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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • Jury nullification is a byproduct of a couple other rules.

    • jury verdicts can’t be appealed based on outcomes
    • double jeopardy isn’t allowed
    • jurors can’t be held responsible for verdicts

    This means that if a jury returns not guilty, it’s over, which is what allows jury nullification. It’s not brought up because it’s technically a subversion of the process. It also has historically been problematic, and got people guilty of lynching off. The preferred alternative is an affirmative defense.

    Juries are given very detailed instructions that are agreed upon by both sides and the judge. How these are worded is generally as critical as any testimony during the trial. These instructions generally a sort of flowchart of questions that determines the verdict. Jury nullification requires explicitly ignoring those instructions.



  • A reactor isn’t a catalytic converter. They might get some coolant that’s mildly radioactive. The core would probably kill them if they ever managed to open it. There’s not a button to just open it, it’s only designed to be opened with heavy equipment in drydock.

    Dirty bombs are more of a boogie man than a real thing. High grade materials are dangerous to be around without shielding and can fairly easily be tracked. It’s just as likely to kill the makers before they can get a bomb together than be used. Lower grade materials require more to be dangerous, which means less spread with the same explosive, and the bomb has to be pretty big. It’s easier to get a backpack full of explosives into somewhere than a van full of radioactive material, and the backpack will have a bigger radius.