An Inquiry into the Historical Evolution of Jury Nullification in the United States: The Contradiction between Democracy and Modernization (Han Tie) Trial by jury and representative government are usually seen as twin pillars of democracy in the United States. The right of jury nullification is the key to ensuring that the common people may play a role in the judicial process to prevent injustice. In the early years of the Republic and the Antebellum era, jury nullification was accepted in most cases even though it began to be challenged more and more by judges as a result of the modernization of the American society. The U. S. Supreme Court finally denied this right in 1895. Jury nullification, however, is still exercised de facto by juries in both federal and state courts. Apparently, this tradition has survived the challenges from the process of modernization and will continue to endure. Thus we see in recent years the repeated appeal for reaffirming the right of jury nullification in the United States. How to keep the judicial system as a democratic institution is still an issue for Americans to think through in the 21st century.