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99 lines
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Plaintext
99 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
FIJA PROCLAIMS SEPTEMBER 5 "JURY RIGHTS DAY"!</p>
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<p> Hey, activist, can you spare an hour?</p>
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<p> Noon hour, September 5, 1991, should be sixty minutes of fun
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and high-impact education all across the United States, as FIJA
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activists take to the steps of courthouses in their own local
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communities, handing out a special "Jury Rights Day" version of
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our TRUE or FALSE? brochure to whoever will accept one.</p>
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<p> If, for one hour of one day (more if you have time), you can
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break from routine and "go active", you will be part of an
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utterly decentralized, but fully coordinated team of jury-rights
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proponents skipping lunch to tell the entire nation about FIJA!
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The plan is this: </p>
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<p> At each courthouse, everyone from judge to janitor will be
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offered a brochure, in honor of the day, 321 years ago, when
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Edward Bushell and his fellow jurors refused to convict William
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Penn, arrested in London for preaching an illegal religion
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(Quakerism) to those who voluntarily--but also illegally--
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gathered to listen.</p>
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<p> Nine weeks later, after Bushell and three others had been
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imprisoned for this audacity in a brutal facility, the English
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Court of Common Pleas voted to release them, and without forcing
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them to change their verdict. </p>
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<p> This was a milestone in English-American legal tradition,
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because it not only established the power of the jury to find
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whatever verdict it wishes, without punishment, but also the
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rights of free speech and peaceable assembly.</p>
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<p> We at FIJA figure that 1991 is the perfect year to begin
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celebrating that event as "Jury Rights Day", since it is the
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200th anniversary of the American Bill of Rights, which not only
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protects our freedoms of speech and assembly, but also their
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guardian: our right to trial by a jury of fellow citizens. We of
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course intend to make the most of the fact that the nation will
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simultaneously be honoring the very document we seek to protect
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with fully informed juries.</p>
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<p> Leading off the day, at noon EDT, we'll hold a national news
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conference and rally at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC,
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where spokespersons from a wide range of organizations will speak
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on the importance of the jury system for individual justice and
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for maintaining citizen control of our government.</p>
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<p> We're hoping this summer to persuade a U.S. Representative
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or Senator to introduce legislation naming September 5 as
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"National Jury Rights Day" then to kick off the "JRD" rally with
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a speech on that subject. [We'll report on this when we list all
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confirmed speakers in the Summer FIJActivist.]</p>
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<p> The national media will be given packets of information
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about FIJA, and a list of all other locations around the United
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States where literature is being distributed--including yours,
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provided we have confirmation from you in time to include your
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name and the courthouse where you'll be.</p>
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<p> The longer and more geographically representative the list,
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of course, the more impressed the media will be...and the better
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will be our chance to access and educate millions of Americans in
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their rights as jurors, drawing their attention to the full
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meaning of the 6th and 7th Amendments.</p>
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<p> How to get your materials? Easy: send us your order, ASAP!</p>
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<p> If you want to take full advantage of the media potential
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for the celebration, order the "JRD" Action Kit that we're making
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available for $25. The kit will contain a FIJA t-shirt, 11 x 17"
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poster, button, bumper sticker, a "fill-in-the blanks" news
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release, 250 brochures and an action plan.</p>
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<p> We're also working out details of cost and production of a
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3'x 5' banner, useful both for Jury Rights Day and for other FIJA
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events. Please let us know if you're interested, and we'll get
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the best price we can.
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The enclosed order blank is the most convenient way to tell
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us "YES--I CAN SPARE AN HOUR!", and to order your materials.
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Kits, banners and posters are still in the preparation stage, and
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will be produced in quantities equal to the orders we receive by
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July 15. After that, we cannot guarantee to fill your orders for
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these items, though we'll try. As a last-minute option, we can
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send master copies of brochures, which you can reproduce locally.
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Contributions in excess of item prices listed are of course
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welcome, to help defray expenses of travel, communication,
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renting and setting up equipment for (and cleaning up after) the
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rally and national news conference. Contributions are especially
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appropriate if you cannot participate, but want to help ensure
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the success and maximize the impact of the first annual
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celebration of Jury Rights Day. </p>
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<p> Thank you for your hour(s), your dollar(s), or both!</p>
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<p>
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