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Msg # 237 Kill/Sent
Date: 09 Jan 93 16:02:00
From: Dean Nusholtz
To: All
Subj: FULLY INFORMED JURIES
____________________________________________________________________________
FULLY INFORMED JURIES
Most Americans are aware of their right to a trial by jury,
however most Americans serving on a jury are NOT aware of their
right to judge both the facts of the case AND the fairness of the
application of the law in the case. This is because judges tell
jurors that they must consider "only the facts" and are NOT to
allow their opinion of the law in the case being tried to enter
into their decision. In so doing, they reduce the defendant's
right to judgment by twelve peers. If jurors were supposed to
judge "only the facts," their job could be done by computer. It
is because people have feelings, experience and conscience that
we depend upon jurors, not machines, to judge court cases.
Trial by jury is a fairly recent concept. A few hundred
years ago in England, William Penn was tried for preaching what
was then the illegal religion of Quakerism. The jury refused to
find him guilty, even though he had violated the law. Because
the jury voted their conscience, they were held without food,
water or toilet facilities for four days. When they still
refused to find him guilty, the jury was fined and imprisoned -
until England's highest court acknowledged the jury's RIGHT to
consider the law AND THEIR CONSCIENCE to arrive at a verdict.
A short time later, in the American colonies, John Zenger
was on trial for printing true but damaging news stories about
the Royal Governor of New York Colony. TRUTH IS NO DEFENSE, the
court told the jury. To counter this, Zenger's defense attorney,
Andrew Hamilton, told the William Penn story. The jury voted
their conscience, Zenger was acquitted.
After that, American colonists regularly depended on juries
to thwart bad law sent over from England. The British then
restricted trial by jury and other rights which juries had helped
secure. Result? The Declaration of Independence and the
American Revolution.
Afterwards, to protect the rights they'd fought for from
future attack, the Founders of this new nation placed trial by
jury, meaning fully informed juries, in both the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights. Although "bad laws" which trample our rights
are no longer sent here from Britain, our own legislatures keep
us well supplied. Now, as much as ever, we need juries to
protect us.
So what's the purpose of this civics lesson? Simply to
inform you that when you are asked to serve on a jury, IT IS YOUR
RIGHT AND OBLIGATION to judge the defendant AND THE LAW he is
being tried under. If you feel the defendant violated the law,
BUT either the law is bad or application of the law would result
in a miscarriage of JUSTICE, you have the RIGHT to find the
defendant NOT GUILTY. The judge will not tell you this, and any
attorney who tells you this in a courtroom situation without
prior approval by the judge, will be jailed for contempt of
court. So, you need to know this before you take your jury seat.
There is a grass-roots network of jury-rights activists
known as FIJA, or Fully Informed Jury Association. If you want
to hear a WELL STATED MESSAGE on this, call 1-800-835-5879 for a
3 minute recording. Tell your friends and acquaintances.
* Origin: San Diego Mail Box - v.32b with BIZynet and FidoNet! (1:202/224)