# A hopefully quick criminal law/jury question.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hopefully-quick-criminal-law-jury-question/446941>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 26, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hopefully-quick-criminal-law-jury-question/446941 "2008-04-26T03:15:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hopefully-quick-criminal-law-jury-question/446941/21 "2008-04-26T20:50:36Z")

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“Side A” here sounds an awful lot like a “Grand Jury.” There, the defense does not have a say, because the defendant isn’t being charged. Rather, the Jury is saying whether or not the prosecution can even go to trial. So while the jury can evaluate the credibility of a witness, the usual question is whether or not the prosecution has enough evidence to even go to trial.

This may sound unfair, but it’s a brake on the prosecution. The defendant still gets his trial and all, but this is an added hurdle for the prosecution.

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hopefully-quick-criminal-law-jury-question/446941/22 "2008-04-26T21:02:27Z")

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[QUOTE=friedo]  
And as a bonus, while trial judges in many jurisdictions have the power to disregard a jury’s guilty verdict  
[/QUOTE]

A supplemental to the supplemental: why is this?

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hopefully-quick-criminal-law-jury-question/446941/23 "2008-04-26T23:42:23Z")

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[QUOTE=Campion]  
…Because nullification is illegal (i.e., it is not a power that a juror legally may exercise), an attorney arguing for nullification is subject to sanctions, and may have caused a mistrial depending on what he actually said…  
[/QUOTE]

But jurors can’t actually be punished for nullifying and the prosecution has no way of appealing the verdict, do they?

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