This case established the principle of "jury nullification," whereby a jury’s decision is final and dispositive even if it rejects the law. Jury nullification has been used frequently in America ever since, as in acquitting [[John Peter Zenger]] and acquitting defendants accused of violating the Alien and Sedition Act and the Fugitive Slave Act. | This case established the principle of "jury nullification," whereby a jury’s decision is final and dispositive even if it rejects the law. Jury nullification has been used frequently in America ever since, as in acquitting [[John Peter Zenger]] and acquitting defendants accused of violating the Alien and Sedition Act and the Fugitive Slave Act. |