Jury Education Initiative
Daniel C. Burton (dan@antispam.autobahn.org)
8 Feb 1998 01:41:56 GMT
Here is something that should clearly be one of our activites. The
Libertarian Party is one of the few that has a platform plank for fully
informed juries.
I tried to get to the web site, http://www.jurypower.org, but I couldn't
look it up. Maybe someone else can try later and see if they can find it.
>Date: Tue, 3 Feb 1998 22:30:08 -0700 (MST)
>From: Jury Rights Project <jrights@levellers.org>
>X-Sender: jrights@saturn.eagle-access.net
>To: Jury Rights Project <jrights@levellers.org>
>Subject: California Jury Education Initiative
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 13:37:52 -0500
>From: "ERIC E. SKIDMORE" <104413.3573@compuserve.com>
>
>JURY EDUCATION INITIATIVE
>
>(California Ballot '98)**
>
>Can you veto bad laws?
>
>Yes, if you've been informed. In the state of California, U.S.A., there is
>a new ballot initiative to make it a law that a jury must be informed by a
>judge in every trial of its inherent right to judge the law as well as the
>facts of the case before them. Justice depends on informed, educated
>juries, hence the Jury Education Initiative (JEI).
>******************************************************************
>*JURY EDUCATION COMMITTEE*
>Board of Directors: Pastor Wiley Drake, Hon. George Hansen, Larry
>Dodge, Ph.D., Peymon Mottahedeh.
>
>*MISSION STATEMENT*
>
>The Jury Education Committee is a political action committee whose
>mission is to enact policies and laws which bring added justice to our
>judicial system through educated and informed jurors. The Committee
>plans to promote laws which:
>
> 1. Inform trial jurors of their inherent right and power as trial
>jurors to veto unjust laws or unjustly applied laws and thereby stop
>imprisonment of the innocent;
> 2. Educate the grand jurors of their important duty in maintaining
>public trust in the integrity and uprightness of our public servants by
>presenting or indicting corrupt or criminal public servants;
> 3. Provide for adequate compensation of jurors to ensure all
>citizens a meaningful opportunity to become involved in their own
>governance as jurors.
>
>*1998 GENERAL PLAN*
>
>The Committee is currently sponsoring a statewide California initiative
>called the Jury Education Initiative. This initiative assures that all
>trial jurors will be informed by the trial judge that they may vote to
>acquit or find the defendant not guilty, if the law is unjust or its
>application would produce an unjust verdict.
>
>In addition, this initiative guarantees that all parties in a trial will
>have the opportunity to present arguments to the jury which may pertain to
>issues of law and justice, including:
>
>a) The merit, intent, constitutionality or applicability of the
> law to the defendant's case;
>b) The motive, moral perspective or circumstances of the
> defendant;
>c) The degree and direction of guilt or actual harm done;
>d) The sanctions which may be applied to the losing party.
>
>This initiative will significantly reduce the number of innocent people
who
>are imprisoned in California due to unjust laws or unjust
>application of laws.
>***************************************************************
>
>For more information you can contact the Jury Education Committee
>(sponsor of the JEI) at:
>
>13211 Myford Road #332,
>Tustin, CA 92782---
>or call 714-838-2896/voice or fax: 714-838-2849
>website: www.jurypower.org