So for my topic of jury nullification, I’ve decided to go out and inform citizens about this power that juries have, but do not often know about. The Advocacy Fair at the HUB is a great platform for me to spread this information, so I plan on working from a table on April 18th and 19th. My audience is all U.S. citizens, but specifically those who are eligible to serve on juries. Most of the people here at Penn State fit this profile, so I have a large audience in that regard. As for who I am in all of this, I’ll be advocating for my fellow citizens, trying to inform them about a right they have as jurors. One advantage I have here is that I am on the same level as them, so I’m not appealing to a higher authority or group, nor talking down to a group below me.
The purpose of my time at the Advocacy Fair is to get information about jury nullification into the hand of potential jurors. I’ll give them a little background, explain what jury nullification is, hand them a pamphlet, answer any questions they have, then rinse and repeat for as long as I can. I think the audience will be able to handle all the information I give out, and if not then I will be sure to be well-informed enough that I can either answer their questions directly or point them to other materials that can.
The advocacy here is situational, as I will be defining how jury nullification has been used for good in the past, and how people should know more about it. I plan on printing out pamphlets that interested members of the audience can take with them, and having a display stand that has most of the relevant information on it. I’ll need to summarize the history and controversy surrounding jury nullification for the sake of space and so the audience doesn’t have to read and read and read a tri-fold display.
Overall I’m feeling pretty good about this project, I know I have a lot of work to do but the cause is a worthy one!