Informed Juror

The Informed Juror:

A look at how the founding fathers designed the jury System The Informed Juror

As a Juror:

As a Juror As a Juror in a trial setting, when it comes to your individual vote of innocent or guilty, you are truly answerable to GOD ALMIGHTY. The First Amendment to the Constitution was born out of this great concept. However, judges of today refuse to inform JURORS of their RIGHTS.

"What Judges Don't Tell Juries" stated::

" At the time of adoption of the Constitution, the jury's role as a defense against political oppression was unquestioned in American jurisprudence. This nation survived until the 1850's, when prosecutions under the Fugitive Slave Act were largely unsuccessful because juries refused to convict." "What Judges Don't Tell Juries" stated: The Minneapolis Star and Tribune in a news paper article appearing in its November 30, 1984 edition

"What Judges Don't Tell Juries" stated::

"Then judges began to erode the institution of free juries, leading to the absurd compromise that is the current state of the law. While our courts uniformly state juries have the power to return a verdict of not guilty whatever the facts, they routinely tell jurors the opposite." "What Judges Don't Tell Juries" stated: The Minneapolis Star and Tribune in a news paper article appearing in its November 30, 1984 edition

JURY RIGHTS:

JURY RIGHTS Consider the following . . . 1789 "The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy." ---John Jay, 1st Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court 1796 "The jury has the right to determine both the law and the facts." ---Samuel Chase, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Signer of the unanimous Declaration 1902 "The jury has the power to bring a verdict in the teeth of both law and fact." ---Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1941 "The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause which is to be decided." ---Harlan F. Stone, 12th Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court, 1972 "The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge..." ---U.S. vs. Dougherty, 473 F 2nd 1113, 1139.

LAW OF THE LAND:

LAW OF THE LAND The general misconception is that any statute passed by legislators bearing the appearance of law constitutes the law of the land. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and any statute, to be valid, must be in agreement. It is impossible for a law which violates the Constitution to be valid. This is succinctly stated as follows: "All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void." --- Marbury vs. Madison, 5 US (2 Cranch ) 137, 174, 176, (1803) "When rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them." ---Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 US 436 p. 491 "An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed." ---Norton vs. Shelby County 118 US 425 p. 442 The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void, and ineffective for any purpose; since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment, and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it. "No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it." ---16 Am Jur 2nd, Sec 177 late 2d, Sec 256

Jury Duty:

As the founding fathers envisioned the Jury System To be based on the “Ancient Principals” the Ten Commandments and Common Law Jury Duty

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 1.) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 2.) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. 3.) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. 4.) Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy. 5.) Honor thy father and thy mother. 6.) Thou shalt not murder. 7.) Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8.) Thou shalt not steal. 9.) Thou shalt not bear false witness. 10.) Thou shalt not covet. The TEN COMMANDMENTS represent GOD'S GOVERNMENT OVER MAN! GOD commands us for our own good to give up wrongs and not rights! HIS system always results in LIBERTY and FREEDOM! The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are built on this foundation, which provides for punitive justice. It is not until one damages another persons property that he can be punished. The Marxist system leads to bondage and GOD'S system leads to LIBERTY! Read very carefully: Directly above the Chief Justice's chair is a tablet signifying the TEN COMMANDMENTS. When the Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress looks up, his eyes look into the face of Moses. "The Bible is the Book upon which this Republic rests." ---Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States "The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures sought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts of the Bible." ---Noah Webster

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO:

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO represents a misguided philosophy, which teaches the citizens to give up their RIGHTS for the sake of the "common good," but it always ends in a police state. This is called preventive justice. Control is the key concept. Read carefully: The Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto 1.) Abolition of private property. 2.) Heavy progressive income tax. 3.) Abolition of all rights on inheritance. 4.) Confiscation of property of all emigrants & rebels. 5.) Central bank. 6.) Government control of Communications & Transportation. 7.) Government ownership of factories and agriculture. 8.) Government control of labor. 9.) Corporate farms, regional planning. 10.) Government control of education.

GIVE UP RIGHTS FOR THE "COMMON GOOD" ?:

GIVE UP RIGHTS FOR THE "COMMON GOOD" ? Politicians, bureaucrats and especially judges would have you believe that too much freedom will result in chaos. Therefore, we should gladly give up some of our RIGHTS for the good of the community. In other words, people acting in the name of the government, say we need more laws and more JURORS to enforce these laws -- even if we have to give up some RIGHTS in the process. They believe the more laws we have, the more control, thus a better society . This theory may sound good on paper, and apparently many of our leaders think this way, as evidenced by the thousands of new laws that are added to the books each year in this country. But, no matter how cleverly this Marxist argument is made, the hard fact is that whenever you give up a RIGHT you lose a "FREE CHOICE"!

GIVE UP RIGHTS FOR THE "COMMON GOOD" ?:

GIVE UP RIGHTS FOR THE "COMMON GOOD" ? This adds another control. Control's real name is BONDAGE! The logical conclusion would be, if giving up some RIGHTS produces a better society, then by giving up all RIGHTS we could produce a perfect society. We could chain everybody to a tree, for lack of TRUST. This may prevent crime, but it would destroy PRIVACY, which is the heartbeat of FREEDOM! It would also destroy TRUST which is the foundation for DIGNITY. Rather than giving up RIGHTS, we should be giving up wrongs! The opposite of control is not chaos. More laws do not make less criminals! We must give up wrongs, not rights, for a better society! William Pitt of the British House of Commons once proclaimed, "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."

INALIENABLE, [UNALIENABLE] OR NATURAL RIGHTS ! :

INALIENABLE, [UNALIENABLE] OR NATURAL RIGHTS ! NATURAL RIGHTS ARE THOSE RIGHTS such as LIFE (from conception), LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS eg . FREEDOM of RELIGION, SPEECH, LEARNING, TRAVEL, SELF-DEFENSE, ETC. Hence laws and statutes which violate NATURAL RIGHTS, though they may have the color of law, are not law but impostors! The U.S. Constitution was written to protect these NATURAL RIGHTS from being tampered with by legislators.* Further, our forefathers also wisely knew that the U.S. Constitution would be utterly worthless to restrain government legislators unless it was clearly understood that the people had the right to compel the government to keep within the Constitutional limits. In a jury trial the real judges are the JURORS! Surprisingly, judges are actually just referees bound by the Constitution!

INALIENABLE, [UNALIENABLE] OR NATURAL RIGHTS ! :

INALIENABLE, [UNALIENABLE] OR NATURAL RIGHTS ! *Lysander Spooner wrote as follows: "Government is established for the protection of the weak against the strong. This is the principal, if not the sole motive for the establishment of all legitimate government. It is only the weaker party that loses their liberties, when a government becomes oppressive. The stronger party, in all governments are free by virtue of their superior strength. They never oppress themselves. Legislation is the work of the stronger party; and if, in addition to the sole power of legislation, they have the sole power of determining what legislation shall be enforced, they have all power in their hands, and the weaker party are the subjects of an absolute government. Unless the weaker party have veto, they have no power whatever in the government . . . no liberties . . . The trial by jury is the only institution that gives the weaker party any veto upon the power of the stronger. Consequently it is the only institution that gives them any effective voice in the government, or any guaranty against oppression.“ --- ESSAY on the TRIAL by Jury

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? A JURY's Rights, Powers and Duties: The Charge to the JURY in the First JURY Trial before the supreme* Court of the U.S. illustrates the TRUE POWER OF THE JURY. In the February term of 1794, the supreme Court conducted a JURY trial and said ". . . it is presumed, that the juries are the best judges of facts; it is, on the other hand, presumed that the courts are the best judges of law. But still both objects are within our power of decision." "You have a right to take upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy." ---(State of Georgia vs. Brailsford , et al, 3 Dall . 1) "The JURY has an unreviewable and unreversible power . . . to acquit in disregard of the instructions on the law given by the trial judge . . ." (emphasis added) ---U.S. vs. Dougherty, 473 F 2nd 1113, 1139 (1972) Hence, JURY disregard of the limited and generally conviction-oriented evidence presented for its consideration, and JURY disregard for what the trial judge wants them to believe is the controlling law in particular case (sometimes referred to as "JURY lawlessness")* is not something to be scrupulously avoided, but rather encouraged. Witness the following quotation from the eminent legal authority above-mentioned: "Jury lawlessness is the greatest corrective of law in its actual administration. The will of the state at large imposed on a reluctant community, the will of a majority imposed on a vigorous and determined minority, find the same obstacle in the local JURY that formerly confronted kings and ministers." (emphasis added) ---(Dougherty cited above, note 32 at 1130) *Supreme is not capitalized in the Constitution, however Behavior is in Article III. *Jury lawlessness means willingness to nullify bad law.

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? The Right of the JURY to be "Told of It's Power" Almost every JURY in the land is falsely instructed by the judge when it is told it must accept as the law* that which is given to them by the court, and that the JURY can decide only the facts of the case. This is to destroy the purpose of a Common Law JURY, and to permit the imposition of tyranny upon a People. * Quite often Jurors are led to believe that legislated statutory legalities are to stand for Common Law in our courts. This is not true. They are simply forcing "Rules of Court" which they have made up and added for their advantage against us. "There is nothing more terrifying than ignorance in action." ---Goethe (engraved on a plaque at the Naval War College) "To embarrass justice by a multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, are the opposite rocks on which all civil instructions have been wrecked." ----Johnson (engraved in Minnesota State Capitol Outside the Supreme Court Chambers) ". . . The letter killeth , but the spirit giveth life." ---II Corinthians 3:6 "It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." ---Thomas Jefferson The JURY'S options are by no means limited to the choices presented to it in the courtroom. "The jury gets its understanding as to the arrangements in the legal system from more than one voice. There is the formal communication from the 'judge'. There is informal communication from the total culture -- literature; current comment, conversation; and, of course, history and tradition." ---(Dougherty cited above, at 1135)

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? LAWS, FACTS AND EVIDENCE ! Without the power to decide what facts, law and evidence are applicable, JURIES cannot be a protection to the accused. If people acting in the name of government are permitted by JURORS to dictate any law whatever, they can also unfairly dictate what evidence is admissible or inadmissible and thereby prevent the WHOLE TRUTH from being considered . Thus if government can manipulate and control both the law and the evidence, the issue of fact becomes virtually irrelevant. In reality, true JUSTICE would be denied leaving us with a trial by government and not a trial by JURY!

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? HOW DOES TYRANNY BEGIN ? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY LAWS ? Heroes are men of glory who are so honored because of some heroic deed. People often out of gratitude yield allegiance to them. Honor and allegiance are nice words for power! Power and allegiance can only be held rightfully by trust as a result of continued character. When people acting in the name of government violate ethics, they break trust with "We The People." The natural result is for "We The People" to pull back power (honor and allegiance). The loss of power creates fear for those losing the power. Fearing loss of power, people acting in the name of government often seek to regain or at least hold their power. Hence, to legitimize their quest for control, laws and force are often instituted. Unchecked power is the foundation of tyranny. It is the JUROR'S duty to use the JURY ROOM as a vehicle to stem the tide of oppression and tyranny: To prevent bloodshed by peacefully removing power from those who have abused it. The JURY is the primary vehicle for peaceful restoration of LIBERTY, POWER AND HONOR TO "We The People!"

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? YOUR VOTE COUNTS ! Your vote of NOT GUILTY must be respected by all members of the JURY -- it is the RIGHT and DUTY of a JUROR to Never, Never, Never yield his or her sacred vote - - for you are not there as a fool, merely to agree with the majority, but as an officer of the court and a qualified judge in your own right. Regardless of the pressures or abuse that may be heaped on you by any other members of the JURY with whom you may be in good conscience to disagree, you can await the reading of the verdict secure in the knowledge you have voted your own conscience and convictions -- and not those of someone else.

JURY TAMPERING ? :

JURY TAMPERING ? YOU ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP ! By what logic do we send our youth to battle tyranny on foreign soil, while we refuse to do so in our courts? Did you know that many of the planks of the "Communist Manifesto" are now represented by law in the U.S.? How is it possible for Americans to denounce communism and practice it simultaneously? The JURY judges the Spirit, Motive and Intent of both law and the Accused, whereas the prosecutor only represents the letter of the law. Therein lies the opportunity for the accomplishment of "LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL". If you, and numerous other JURORS throughout the State and nation begin and continue to bring in verdicts of NOT GUILTY in such cases where man-made statute is defective or oppressive, these statutes will become as ineffective as if they had never been written. "If we love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." ---Samuel Adams

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH ! PATRICK HENRY SHOCKED!:

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH ! PATRICK HENRY SHOCKED! Young Christian attorney Patrick Henry saw why a JURY of PEERS is so vital to Liberty and FREEDOM! It was March 1775 when he rode into the small town of Culpeper, Va. He was totally shocked by what he saw! There, in the middle of the town square was a minister tied to a whipping post, his back laid bare and bloody with the bones of his ribs showing. He had been scourged like JESUS, with whips laced with metal. Patrick Henry is quoted as saying: "When they stopped beating him, I could see the bones of his rib cage. I turned to someone and asked what the man had done to deserve a beating such as this?" SCOURGED FOR NOT TAKING A LICENSE ! The reply given him was that the man being scourged was a minister who refused to take a license. He was one of twelve who were locked in jail because they refused to take a license. A license often becomes an arbitrary control by the government that makes a crime out of what ordinarily would not be a crime. IT TURNS A RIGHT INTO A PRIVILEGE! This was the incident which sparked Christian attorney Patrick Henry to write the famous words which later would become the rallying cry of the Revolution. "What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!" Audio Media File Later he made this part of his famous speech at St. John's Episcopal Church in Williamsburg, Va.

JURY OF PEERS:

JURY OF PEERS Our forefathers felt that in order to have JUSTICE, it is obvious that a JURY of "PEERS" must be people who actually know the defendant . How else would they be able to judge motive and intent? "PEERS" of the defendant, like RIGHTS of the JURY have also been severely tarnished. Originally, it meant people of: "equals in station and rank," (Black's 1910), "free-holders of a neighborhood," ( Bouvier's 1886), or "A companion; a fellow; an associate." (Webster's 1828). * * So then why is it the defendant rarely knows anyone on his JURY in our courts these days ? WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO SIT ON A JURY ? Patrick Henry, along with others, was deeply concerned as to who has a right to sit on a JURY. Listen to our forefathers wisdom on the subject of "PEERS

JURY OF PEERS:

JURY OF PEERS Patrick Henry also knew that originally the JURY of PEERS was designed as a protection for Neighbors from outside governmental oppression. Henry states the following, "Why do we love this trial by jury? Because it prevents that hand of oppression from cutting you off . . . This gives me comfort -- that, as long as I have existence, my neighbors will protect me." ---(Elliot, 3:545, 546) "By the bill of rights of England, a subject has a right to a trial by his peers. What is meant by peers? Those who reside near him, his neighbors, and who are well acquainted with his character and situation in life." ---Patrick Henry (Elliot, The Debates in Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, 3:579)

JURY OF PEERS:

JURY OF PEERS MR. HOLMES Mr. Holmes, from Massachusetts, argued strenuously that for JUSTICE to prevail, the case must be heard in the vicinity where the fact was committed by a JURY of PEERS. " . . . a jury of peers would, from their local situation, have an opportunity to form a judgment of the CHARACTER of the person charged with the crime, and also to judge of the CREDIBILITY of the witnesses." ---(Elliot, 2:110) PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN "The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!" ---Abraham Lincoln MR. WILSON Mr. Wilson, signer of "The unanimous Declaration", who also later became a supreme Court Justice, stressed the importance of the JURORS knowing personally both the defendant and the witnesses. "Where jurors can be acquainted with the characters of the parties and the witnesses -- where the whole cause can be brought within their knowledge and view -- I know no mode of investigation equal to that by a trial by jury: they hear every thing that is alleged; they not only hear the words, but they see and mark the features of the countenance; they can judge of weight due to such testimony; and moreover, it is a cheap and expeditious manner of distributing justice. There is another advantage annexed to the trial by jury; the jurors may indeed return a mistaken or ill-founded verdict' but their errors cannot be systematical." ---(Elliot, 2:516)

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN:

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN "Those people who are not governed by GOD will be ruled by tyrants." ---William Penn Edward Bushnell and three fellow JURORS learned this lesson well. They refused to bow to the court. They believed in the absolute power of the JURY, though their eight companions cowered to the court. The four JURORS spent nine weeks of torture in prison, often without food and water, soaked with urine, smeared with feces, barely able to stand, and even threatened with fines, yet they would not give in to the judge. Edward Bushnell said, " My liberty is not for sale ", though he had great wealth and commanded an international shipping enterprise. These "bumble heads", so the court thought, proved the power of the people was stronger than any power of government. They emerged total victors.

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN:

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN THE FIRST AMENDMENT The year was 1670, and the case Bushnell sat on was that of William Penn, who was on trial for violation of a " Conventicle Act." This was an elaborate Act which made the Church of England the only legal church. The Act was struck down by their not guilty vote. Freedom of Religion was established and became part of the English Bill of Rights and later it became the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In addition, the Right to peaceful assembly was founded, Freedom of Speech, and also habeas corpus. The first such writ of habeas corpus ever issued by the Court of Common Pleas was issued to free Edward Bushnell. Later this trial gave birth to the concept of Freedom of the press. Had Bushnell and his colleagues yielded to the guilty verdict sought by the judge and prosecutor, William Penn most likely would have been executed as he clearly broke the law.

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN:

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN HE BROKE THE LAW ! There would have been no Liberty Bell, no Independence Hall, no city of Philadelphia, and no state called Pennsylvania, for young William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, and leader of the Quakers, was on trial for his life. His alleged crime was preaching and teaching a different view of the Bible than that of the Church of England. This appears innocent today, but then, one could be executed for such actions. He believed in freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly. He had broken to government's law, but he had injured no one. The four heroic JURORS knew that only when actual injury to someone's person or property take place is there a real crime. No law is broken when no injury can be shown. Thus there can be no loss or termination of rights unless actual damage is proven. Many imposter laws were repealed as a result of this.

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN:

FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN IT IS ALMOST UNFAIR ! The trial made such an impact that every colony but one established the jury as the first liberty to maintain all other liberties. It was felt that the liberties of People could never be wholly lost as long as the jury remained strong and independent, and that unjust laws and statutes could not stand when confronted by conscientious JURORS. JURORS today face an avalanche of imposter laws. JURORS not only still have the power and the RIGHT, but also the DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY, to nullify bad laws by voting "not guilty." At first glance it appears that it is almost unfair, the power JURORS have over government, but necessary when considering the historical track record of oppression that governments have wielded over private Citizens.

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S WARNINGS !:

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S WARNINGS ! In 1789 Thomas Jefferson warned that the judiciary if given too much power might ruin our REPUBLIC, and destroy our RIGHTS! "The new Constitution has secured these [individual rights] in the Executive and Legislative departments: but not in the Judiciary. It should have established trials by the people themselves, that is to say, by jury." ---(emphasis added) "The Judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric." ---(1820)

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S WARNINGS !:

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S WARNINGS ! ". . . the Federal Judiciary; an irresponsible body (for impeachment is scarcely a scarecrow), working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little to-day and a little to-morrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one. . . . when all government . . . in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated. * ---(emphasis added 1821) *Thomas Jefferson was making reference to our separation from English rule, and also our future as a Republic Nation. "The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what are not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action, but for the legislative and executive also in their spheres, would make the judiciary a despotic branch." ". . . judges should be withdrawn from the bench whose erroneous biases are leading us to dissolution. It may, indeed, injure them in fame or fortune; but it saves the Republic. . ."

The Informed Juror:

The Informed Juror Thank you for attending "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!" ---Everett Hale

The Informed Juror:

Additional Resources Fully Informed Juror Association http://fija.org/ Scream for Freedom http://screamforfreedom.com/ Citizens Rule Book / Jury Handbook www.whittenprinters.com www.citizensbook.com The Informed Juror