FIJA advises jurors to vote for acquittal if they disagree with the law – a concept known as jury nullification – even if they believe the defendant committed the crime for which he or she is charged.
FIJA has lobbied state legislatures to enact legislation that would explicitly elevate the jury's formerly unspoken power to nullify to an openly acknowledged right.
[11] Another argument is that since FIJA literature is generic, making no reference to any cases potential jurors may be called upon to serve on, its distribution is not jury tampering.
[19] Executive Director Iloilo M. Jones described his parting comments as sour grapes motivated by his disappointment at not being able to shift FIJA's focus toward preparing attorneys to pursue jury nullification.
While a felon in possession of a firearm case was underway, Turney allegedly told a juror, who was wearing a button identifying him as such, to call FIJA's telephone number and learn about his rights.
On May 25, 2010, Julian Heicklen was arrested after refusing to stop handing out pamphlets at a U.S. District Courthouse in New York City, and was indicted for jury tampering.
Heicken wrote that during one arrest he chose to fall to the ground limp and silent; an ambulance was called and he signed his hospital release form as "John Galt".
[30] On April 19, 2012, District Court Judge Kimba Wood granted Heicklen's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment as legally deficient.
[32][circular reference] A 26-year-old man was acquitted on obstruction of justice charges stemming from his distribution of FIJA literature at the Perry County, Pennsylvania courthouse in 1994.
[34] In 1995, a 51-year-old mother was charged with jury tampering for papering the windshields of cars near the federal courthouse with FIJA literature when her son was on trial and facing a heavy mandatory minimum sentence for drug offenses.
[35] In 2014, a candidate running for office in Greene County, Illinois was charged with jury tampering two weeks before his primary election for allegedly communicating with and providing a link to the FIJA website to another local office holder via a public Facebook post after that public figure posted that he had been summoned for jury duty.