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)