You can probably expect more handouts the next time you walk past a courthouse.

A federal judge has dismissed an indictment of jury tampering against Julian Heicklen, a retired chemistry professor who stood outside courthouses in Manhattan and elsewhere and told jurors to vote their conscience, according to the New York Times. Law Blog detailed Heicklen's case back in February 2011.

Prosecutors claimed that advocacy such as Heicklen's was criminal and without constitutional protection, regardless of where it occurred. Heicklen repeatedly stood with a "jury info" sign and handed out brochures supporting jury nullification, which is a doctrine that says juries can acquit criminals who are technically guilty but who they feel don't deserve punishment. Heicklen doesn't support punitive measures for drug or gambling violations, LB noted.

Federal District Judge Kimba Wood said that violation of jury tampering laws only occurs when the defendant tries to influence a juror's decision with a written communication "made in relation to a specific case pending before that juror," NYT reported.

Heicklen didn't try to communicate with specific jurors; instead, he handed out his materials to passers-by, hoping jurors were among them.