Fully Informed Jury Association - Criticism

Criticism

Some prosecutors and law enforcement professionals are strongly opposed to the notion that juries can nullify undesirable laws. FIJA has been accused of monkeywrenching the justice system. In 2008, Clay Conrad, author of Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine, quit the organization, stating that it was "so centered on jury nullification that it was ignoring the numerous threats that exist to the jury as an institution," as evidenced by the fact that the percentage of cases going to jury trial is continually shrinking. Executive Director Iloilo M. Jones described his parting comments as sour grapes motivated by his disappointment at not being able to shift FIJA's focus toward preparing attorneys to pursue jury nullification. FIJA has been condemned as a threat to the system of rule of law rather than rule of men. According to Erick J. Haynie, "it is highly questionable whether jurors should be instructed to 'make' the law when a legislative body has already done the job for them. Congress and the state legislatures have superior expertise, resources and perspective to make macro-social decisions, and much more time to reach a well-reasoned decision than does 'a group of twelve citizens of no particular distinction snatched away from their primary vocations' to spend a couple of days in court.'"