Quantum Windbag
Gold Member
- May 9, 2010
- 58,308
- 5,101
- 245
Sixth Amendment of the United Sates Constitution said:In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence
Ever wonder why this was written into the Constitution? Like most of our Constitution, this exists to limit the power of government. Juries have the power to find someone accused unjustly, or even guilty of breaking an unjust law, not guilty. This is the secret power that citizens have that the state does not want you know about.
Thomas Jefferson in 1782 ([I]Notes on Virginia[/I]) said:it is usual for the jurors to decide the fact, and to refer the law arising on it to the decision of the judges. But this division of the subject lies with their discretion only. And if the question relate to any point of public liberty, or if it be one of those in which the judges may be suspected of bias, the jury undertake to decide both law and fact
Unites States v. Dougherty said:[The jury has an] unreviewable and irreversible power...to acquit in disregard of the instructions on the law given by the trial judge...The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard uncontradicted evidence and instructions of the judge; for example, acquittals under the fugitive slave law.
This is the ultimate power we, as citizens, have over the government. It is actually part of the checks and balances built into our system. Those who believe in liberty need to be informed jurors.
Fully Informed Jury Association
Last edited: