Jury Nullification and Beth Stroud

Dwight Welch of A Religious Liberal Blog seems to think that Beth Stroud might lose her ordination after next week's church trial in Pennsylvania. After the verdict from Karen Dammann's trial, I'm not so sure. I think we can all agree that this isn't a pleasant situation for anyone, because taking away someone's ordination is serious business. But so is thumbing our nose at church law.

The only entity that can speak for the United Methodist Church is the General Conference, which meets only once every four years. The official position of the UMC is that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and that self-avowed, practicing homosexuals can not be appointed to ministry in any United Methodist church. Since Rev. Stroud has admitted to being involved in an ongoing homosexual relationship, it would seem like an open and shut case, but if at least 9 out of 13 jurors don't vote to convict, there will be an automatic acquittal. If the Dammann trial is any indication of things to come, jury nullification seems to be a strong possibility. Jury nullification is when a jury returns a verdict of not guilty, despite its belief that the defendant is guilty of the violation charged. By doing so, the jury, for all practical purposes, invalidates the law.

And that's exactly what a lot of my liberal friends are hoping for. The problem is, when that happens, there are 13 people usurping the authority of a legislative body that speaks for the entire denomination. That sets a dangerous precedent, one that just might come back to bite our denomination in its, well, you know. Imagine the liberal outrage if this were a conservative pastor on trial for an egregious violation of the Book of Discipline, one he or she admitted to, and the jury nullified the law by refusing to convict. Every conference tabloid in the country would give it front page coverage and UM bishops would be condemning the verdict from Good Morning America to Larry King Live, and they would be right to do it.

I encourage my liberal friends to go through the appropriate channels when you think laws are unjust. If it isn't a life or death situation, (and this isn't), go through the process. Lobby to change the law. But don't rely on activist clergy juries to advance your causes. It isn't honorable, it's ill-gotten gain and it threatens the very foundation on which this denomination is built.