My proposition, then, is, that there is not a single natural, human right, that the government of the United States recognizes as inviolable; that there is not a single natural, human right, that it hesitates to trample under foot, whenever it thinks it can promote its own interests by doing so.
Spooner asserts that the U.S. government does not respect any natural rights, highlighting its oppressive nature.
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One answer is, that this power, which juries have of judging of the law, is not a power of absolute decision in all cases.
Juries would refuse to enforce a tax against a man who had never agreed to pay it.
There is no more absurdity in giving a jury a veto upon the laws, than there is in giving a veto to each of these other tribunals.
It would be a solecism and absurdity in government to allow such consequences as these.