A House committee is investigating two Washington, D.C.- based organizations for allegedly training members in jury nullification.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform accused Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams of holding “jury nullification training sessions to instruct potential jurors in how to navigate juror vetting and subvert lawful prosecutions in the District of Columbia,” according to a letter from Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to Free DC Executive Director Keya Chatterjee and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams board member and former co-conductor Qiana Johnson.
Jury nullification happens when jurors reject the evidence or refuse to apply the law “either because the jury wants to send a message about some social issue that is larger than the case itself, or because the result dictated by law is contrary to the jury’s sense of justice, morality, or fairness,” according to Cornell Law School.
In the letter, Comer refers to an Aug. 12 session of the Juror Information Project, a collaborative initiative between Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, where participants discussed “what it really means to serve on a jury and how we can use that role to protect our people especially those with marginalized identities who are disproportionately targeted by the criminal legal system,” according to an event description posted by Grassroots DC.
“It is clear that the position of Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams is that potential jurors should not make decisions impartially based on applying the law as instructed to the facts presented before them in the case, but based on their subjective, personal beliefs and activist agendas,” Comer wrote.
News4 reached out to Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and Free DC but has not heard back.
