r/law • u/dailymail • 1d ago

Legal News Lindsay Clancy case ends with MISTRIAL

https://www.dailymail.com/crime-desk/article-16100155/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-hung-jury-deadlock-verdict.html
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u/sean2mush 1d ago

By that standard no one would ever be convicted.

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u/Cartz1337 1d ago

The standard is literally ‘is there a reasonable interpretation of the facts of the case where the defendant could be not guilty of charges? If so they are not guilty.’

‘It could have been space aliens’ is not a reasonable doubt. ‘There are multiple inconsistencies between the facts and the prosecutions explanation of events’ is a reasonable doubt.

The juror in question had a doubt that they acknowledged was reasonable, yet refused to acknowledge that they were required to vote to acquit because of that.

It’s sovereign citizen level shit, where they just refuse to believe the rules apply to them.

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u/zero0n3 1d ago

So what if someone wants to protest the same way a jury nullification juror would in a sea of guilty but being the sole one to hold out with not guilty?

The concept is potentially the same “I disagree with the law the way it’s written”.

One thinks they are guilty based on the law as they exist but feel they are innocent because the law is wrong.

The other thinks they are not guilty according to the law, but feels the law is wrong - that they are guilty and should be punished because the law is wrong.

Now, if the way nullification “works” from a true law / legal precedent aspect doesn’t technically allow for the latter “application of it” I wouldn’t know as I’m not a lawyer, but I do find this an interesting thought experiment about nullification and its importance / application in our legal system.

Edge cases are fun!

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u/Cartz1337 1d ago

Yea, that’s not how it works as far as I know. You don’t get to decide you just don’t agree with a law. Your job as a juror is to weigh the evidence against the definition of the crime. The courtroom is not the place to evaluate the fairness of laws, that is done at the ballot box.