Quoted:
Where is the jury supposed to draw the line between the facts and the law in a case?
Consider, for instance, section 2923.12 of the Ohio Revised Code:
"No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on his or her person or concealed ready at hand, any deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance."
If the case of someone charged under this law came before a jury, would the decision of whether the deadly weapon in question was "ready at hand" be a matter of fact or of law?
Suppose the defendant was carrying an unloaded Ruger SP101 in a concealed shoulder holster and had five loose .357 rounds in his pocket. The defense argues that an unloaded gun isn't "deadly" and that the gun couldn't be loaded quickly enough to be considered "ready at hand". The prosecution disagrees. How does the jury decide?
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I sat on a jury last year. The case was about a guy this cop busted for DUI. When we went to the jury room and viewed the video the cop took, I won over four people that wanted to hang the guy, using a statement the prosecuting attorney made, she said "you must take into account he human condition"
This guy was not driving when the cop stopped him, his wife was. The cop said when the couple passed him while he was sitting along side the road, their eyes met and and he thought the guy look nervous.
The couple pulls in next to a convenience store, where they have an argument and he downs about a half of pint of whiskey and she gets into the drivers seat and they proceed on their way.
Now about 15 minutes has passed, and as the woman, now driving pulls out, the cop decides to stop them.
He gives the guy a sobriety test and he fails, so he arrest him on DUI, and the guy is NOT driving.
Now the human condition is that it is possible for a guy who weighs maybe 140lbs. and stands 6' tall could conceivably get drunk that fast on that much booze. And he was not falling down drunk.
If the officer was so sure that something was actually wrong how come he did't pull in behind him when their eyes met?
And you could clearly tell on the video that he had the opportunity.
Now I did not cover everything, just most of the highlights, because I hate typing!!!
Common sense.