Jury nullification occurs when a jury acquits a defendant they believe is guilty of the crime charged (Hickey, 2010. p. 370). This is because the jury chose to ignore the facts of the case and the judge's instructions and based their decision on personal opinion. If we want to allow jury nullification, we might as well not even take taxpayer money to take them to court. Nullification – The act of rendering a law null and void (nullification). For example, during Prohibition, many juries found defendants innocent, even when the state had proven its case, because they believed the law should not exist. State legislatures have also nullified federal laws within their borders, creating a nullification crisis for the federal government, a largely unstable area of ​​law in the United States. (Falcone, p. 182) Exclusionary Rule - A court rule under which evidence obtained in violation of the protections guaranteed by the United States Constitution becomes tainted and, therefore, inadmissible at trial. Frist arose in Weeks v United States, 232 US 383, 34 S.Ct. 341, 58 L. Ed.652 (1914). It applied only to federal officers involved in federal action. Subsequently, through a series of appellate cases, the rule was expanded and made applicable to the states, through the Fourteenth Amendment. (Falcone, pg. 86) It is obvious that significant improvements have been made in how the criminal justice system treats blacks throughout the history of the United States. Black people have not always been afforded the right to a trial, let alone a fair trial. Additionally, for years, blacks were unable to serve on juries, clearly affecting how both blacks and whites were tried. Much of this improvement has been achieved through various...... middle of paper......ts Effects on blacks. Retrieved January 4, 2012, from: www.americanlibrary.comCULS. (2010). Exclusion rule. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from law.cornell.edu/wax/exclusionary ruleDavenport, A., U. (2006) Basic Criminal Law: The US Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River: New Jersey Falcone, D. (2005) Dictionary of American Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Criminal Law. Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Hickey, T. (2010). Taking a Stand: Conflicting Views in Crime and Criminology 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill Publishing, New York, NY United States v. Thomas. 1997 US App. LEXIS 11852. Retrieved December 31, 2011, from www.levellers.org/jrp/orig/jrp.usvttoc.htmUS Legal, (2011). Jury Nullification Law and Legal Definition. Retrieved January 6, 2012, from http://definitions.uslegal.com/j/jury-nullification/