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297 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
297 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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TRY THE LAW
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The scene is a somber federal court room. The lengthy
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trial on a charge of weapons possession has just ended.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, the testimony has
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now concluded. We will take the time to determine the
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innocence or guilt of Mr. John Watkins.
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"You have heard all the testimony from the prosecution
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and defense attorneys. You will soon retire to the jury
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room for your deliberations. All the evidence presented at
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this trial will be there with you for your examination and
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use in reaching a verdict.
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"During your deliberations, I charge you with determin-
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ing the facts presented in this litigation and the facts
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only. I will now instruct you on the law concerning this
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case and under which Mr. Watkins has been tried."
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"If you have any questions during your deliberations
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concerning what I am about to instruct you, please make a
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written request to the Court. Cite what you do not under-
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stand. The Bailiff will bring your question into the Court
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and I will answer it."
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Now, in a usual monotonous voice, the judge will read
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his interpretation of the laws involved. If you can stay
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awake and understand a small part of what 'His Honor' is
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saying consider yourself fortunate.
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This whole setup is called 'Judicial Supremacy'. They
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purposely constructed court rooms so the judge sits higher
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than everyone else. That forces you to look up to him. He
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lords it over everyone that he is only the person who has
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any say-so on the law.
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This is a lie . . . a real legal fairy tale. The
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reason for a jury has been turned upside down. In past
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years it bears no similarity to the true purpose of your
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duty as a juror.
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Your obligation is not only to determine the innocence
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or guilt of the accused, it is also to examine the law!
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Let's get back to basics and define a law. The
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supremacy clause of our Constitution is explicit when it
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says it and only laws made following its power and
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restrictions are the supreme law of the land.
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The key words are laws made following the power in the
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document. If they pass a law beyond the permission we
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granted, then what? It would NOT conform to the document
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and is no law. And how would you know?
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The first requirement is that you know something about
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our Constitution. Without this knowledge, these legal
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eagles will continue to make monkeys of you. It would be
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ridiculous to memorize the document and no one expects that.
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Nevertheless, the purpose of the jury is to safeguard other
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citizens from an overzealous government. You should know
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where to look to see if they have the authority to pass the
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law under which they are accusing the person on trial.
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There are only four crimes listed in our Constitution.
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These are (1) counterfeiting of securities and current
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coins, (Art I, Sec 8), (2) piracies and felonies committed
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on the high seas, (Art I, Sec 8), (3) treason against the
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United States (Art III, Sec 3) and (4) offenses against the
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law of nations (Art I, Sec 8). That's it! We gave NO power
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to Congress beyond these four to define a crime. Sounds
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weird . . . but it's true.
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In 1821, Chief Justice John Marshall, of the United
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States Supreme Court stated in an opinion, "Congress has a
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right to punish murder in a fort, or other place within its
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exclusive jurisdiction; but no general right to punish
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murder committed within any of the States." Further, he
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added, "It is clear, that Congress cannot punish felonies
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generally;" (Cohen v Virginia, 4 Wheat (US) 264) (1821).
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Unless you are a juror in a case (federal) charging
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someone with a violation of one of the four listed crimes,
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there is no criminal law. And you cannot judge the persons'
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innocence or guilt. You have no right to convict.
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That's a heavy statement. Let's see if it's true . . .
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The determination of crimes and criminal acts were
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designated as state functions. They are still state
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functions today and of no concern to the federal government.
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This is verified by the instructions in Art IV, Sec 2,
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clause 2.
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We have established repeatedly that our Constitution is
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the supreme law of the land. Nowhere have we given Congress
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the power to determine any act by a citizen to be a crime.
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The document is full of 'thou shalt nots' directed at the
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government. The consensus of some of our Founding Fathers
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was that the powers given, limited as they are, were much
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too dangerous.
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The Tenth Amendment restates the 'thou shalt nots' . .
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"The powers not delegated to the United States by the
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Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
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reserved to the States respectively or to the People." It
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is an absolute bar to the federales assuming any power we
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did not grant to them.
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For the sake of illustration, this trial was about the
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possession of weapons. The Second Amendment prohibits the
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Congress from passing ANY law which will infringe on the
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right to keep and bear arms. And here the 'justice' dept
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is after someone for possession of weapons? It's no good.
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The law is a myth.
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Hamilton makes it clear in Paper No. 83 that the 'thou
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shalt nots' are there. Their powers are specific and
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limited. These specific powers preclude all assumption of a
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general legislative authority. Being specific, it would be
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absurd as well as useless if a general authority was intend-
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ed. (As before, all references to 'paper no.' are from The
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Federalist Papers.) Where can Congress find the right to
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assume power to define crimes if the permission were not
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specifically granted by us?
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For the past hundred or more years, Congress has been
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busy writing all sorts of laws for which we gave no permis-
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sion. The worse period for illegal and bad laws was during
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the period of the 1930's. This was when the exercise of
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control over the American people went wild. This is one
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reason why the purpose of the jury is so important today.
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The people who work for the government have a job as a
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result of our Constitution. If it were not that we agreed
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to government, their positions would not exist. There is no
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other way to look at it. It is our right and our duty to
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check on what they are doing. This of course includes the
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laws they are passing.
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And what do we check them against? The supremacy
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clause holds the key. If they do not conform, they are no
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good -- they are not laws. Can't make it any plainer.
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Our Fifth Amendment guarantees you and I due process of
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law. This is an extremely important statement. They cannot
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take life, liberty or property unless this requirement for
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due process is followed. Our basic law holds the preced-
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ence. If the government does not obey a command of the
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document, anything that comes as a result does NOT follow
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due process.
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It doesn't take a unanimous jury to say the law is no
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good. It takes only one knowledgeable person to refuse to
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convict and the law, for that instance at least, has been
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neutralized.
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This is jury nullification of laws. This was the
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intent of our jury system from the beginnings of our system
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of government. The Supreme Court has agreed with that
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premise. (Georgia v Brailsford, 3 US 1) (1794) There are
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decisions in law books which show the jury is to try both
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law and fact. These were many years in our past. The drive
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by federal judges to establish the judicial branch as the
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most powerful branch of government has hidden this point.
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Today the people believe only judges can tell the jury what
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the law means. Surprised? This is legal fiction . . .
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Buffalo chips!
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A phrase nearly everyone is familiar with is ignorance
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of the law is no excuse. What excuse does a judge have for
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not knowing the law? (Or do you think perhaps he might?)
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How about all the lawyers we have in Congress making laws?
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What about the lawyers in that court room? If this
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statement has any validity, it applies to everyone.
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Now what would you do in a situation like this? Send a
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note with the bailiff to the judge saying the law is no good
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so you cannot vote for conviction? This would probably end
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with you receiving a contempt citation from the judge and
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off to jail you go without passing go! After all, the man
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in the black robe has instructed you on the meaning of the
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law. The alternative is to refuse to convict. No matter
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what pressure you feel from the other jurors. Knowing the
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national government has no power to define a criminal act,
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how can you consider a persons guilt and perhaps ruin
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someone's life?
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Now your duty as a juror becomes paramount. The people
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who are passing these laws and those who are enforcing them
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are guilty of breaking the law. We have ordered each person
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who works for government to swear to God they will support
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our Constitution. Another command of the document which
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Congress ignores in many instances. More hanky-panky.
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The ease with which they do these unconstitutional
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practices reflects on us. Sadly, we don't know what the
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Constitution says. We have paid no attention to what the
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government has been doing to our rights and with their
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allotted powers.
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The eternal vigilance recommended by Jefferson has gone
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to sleep. We have not been watching our elected representa-
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tives. I assure you these people who exceed their powers
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know exactly what they're doing. They know good people are
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reluctant to raise a fuss to make it stop. Those with a
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lust for greed and power continue on their merry way.
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Back to your duty as a juror. By simply resisting the
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pressure of other members of the jury and refusing to
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convict, the government will be denied a conviction. No
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question this is an awkward position to be in. You may feel
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this person is guilty of something. However, you can't bow
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to pressure to find a person guilty when we denied the
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federal government the power to establish the crime.
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You can rest assured if the person is a criminal, he
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will continue his criminal activity and be back in court
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again. The next time perhaps in a state court and not a
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federal court.
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There has been an assumption in this country that a
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person is innocent until proven guilty. The attitude in
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courts today is frightening. Many people feel if the
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government has gone through all the work and investigation,
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the person must be guilty. Guilty until proven innocent?
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That puts the cart before the horse. This position is
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dangerous to the survival of our Republic and a task which
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is nearly impossible to overcome in court. Don't let them
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use you in this manner. That's exactly what they are doing.
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Alexander Hamilton made this very point in Paper, No.
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65: "But juries are frequently influenced by the opinions of
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judges. They are sometimes induced to find special
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verdicts, which refer the main question to the decision of
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the court. Who would be willing to stake his life and his
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estate on the verdict of a jury acting under the guidance of
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judges who had predetermined his guilt?"
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What about grand juries? The only mention of them is
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in the Fifth Amendment. This is the first hurdle the
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government has to overcome to bring a person to trial. It
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is the obligation of the Grand Jury to investigate allega-
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tions on it's own. They should never simply accept what a
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government attorney charges.
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Grand Juries are completely independent bodies. They
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do not belong to the Court system or the US Attorneys
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office. The Court calls Grand Juries into session from
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lists of names maintained by the US Attorneys office. Yet
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they are independent! They have no right to determine
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guilt. Their only duty is to see if US laws were violated
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and if they were, to issue an indictment against an
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individual.
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Some Grand Juries have earned the name of "rubber-
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stamp" juries. They have accepted what a US Attorney
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charges against an individual without conducting an
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investigation on their own. This is how badly the protec-
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tion of our citizens has eroded in the past years. It's a
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sad comment on American justice and proves how we have been
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bamboozled by our public servants.
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The first investigation conducted has the same require-
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ment as for the petit jury. Does the law meet with the
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requirements of our Constitution? Simply because a US
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Attorney says the violation is of one of US laws doesn't
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mean it's true. In legal circles this is called jury
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manipulation. You are being used by the US Attorney to
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indict a person simply on his word. Charges must be
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investigated independently.
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Do you know a US Attorney does not take an oath to
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support the Constitution as required? He has no authority
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to stand before the Grand Jury and make a charge against
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anyone.
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The requirement that all officers take an oath or
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affirmation to support the Constitution includes the
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executive branch. There are no exceptions. The US Attorney
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works for the Justice Department, part of the executive
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branch. Nonetheless, the US Attorney takes an oath only to
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perform his duties faithfully. This is in section 544 of
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the Judicial Code, Title 28, United States Code.
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Do you see why the federales don't want anyone to know
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that juries have the obligation to try the law also? If
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there is no power to define a crime, you as a member of a
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Grand Jury have no authority to issue an indictment.
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How can anyone argue with this premise? The Constitu-
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tion established that Congress can make no law which is
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beyond their specified and granted powers. The jury system,
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both petit and grand, is the basic protection for us as
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citizens against overzealous government and agents. Jury
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duties and functions have been very slowly curtailed by the
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government. That way they can exercise control over the
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people as they see fit.
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One great man in history made the statement: "The more
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corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." (Cornelius
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Tacitus, Roman senator and historian. A.D. c.56-c.115).
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Congress has been busy for years writing laws for which we
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gave no permission. We must get our ambitious public
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officials back within the confines of our basic law.
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Are we being led down the road to slavery like sheep?
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Has this great country become a nation of wimps . . .
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people who are afraid to challenge the government when it
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breaks the law? Will we wake some fine morning to find we
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are now a minor member of Bush's New World Order? It's
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closer than any of us dare to imagine. Wake up, people!
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What will it be like in this country for us, for our
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children and grandchildren if we don't take control of the
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government? Perhaps you or one of your children will be in
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the same position as the man in this story. Your duty as a
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juror is of the utmost importance in the guarantee of our
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basic protections.
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This same principle applies to state courts. All
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states must obey the Constitution, either by ratification of
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the document or on being granted statehood. The requirement
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for officials to take an oath to support the document also
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applies to state officials. Each reader should at least
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know the authority the state has received from your
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particular state constitution. Find a copy of it or write
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your state representative and request a copy. Then you will
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be able to familiarize yourself with its authority.
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Our very survival depends on alert Americans.
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Ignorance is NO defense! Languishing in prison on an
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illegal conviction is a travesty.
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You and I are the sovereigns. We must begin to act
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like a sovereign. Otherwise, our birthright of life,
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liberty and happiness will disappear like a puff of smoke.
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