the jury system -- the conscience of the community -- to dispense, as Judge Hoyt so well put, "acts of mercy ... where the facts dictate morally and ethically that mercy is appropriate." "