Jury Duty for Anarchists

Jury service has come up a few times this month. One of my fellow tenors in choir announced in choir parctice that he had successfully evaded jury duty by appearing to be a defendant-hating old curmudgeon (I am not sure if he really is one since he seems to be such a reasonable fellow otherwise). Moreover, my car pool conspecific recently served as foreman of a grand jury. This has set me to thinking. The jury is often the last line of defense against the juggernaut of the criminal justice system, and it is a shame that it has been domesticated to serve statist ends.

I think that jury service may present an opportunity for anarchists, minarchists and libertarians to make a difference and live their ideology. We would be able to exercise jury nullification in the case of unjust and noxious laws and to make the anti-state case to our fellow jurors. If I am ever called to a grand jury, I pledge to vote against indictment of anyone for drug charges or any offense that is not related to theft or violence. If I am on a criminal trial jury, I will vote to acquit any defendant charged with violation of an unjust law. I urge like minded folks to do the same if they are ever compelled to serve as jurors.