John Adams:
It would be an absurdity for jurors to be required to accept
the judge’s view of the law, against their own opinion, judgment, and conscience.
California Supreme Court, People v. Williams (2001) (noreg: PDF):
We reaffirm, therefore, the basic rule that jurors are required to determine the facts and render a verdict in accordance with the court’s instructions on the law. A juror who is unable or unwilling to do so is ‘unable to perform his [or her] duty’ as a juror and may be discharged.
Obviously some things has changed in the intervening 300 years. (I guess the slide can be marked w/ Sparf v US (SCOTUS 1895) — more later)