History Main / CommonNonsenseJury

* ''MysteryAlaska'' has an incident where a local store owner is acquitted in the shooting of the representative of a Walmart expy who wanted to buy his store. Since he's local and the best hockey player in town, the jury finds him not guilty so he can participate in the BigGame against the NY Rangers. They also attempt to award him damages, but the judge rightly points out you can't do that in a criminal trial. He also lambasts the jury for putting the game above what's right. No one really cares.

Usually, a not-guilty verdict is intended to demonstrate the jury's outright gullibility (or [[JuryAndWitnessTampering intimidation]]), whereas an unfair guilty verdict indicates they were unable to see past some fear or prejudice against the defendant.

Occasionally, a surprise acquittal can be due to a phenomenon known as "jury nullification", in which the jurors return a "not guilty" verdict even though the prosecution has in fact proven their case. This is usually because the jury feels that extenuating circumstances justify the crime, or occasionally because they feel the law is unfairly applied or simply ''wrong''. There are two sides to this: A) The US legal system says that it is not the jury's place to decide what the law ''should'' be, but to come to a conclusion as to whether the law ''as it is currently written'' has or has not been broken. B) Nevertheless, jury nullification is legal in the US. A criminal court can't insist on a guilty verdict, an acquittal can't be appealed, and jurors can't be punished for a verdict. [[note]]There are circumstances where a judge can set aside an acquittal, but it's extremely rare and limited to cases of juror misconduct; the result is a mistrial, not a guilty verdict.[[/note]]

* ''Film/LiarLiar'' has Fletcher's secretary relate a friend's story of the "burglar sues the homeowner after B&E goes bad and wins" predicament to point out how he and other [[AmoralAttorney Amoral Attorneys]] [[NotSoDifferent are all alike]]. Fletcher insists he's not: [[spoiler: if he were the burglar's attorney, he would've gotten her friend for twice the money she lost]].

* During the court-martial of Pavel Young in ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Field of Dishonor]]'', the six-member officer panel is split between political ideologies. Three of the court's members refuse to convict on the charges regardless of the evidence due to the politics of the situation, though they initially claim it is because they do not believe the charges to be valid. Eventually, Admiral Sonja Hemphill admits that the facts of the case are irrelevant, she simply will not agree to the conviction[[note]]because she knows that if he was convicted of all charges, a declaration of war against Haven would never get through Parliament, risking the safety of the kingdom[[/note]], but because she is not completely amoral, she agrees to a compromise verdict that spares execution. The fallout of the trial leads the the remaining plot of the novel.

** A drug dealer claimed self defense in stabbing (7 times) an addict he'd threatened to murder over his mounting drug debts. His long criminal record and the complete lack of any supporting evidence prompt him to try and strangle the DA in open court in an unsuccessful bid to provoke a mistrial and delay the inevitable (the judge even refuses to grant it because he knows the guy's going down for murder). The not guilty verdict prompts the DA to [[HeroicBSOD break down]] into a tirade about juror stupidity.

** Jimmy once defended his cousin for firing a woman due to her Iranian heritage. His case literally amounted to, "she's a good person, but we should judge her for the actions of her countrymen". It works. The judge throws out the verdict, orders Jimmy's cousin to pay a hefty compensation, and delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Jimmy, his cousin, and the jury.
** Jimmy once defended a woman who stabbed a drug lord to death and the judge wouldn't allow them to plead self defense or defense of others. He managed to convince the jury to acquit.

* This was [[DiscussedTrope discussed]], if not necessarily demonstrated, in ''RunawayJury''.

* A frequent occurrence on the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' franchise. One of the most infuriating was in the SVU episode Screwed, where Darius Parker, Fin's brother-in-law/stepfather, a sociopath with a vengeance gets off scot-free on raping and murdering a woman and her baby because of his mommy issues. He gets a corrupt ex-cop for a defense who's feeding him dirt on the SVU detective's pasts provided to him by a police lieutenant with a grudge against their captain. His confession is thrown out because he keeps it a secret from the detectives that he has an outstanding warrant, so when they finally do get a confession, he's made it so it's inadmissible. He causes Elliot's daughter to be arrested for an old DUI, Fin's reputation to be tarnished, Captain Cragen to be in danger of losing his badge, and Olivia to be thrown in front of IAB. All because his mother, Teresa, was raped by her father and couldn't bear to raise him, so she posed as his aunt. He rapes and murders a woman, buries her 14 month-old baby alive, and takes the whole unit down because of personal issues that could have been solved by any half-decent therapist. And he's aquitted.

* A frequent occurrence on the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' franchise. Possibly the most infuriating was in the episode screwed, where a Darius Parker, Fin's brother-in-law/stepfather, a sociopath with a vengeance gets off scot-free on raping and murdering a woman and her baby because of his mommy issues. He gets a corrupt ex-cop for a defense who's feeding him dirt on the SVU detective's pasts provided to him by a police lieutenant with a grudge against their captain. His confession is thrown out because he keeps it a secret from the detectives that he has an outstanding warrant, so when they finally do get a confession, he's made it so it's inadmissible. He causes Elliot's daughter to be arrested for an old DUI, Fin's reputation to be tarnished, Captain Cragen to be in danger of losing his badge, and Olivia to be thrown in front of IAB. All because his mother, Teresa, was raped by her father and couldn't bear to raise him, so she posed as his aunt. He rapes and murders a woman, buries her 14 month-old baby alive, and takes the whole unit down because of personal issues that could have been solved by any half-decent therapist. And he's aquitted.

* A frequent occurrence on ''Series/LawAndOrder.'' Possibly the most infuriating was in the episode screwed, where a Darius Parker, Fin's brother-in-law/stepfather, a sociopath with a vengeance gets off scot-free on raping and murdering a woman and her baby because of his mommy issues. He gets a corrupt ex-cop for a defense who's feeding him dirt on the SVU detective's pasts provided to him by a police lieutenant with a grudge against their captain. His confession is thrown out because he keeps it a secret from the detectives that he has an outstanding warrant, so when they finally do get a confession, he's made it so it's inadmissible. He causes Elliot's daughter to be arrested for an old DUI, Fin's reputation to be tarnished, Captain Cragen to be in danger of losing his badge, and Olivia to be thrown in front of IAB. All because his mother, Teresa, was raped by her father and couldn't bear to raise him, so she posed as his aunt. He rapes and murders a woman, buries her 14 month-old baby alive, and takes the whole unit down because of personal issues that could have been solved by any half-decent therapist. And he's aquitted.

* A frequent occurrence on ''Series/LawAndOrder.'' Possibly the most infuriating was in the episode screwed, where a Darius Parker, Fin's brother in law/stepfather, a sociopath with a vengeance gets off scot-free on raping and murdering a woman and her baby because of his mommy issues. He gets a corrupt ex-cop for a defense who's feeding him dirt on the SVU detective's pasts provided to him by a police lieutenant with a grudge against their captain. His confession is thrown out because he keeps it a secret from the detectives that he has an outstanding warrant, so when they finally do get a confession, he's made it so it's inadmissible. He causes Elliot's daughter to be arrested for an old DUI, Fin's reputation to be tarnished, Captain Cragen to be in danger of losing his badge, and Olivia to be thrown in front of IAB. All because his mother, Teresa, was raped by her father and couldn't bear to raise him, so she posed as his aunt. He rapes and murders a woman, buries her 14 month-old baby alive, and takes the whole unit down because of personal issues that could have been solved by any half-decent therapist. And he's aquitted.

* A frequent occurrence on ''Series/LawAndOrder.'' In "Blue Bamboo" (S5-3), a woman stalked and killed the Japanese businessman who pimped her out as a sex slave to his clients. Her lawyer argued Battered Woman Syndrome, but the prosecution proved her testimony was plagiarized from textbooks on Battered Woman Syndrome, and since she was no longer in Japan (and thus completely free from the victim's grasp), her murder was revenge-motivated. The judge instructs the jury not to consider the Japanese's somewhat misogynistic culture in their verdict, but they acquit her anyway.

A jury defies all logic and common sense and comes back with verdict contrary to the evidence. It's not a JokerJury, JuryOfTheDamned or a KangarooCourt -- a group of regular citizens has come back with the wrong decision.

Usually, a not-guilty verdict is intended to demonstrate the jury's outright gullibility (or intimidation), whereas an unfair guilty verdict indicates they were unable to see past some fear or prejudice against the defendant.

In real life (principally in the USA) the "voir dire" process is meant to ensure that juries are made up of fair and impartial members who will treat the case seriously. In the UK and Commonwealth, it can include testing the competency of potential jurors. Still, a number of high-profile cases with unexpected outcomes have led to juries being described as "twelve people too stupid to get out of jury duty."

Occasionally, a surprise acquittal can be due to a phenomenon known as "jury nullification", in which the jurors return a "not guilty" verdict even though the prosecution has in fact proven their case. This is usually because the jury feels that extenuating circumstances justify the crime, or occasionally because they feel the law is unfairly applied or simply ''wrong''. There are two sides to this: A) The US legal system says that it is not the jury's place to decide what the law ''should'' be, but to come to a conclusion as to whether the law ''as it is currently written'' has or has not been broken. B) Nevertheless, jury nullification is legal in the US. A criminal court can't insist on a guilty verdict, an acquittal can't be appealed, and jurors can't be punished for a verdict. [[note]]There are circumstances where a judge can set aside an acquittal, but it's extremely rare and limited to cases of juror misconduct; the result is a mistrial, not a guilty verdict[[/note]]

* An episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' involves environmental lawyer Marshall Erikson in court against a corrupt MegaCorp for illegal dumping which resulted in an ecological nightmare in a particular lake. In a variation of this trope, he actually convinces the jury and they find the corporation guilty; but then the ''judge'' decides to all but waive the fines and any other consequences (from $25 million and jail time for the executives who knowingly polluted the lake down to a measly fine of $25 thousand) because the company is big and powerful and it was just some stupid lake.

* During the court-martial of Pavel Young in ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Field of Dishonor]]'', the six-member officer panel is split between political ideologies. Three of the court's members refuse to convict on the charges regardless of the evidence due to the politics of the situation, though they initially claim it is because they do not believe the charges to be valid. Eventually, Sonja Hemphill admits that the facts of the case are irrelevant, she simply will not agree to the conviction, but because she is not completely amoral, she agrees to a compromise verdict that spares execution. The fallout of the trial leads the the remaining plot of the novel.

* During the court-martial of Pavel Young in ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Field of Dishonor]]'', the six-member officer panel is split between political ideologies. Three of the court's members refuse to convict on the charges regardless of the evidence due to the politics of the situation, though they initially claim it is because they do not believe the charges to be valid. Eventually, Sonja Hemphill admits that the facts of the case are irrelevant, she simply will not agree to the conviction, but because she is not completely amoral she agrees to a compromise verdict that spares execution. The fallout of the trial leads the the remaining plot of the novel.

* A frequent occurrence on ''Series/LawAndOrder.'' In "Blue Bamboo" (S5-3), a woman stalked and killed the Japanese businessman who pimped her out as a sex slave to his clients. Her lawyer argued Battered Woman Syndrome but the prosecution proved her testimony was plagiarized from textbooks on Battered Woman Syndrome and since she was no longer in Japan (and thus completely free from the victim's grasp), her murder was revenge-motivated. The judge instructs the jury not to consider the Japanese's somewhat misogynistic culture in their verdict, but they acquit her anyway.

** Jimmy once defended his cousin for firing a woman due to her Iranian heritage. His case literally amounted to, "she's a good person, but we should judge her for the actions of her countrymen". It works. The judge throws out the verdict, orders Jimmy's cousin to pay a hefty compensation, and delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Jimmy, his cousin and the jury.

* The jury for Clay Davis's trial in ''Series/TheWire'', who are seemingly under the impression that massive campaign finance fraud ceases to be illegal if you give away all the money. Davis actually ''wasn't'' giving the money away, and was just as massively corrupt at the prosecution claimed; it's just that the jury were too dumb to see through his fairly wild - if articulate - lies of apparently handing it out by the pocketful to passing people in need.

* In the ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode "The Reichenbach Fall" Moriarty stands trial for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels. He was caught red-handed at the scene, there are plenty of witnesses and good quality security camera footage. At trial he offers no defense and the judge tells the jury that they have no choice but to convict. They return a unanimous verdict of 'not guilty'. [[spoiler: Moriarty [[JuryAndWitnessTampering threatened to kill the jurors' families]] unless they acquitted him.]]

* ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'' presents us with "Rumpole a la Carte," in which the chef at a [[FrenchCuisineIsHaughty posh French restaurant]] in London is on trial for a health violation--namely having a live mouse presented upon a customer's plate. Like most things in the health code this is a strict-liability offense: it doesn't matter ''why'' you did it, it only matters that the code was violated. However, Rumpole does his best to laugh the case out of court, and produces evidence that the mouse was planted as a complex plot by the cashier.[[note]]The chef's venomous French wife was divorcing him, and since they had been married under French law, she would get half of the profits from the restaurant via [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_property community of property]]. The cashier hated the wife and was desperately in love with the chef, so she cooked up the scheme to ruin the restaurant so the ex would get nothing.[[/note]] The jury acquits.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' when Haley points out that the innocent verdict they receive when being tried for destroying a mystical Gate is erroneous because, regardless of the surrounding circumstances, they are actually guilty of the charge. [[spoiler: It turns out that the entire trial was a sham orchestrated to get them to the city, and the "jury" was in fact Roy's father using an illusion.]]

** In one episode, an intern for the Black Panthers was sentenced to death for the murder of a cop despite the real killer leaving the gun with the receipt attached, his prints on the gun and shouting to everyone around that he was the murderer.

* ''Twelve Incompetent Men'' (and Women!)[[note]]Yeah, a pun on ''TwelveAngryMen''[[/note]] by Ian Mc Wethy is a short play based entirely on this premise. They have footage of the defendant committing his crime on camera. He even shouts out his name in the footage. The play starts with a judge saying that if it took more than thirty minutes for the jury to deliberate, he would be very disappointed in them. Needless to say, the verdict came back innocent.

* On ''Series/ThePractice'' a drug dealer claimed self defense in stabbing (7 times) an addict he'd threatened to murder over his mounting drug debts. His long criminal record and the complete lack of any supporting evidence prompt him to try and strangle the DA in open court in an unsuccessful bid to provoke a mistrial and delay the inevitable (the judge even refuses to grant it because he knows the guy's going down for murder). The not guilty verdict prompts the DA to [[HeroicBSOD break down]] into a tirade about juror stupidity.

* The jury for Clay Davis's trial in ''Series/TheWire'', who are seemingly under the impression that massive campaign finance fraud ceases to be illegal if you give away all the money.
** Note of course that Davis actually ''wasn't'' giving the money away, and was just as massively corrupt at the prosecution claimed; it's just that the jury were too dumb to see through his fairly wild - if articulate - lies of apparently handing it out by the pocketful to passing people in need.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' [[PlayedForLaughs plays it for laughs]]. In one episode, an intern for the Black Panthers was sentenced to death for the murder of a cop despite the real killer leaving the gun with the receipt attached, his prints on the gun and shouting to everyone around that he was the murderer.

* Due to the political stances of half the court, the court-martial of Pavel Young in ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Field of Dishonor]]'' refused to convict him of any of the charges that would have gotten him executed, even though their logic for doing so was explicitly declared invalid by standing court rulings. The aftermath of this caused the plot of the second half of the book.

* ''TheBoondocks'' [[PlayedForLaughs plays it for laughs]]. In one episode, an intern for the Black Panthers was sentenced to death for the murder of a cop despite the real killer leaving the gun with the receipt attached, his prints on the gun and shouting to everyone around that he was the murderer.

* On ''ThePractice'' a drug dealer claimed self defense in stabbing (7 times) an addict he'd threatened to murder over his mounting drug debts. His long criminal record and the complete lack of any supporting evidence prompt him to try and strangle the DA in open court in an unsuccessful bid to provoke a mistrial and delay the inevitable (the judge even refuses to grant it because he knows the guy's going down for murder). The not guilty verdict prompts the DA to [[HeroicBSOD break down]] into a tirade about juror stupidity.

* In ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'', Atticus Finch demonstrates the accuser Mayella's injuries were caused by a [[TheKillerWasLeftHanded left-handed individual]] while the defendant, Tom Robinson paralyzed his left arm in an accident. The jury of that time in the DeepSouth still convicted him, refusing to consider the idea that a black person could ever be WronglyAccused of a crime.

* In the ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode "The Reichenbach Fall" Moriarty stands trial for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels. He was caught red-handed at the scene, there are plenty of witnesses and good quality security camera footage. At trial he offers no defense and the judge tells the jury that they have no choice but to convict. They return a unanimous verdict of 'not guilty'. [[spoiler: Moriarty threatened to kill the jurors' families unless they acquitted him]]

* An episode of ''HowIMetYourMother'' involves environmental lawyer Marshall Erikson in court against a corrupt MegaCorp for illegal dumping which resulted in an ecological nightmare in a particular lake. In a variation of this trope, he actually convinces the jury and they find the corporation guilty; but then the ''judge'' decides to all but waive the fines and any other consequences (from $25 million and jail time for the executives who knowingly polluted the lake down to a measly fine of $25 thousand) because the company is big and powerful and it was just some stupid lake.

* In the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', it proved almost impossible to convict Ambrosia of any crime, even when she was caught red handed with both video and DNA evidence, because her lawyer managed to disqualify any woman who had a chance of landing on the jury. Her pheromone-driven power to cause all men to view her as attractive and friendly did the rest...

--> --'''Old joke'''

-->--'''Old joke'''

** [[ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell The Great White Shark]] was [[TooDumbToLive dumb enough]] to have his case transferred to Gotham City to skate on an InsanityDefense for embezzling millions from the life savings of his company's clients; dumb, because he winds up getting sent to [[BedlamHouse Arkham Asylum]]. The presiding judge lampshades the jury's idiocy for falling for his obvious lies, but takes comfort in knowing the white-collar "Shark" will be a mere guppy amongst the myriad of maniacs and psychopaths that Arkham houses.

Occasionally, a surprise acquittal can be due to a phenomenon known as "jury nullification", in which the jurors return a "not guilty" verdict even though the prosecution has in fact proven their case. This is usually because the jury feels that extenuating circumstances justify the crime, or occasionally because they feel the law is unfairly applied or simply ''wrong''. There are two sides to this: A) The US legal system says that it is not the jury's place to decide what the law ''should'' be, but to come to a conclusion as to whether the law ''as it is currently written'' has or has not been broken. B) Nevertheless, jury nullification is legal in the US. A criminal court can't insist on a verdict, an acquittal can't be appealed, and jurors can't be punished for a verdict. [[note]]There are circumstances where a judge can set aside an acquittal, but it's extremely rare and limited to cases of juror misconduct; the result is a mistrial, not a guilty verdict[[/note]]

** [[ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell The Great White Shark]] was [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy dangerously savvy]] enough to have his case transferred to Gotham City to skate on an InsanityDefense for embezzling millions from the life savings of his company's clients. The presiding judge lampshades the jury's idiocy, but takes comfort in knowing the white-collar "Shark" will be a mere guppy among Arkham's worst hardcore criminals.

Occasionally, a surprise acquittal can be due to a phenomenon known as "jury nullification", in which the jurors return a "not guilty" verdict even though the prosecution has in fact proven their case. This is usually because the jury feels that extenuating circumstances justify the crime, or occasionally because they feel the law is simply ''wrong''. There are two sides to this: A) The US legal system says that it is not the jury's place to decide what the law ''should'' be, but to come to a conclusion as to whether the law ''as it is currently written'' has or has not been broken. B) Nevertheless, jury nullification is legal in the US. A criminal court can't insist on a verdict, an acquittal can't be appealed, and jurors can't be punished for a verdict. [[note]]There are circumstances where a judge can set aside an acquittal, but it's extremely rare and limited to cases of juror misconduct; the result is a mistrial, not a guilty verdict[[/note]]