Mark Iannicelli has been charged with 7 counts of jury tampering. He did not pressure jurors in a case to vote one way or the other. All he did was set up a booth near the courthouse and distribute pamphlets that contained information about jury nullification–the idea that jurors should be able vote according to their conscience. Prosecutors were so outraged by this that they want Mr. Iannicelli imprisoned. Free speech is nice, but they apparently think the supreme law does not apply as you approach the, er, courthouse. Hmm.


Are the prosecutors aware that judges in other jurisdictions have dismissed charges in such circumstances? If so, this could be just a thuggish attempt to intimidate people from exercising their right to talk about jury nullification.


To learn more about this subject, check out the Cato Institute book, Jury Nullification by Clay Conrad. But Denver residents had best be careful about where they take the book and talking about it above a whisper.