Supporters of Occupy need to know
JUDGES WON’T TELL YOU THIS, but when you sit on a jury in a criminal trial, you have the right to vote according to your conscience, no matter what the judge says about the law. As a juror, you are the final safeguard for justice. If you think that the criminal charge is based on a bad law, or a good law that is not being applied properly, or that there are other factors that would make you regret a vote to convict someone, then it is your right and duty as a juror to vote “Not Guilty”.
When our country was young, all jurors were told of their right to judge the law, as well as the person charged with a crime. It was then recognized that our lawmakers sometimes pass bad laws, and that at times good laws are misused. But juries ignored bad laws “too often”. They wouldn’t convict those who aided runaway slaves, they acquitted striking coal miners, and they freed bootleggers who were charged under prohibition laws, until judges decided that juries should no longer be told of their power to act as a safeguard against bad laws or unethical lawmakers. Now, all jurors are instructed to accept the law, as it is given to them by the judge, even in cases where the law is clearly unjust.
Remember, if you’re ever selected as a juror, that you have a right and a duty to do the right thing, to follow your conscience, even if you’re the only juror who does. It is the only way to keep government in the hands of the people.
Judge Theo. Parsons said: “If a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states, then the juror has accepted the exercise of absolute authority of a government employee and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizen’s safeguard of liberty…”(1788)
Don’t accept the judge’s bluff. Know your true rights and powers as a juror. To receive a sample newsletter, contact the FULLY INFORMED JURY ASSOCIATION, PO Box 5570 Helena, MT 59604-5570; (406)442-7800, or call 1-800-TEL-JURY. Visit our web site at www.fija.org. Your contributions are needed to help spread this vital message
Comments are closed.