A JURY IS A LAW UNTO ITSELF (2 of 4)

Editor -- It's hard to understand how someone so ignorant of the American
jury system can become a judge.

Jury nullification is not only constitutional, it was touted as a virtue by
most of the Founding Fathers. The writers of the Constitution were men who
had seen firsthand the tyranny of a legal system that ignored people's
rights and they were determined that citizens of the United States would
have the power to overturn bad laws by ignoring them and acquitting
regardless of the "evidence."

Judge Quentin Kopp's fears about the integrity of the judicial system are
wildly exaggerated because it is almost unheard of for a jury to ignore the
evidence and acquit for real crimes such as rape, armed robbery, kidnapping
and murder. Juries are not crazy or frivolous, and when they nullify they
do so with serious intent.

Kopp seems to forget that the cases in question here involve medical
marijuana, not crimes against people.

The "invidious debasing of our judicial system" comes from "Reefer Madness"
laws based on the most ridiculous fictions in legislative history. The lies
used to outlaw marijuana are so ridiculous that the proper response to the
term "marijuana crime" would be gales of laughter aimed at Kopp and any
other proponents of marijuana prohibition, except for the fact that putting
people in jail for "Reefer Madness" is no joke.

REDFORD GIVENS

San Francisco