A guide to the trolls

Courtesy of Noah Smith.

I like it a lot. I think I've seen all of them, actually.

HT: Paul Krugman.

Lawyers prepare for jury nullification

Criminal defense attorneys predict New Hampshire jurors routinely will be told they have the right to find someone innocent even if the state proves its case because New Hampshire has passed what appears to be the nation's first “jury nullification” law.

Earlier this month, a Belknap County Superior Court jury found a Barnstead man innocent of felony drug charges after the judge instructed jurors they could decide that acquittal was “a fair result,” even if the state had met the burden of proof.

It's a legal concept known as jury nullification, a power that experts say has resided in the U.S. Constitution since the nation began but is rarely applied in modern courtrooms.

And it's the basis for a new state law that permits the defense in all criminal cases “to inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy.”

Read the rest at the Union Leader.

I expect this to turn out well. Even good laws can be crude, leading to perverse results in a minority of cases. (Think of wire-tapping laws, which were intended to protect the public from spying, and how they've been used by the police to justify confiscating cameras.) And democracy can be pretty crude itself, churning out bad laws regularly. It's nice to have that extra check on the justice system. Another round of quality control, if you will.

Depending on how often nullification happens, it may even change the incentives faced by police. The police may altogether stop arresting or prosecuting those who are likely to be acquitted through nullification. A good deal for taxpayers and the unjustly prosecuted (though perhaps not for the police or lawyers).

It's true that there may be cases where the prospect of nullification ends up encouraging harmful crimes, but I suspect this effect will be overwhelmed by the many cases where it can be used positively.

The best way to find out is to experiment. We'll see for ourselves soon enough.

No love for Mittens at Intrade

His probability of being elected dropped to 28% earlier, and is at 29.6% right now. Astonishingly low numbers, for a major party presidential nominee.

Here's an introduction to Intrade, courtesy of John Stossel:

The new elitist, totalitarian wing of Occupy NH

Earlier today, after days of facebook flamewars, a group of approximately 15 people separated from Occupy New Hampshire, and claimed to be Occupy New Hampshire.

Oddly, this group excludes libertarians, people who don't hate libertarians, people who carry firearms, and people they don't know. As the video shows, attendees are harassed before being allowed to participate, and video is discouraged.

So much for the 99%. So much for accountability and transparency.



The leader of this attempted coup (leader? really?), in a naked power grab, removed admins from the ONH facebook group— admins who had been chosen through the legitimate consensus process— and has banned the organizers of Occupy Keene, along with other attempts at petty tyranny.

So far it sounds more like a cult than an occupy to me. I'm rooting for the other guys.

[Update: You can support the legitimate Occupy NH group by liking their new facebook page here.]

An interview

Julia Riber Pitt, from Propaganda Lalaland, interviewed me recently as part of her series on being young in New Hampshire. Among other things, we discuss "the Rothbard man's burden" (her brilliant phrase) and Keene libertarian activism.

A revolutionary trial

At issue was the claim of 15 Occupy NH activists that the “right to revolution” expressed in the State Constitution gave them the right — and the obligation — to violate Manchester’s city curfew last October. With the legal leadership of Barbara Keshen, staff attorney for the NH Civil Liberties Union, they made a good case.

The facts of the case are not in dispute. After several days in which Occupy activists maintained an encampment in Manchester’s Victory Park they were told by police that the City would insist on enforcing its curfew ordinance, which calls for parks to be empty of human persons between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am. On October 19, they shifted their encampment to Veterans Park, a more visible location a few blocks away. At 11 pm, police warned the activists they would be cited for violating the curfew if they refused to leave. Most of the people in the park (including me) scurried to the outside of the fence on Merrimack Street. Most of those who remained were given a summons for the curfew violation and left the park on their own steam. The few who still refused to leave were placed under arrest, charged with trespass in addition to the curfew violation, and taken to the Manchester Police Station. (See my earlier posts for details.)

What is in dispute is whether Constitutional protections of speech and assembly trump the curfew. Also in dispute is whether Part One, Article Ten of the New Hampshire Constitution, titled “Right to Revolution,” has any bearing.

From InZane Times, Notes from an Occupy Trial; Could a Curfew Violation be Ruled a Constitutionally Protected Revolutionary Act? Hat tip to Seth Cohn.

A few links

Will soft drink restrictions in New York City reduce obesity? Aaron Carroll, from The Incidental Economist, says "no".

Paul Krugman is winning the macroeconomics debate. Really, he is.

Learn about health policy and the Affordable Care Act in a free class. Hat tip to Kevin Outterson at The Incidental Economist.

From The Guardian - Test policies in 'randomised controlled trials', nudge unit urges. Science? What's that?

What can you do with an economics degree? Well, for one, the video game company Valve is hiring:

(click to enlarge)