JONATHAN TURLEY

In Orange County, Florida, the city elders do not like people feeding the homeless, so they made it a crime. Notably, the police had both video evidence and eyewitness testimony from policy officers that showed that Eric Montanez was committing the offense. But the jury found him not guilty anyway. It appears an example of jury nullification where a jury will ignore the evidence and reach what they consder to be the morally (if not legally) correct ruling. For the full story, click here Courts will often instruct jurors against jury nullification but it is ultimately the domain of the jury to reach a verdict. Montanez faced 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.