Main Session Topic Announced

Resolved: In the United States, the principle of jury nullification is a just check on government.

This will be the LD topic for the two-week main session. This resolution is on the list for potential topics between Nov.-Dec. 2009 and Sept.-Oct. 2010. We think there is a good chance that this topic will be voted in by coaches; however, the guessing is never perfect. So, we also have chosen this topic because we think it will be a good teaching topic for camp. It raises a lot of classic LD issues for those beginning in debate and allows for more advanced debaters to go in some interesting directions.

If you haven't heard the term "jury nullification" before, you are still probably familiar with the idea if you watch any of the legal dramas on TV. Here is a definition from Doug Linder, a constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City: "Jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a verdict of 'Not Guilty' despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. The jury in effect nullifies a law that it believes is either immoral or wrongly applied to the defendant whose fate they are charged with deciding." Those in favor of jury nullification think it can be a way to generate justice when faced with immoral situations. Others think that this destroys the balance of powers/democratic process in our government by allowing juries to legislate in trials. One case that Prof. Linder gives as an historical example of jury nullification is the 1735 trial of John Peter Zenger, charged with printing "seditious libels" of the governor of the Colony of New York. Despite the fact that Zenger did print the materials, the jury found him "not guilty," and this was considered an important decision in terms of free speech. Some other potential examples discussed by authors: In the 1800s, individuals who harbored slaves in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act were sometimes found "not guilty" by juries in northern states. During prohibition in the 1930s, some juries acquitted individuals who violated the alcohol control laws. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who is known for assisting terminally ill patients with suicide despite this being against the law in nearly all states, has benefited from jury nullification when brought to trial.

Our schedule will require that cases be finished within the first four days of camp so that we can begin critiqued practice debates. This is actually more time than many camps give for case preparation, but it still is a highly tight crunch. It is recommended that students begin reading, researching, and learning about the topic prior to coming to UTNIF. Some more advanced students may choose to work on cases ahead of time, but this is not required. If case writing is something you are trying to improve, you may want to wait to get guidance from your instructors. Nevertheless, everyone can benefit from reading about the topic ahead of time and familiarizing themselves with the key issues. Very soon, articles will be made available to students via email and the blog. Check back for that research.

We are still trying to decide upon the resolution for the extension. That will be posted soon here as a comment to this message.