Yale Law Journal Quote

The right of the jury to decide questions of law was widely recognized in the colonies. In 1771, John Adams stated
unequivocally that a juror should ignore a judge’s instruction on the law if it violates fundamental principles: “It is not only ... [the juror’s] right, but his duty, in that case, to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the
direction of the court.” There is much evidence of the general acceptance of this principle in the period immediately after the Constitution was
adopted.

By:	Yale Law Journal (more quotes by Yale Law Journal or books by/about Yale Law Journal)
Source:	Note: The Changing Role of the Jury in the Nineteenth Century, Yale Law Journal 74, 174 (1964).
Categories:	Citizenship, Conscience, Constitution, Duty, Jury, Law
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