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The Des Moines Sunday Register
January 18, 1998, page 3B
letters@news.dmreg.com
Lawyers, group debate merits of jury nullification
By FRANK SANTIAGO
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Lawyers squared off Saturday
with members of a group that claims juries should have the power to nullify laws they
believe are wrong.
It was the first meeting between members of the
state's established bar and the Fully Informed Jury Association of Iowa, which supports
untraditional measures such as having jurors, rather than judges, say what law, if any,
applies in a criminal case.
Debated before a dozen onlookers at the Des
Moines Botanical Center, the issues showed a clear division: The advocates claim the
authority to nullify dates to 13th-century England and the Magna Carta; the lawyers
maintain that while the judicial system is flawed, jury nullification is an unsound
concept that would open the door to legal chaos.
"We've got the best system in the
world," said Maggi Moss, a prominent Des Moines defense lawyer. "There are
ways to change it but not in front of a jury."
Victor Dietz, a Davenport lawyer with the
association, contended, "I would like counsel to stand up, go to the rail and tell
the jury my client did exactly what he was accused of doing, but the law was wrong and he
shouldn't go to prison."
Nan Horvat, assistant Polk County attorney,
said the judicial system is best changed by traditional means.
"If you chose to be in the arena, you
should respect it," she said. "When you put yourself in the arena, you
abide by the rules."
The meeting was the eighth annual gathering for
the organization, among whose members are people who oppose the state's seat-belt law and
marijuana laws.
Larry Dodge, founder of the national
organization with 2,500 followers, told the meeting that the jury "has a political
function."
Dodge, who lives in Dallas, said, "The
only effective way of fighting back is for the jury to turn in verdict after verdict that
disagrees with the law. This is nothing new."
Fredd Haas, president of the Iowa Trial Lawyers
Association, argued: "You don't want politics in a jury. You want common sense
and good morals."
Frank Santiago's phone number is
(515) 284-8528. The e-mail address
is: santiagof@news.dmreg.com
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