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