The2ndAmendment
Gold Member
Today, more than 1 in 97 Americans lives behind bars, a rate which is worse than any other nation in the world --- even Red China. The vast majority of people behind bars are serving time for VICTIMLESS crimes.
Most of these people are frightened into Plea Bargains, through a process called "charge stacking." Often these people face over 3,000 months in prison if they don't take the Plea Bargain.
What is a Plea Bargain? To be short, it's a process that convicts you in order to SKIP a Trial by Jury, in exchange for a lesser sentence. Many innocents are also known to have taken these deals.
Charge stacking certainly runs afoul of Double Jeopardy and Cruel and Unusual Punishment clauses; being forced to cede the adjudication of the accusations against you, by a Jury of your Peers, runs afoul of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments.
It is well known that if everyone DENIED plea bargains, that state wouldn't have enough time or money to even imprison 1/10th the current population of incarcerated citizens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
However, in these recent times, we have seen a far more malicious and dark form of attack against the jury system.
The NDAA, or the National Defense Authorization Act, suspends a trial altogether for defendants in Article II courts. Read the following text form the NDAA itself:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4310/text
One can be detained indefinitely in an Article II (military court) on mere Executive whim for "terrorism."
Yet, even more disturbing, the Supreme Court declared that the Obamacare Penalty is a 16th Amendment "tax." Thus, if one fails to conform to the Affordable Care Act, they will be forced to pay an additional tax (also known as a penalty!) that is immune to review by a Jury of your Peers!
It seems that the Supreme Court has opened a trapdoor to the Pit itself with that ruling, as you can now be sure that many laws, whether they come from Republicans or Democrats, will now include fiscal penalties under the GUISE of a tax --- a punishment immune to a review by a Jury of your Peers.
This is not happening at a random or inconsequential moment in American history either. During the previous year, the activities of the NSA have been upheld by the Courts. A few lessons and time invested in the history of abuses of the Crown by Writs of Assistance, or "General Search Warrants" should give you an idea of what a danger to the Republic the NSA has become. As an analogy: If angry sheriff had a personal problem with you, he could have a cop car covertly follow you as you drive everywhere you go. Eventually you will would get a ticket, no matter how well a driver you are.
There was a time when the Crown used arbitrary search powers to take colonists to Admiralty courts without a Jury trial!
With the destruction of Fourth Amendment --- a destruction that has ALREADY COMPLETED --- and now the Jury system is slowly being relegated to only the most serious crimes (such as murder), you should ponder the future of our Republic, how will it look in ten years? 20 years?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Contemplate this quote by Thomas Jefferson:
The Constitution recognizes individuals citizens, such as you, as the highest judicial body. No President or executive can imprison an acquitted person. No Judge can overturn an acquittal. No Legislative Body can pass a Bill of Attainder to override a Jury's decision.
You, the Citizens of the United States, are the Highest Authority on the the Constitution. Although you cannot set precedent, you also have no obligation to uphold precedent. No man can be destroyed unless convicted by a Jury of his Peers.
The Freedom of Press was born in the Zenger trial, when the Jury refused to convict him of sedition. The Freedom of Religion was regained during the Trial of William Penn, when the Jury also refused to convict him.
The Fugitive Slave Laws were almost ineffective, even though they were in the Constitution itself!
Prohibition, another article of the Constitution, was ended as well by Jury Nullification. Many claim that the "violence" brought an end to Prohibition. But that obviously isn't true, since the Government hasn't ended the far more violent War on Drugs. But most people today take Plea Bargains instead of going to trial. If everyone went to a jury trial, the state would have to automatically acquit 90% of them simply because it wouldn't' have the time or money for prosecuting victimless crimes.
Notice that Prohibition and the current War on Drugs all run afoul of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution (the reserved rights of people and the States, these powers have never been delegated to the Federal Government). The Fugitive Slave Laws ran totally contradictory to the Ninth Amendment, which is the philosophical foundation of the Enlightenment --- and thus the Constitution itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Now read this text here from the Declaration of Independence:
As you can see, every amendment in the Bill of Rights is under heavy siege, even the Third Amendment. One of those amendments, the Fourth, is already dead. Imagine if the men who survived the Revolution of 1776 were here today? Our Government has become far more tyrannical than the Crown has had been, and now the ONLY peaceful tool to resist this raw and ugly power, Trial by Jury, is being intentionally eroded by those same tyrants, both directly and indirectly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Many patriots have only TWO conditions that would PERMIT a revolution:
1) Abolition of Trial by Jury
2) Confiscation of Firearms
So long as Trial by Jury remains, the People can only blame themselves for Tyranny, since only they can destroy their Peers.
Thus, the People are Sovereign, as the Enlightenment brought about, Popular Sovereignty being the primary theme of the age. This is stated clearly in the Ninth Amendment. So long as the People are Sovereign, through the Jury, they are the Supreme Judicial Body of the land, and thus the ones ultimately in charge.
The Second Amendment is how the People remain Sovereign, it is the ENFORCER of Trial by Jury. If executives started to imprison innocent men, or judges overturned acquittal,s or legislatures passed Bills of Attainder to usurp the Jury, these Government Agents would be REVOLTING against the People, the Constitution itself. It would be the solemn DUTY of the People to Restore the Rule of Law.
Thus, by consequence, if the Government attempted to seize firearms --- before abolishing Trial by Jury, then it must be assumed that the Government has become hostile or intends to be hostile soon after. Once the People are disarmed, their Jury system is irrelevant, as they have no way of enforcing their superiority under the Constitution. They are no longer Sovereign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
So the question that remains, as indicated by the title of this thread:
How much more erosion of the Jury system can we take? Are there any peaceful remedies that remain to restore the Jury system?
Some hope has been observed in New Hampshire where Jury Nullification was made the law of the land in 2012, but can this miracle be repeated elsewhere?
Most of these people are frightened into Plea Bargains, through a process called "charge stacking." Often these people face over 3,000 months in prison if they don't take the Plea Bargain.
What is a Plea Bargain? To be short, it's a process that convicts you in order to SKIP a Trial by Jury, in exchange for a lesser sentence. Many innocents are also known to have taken these deals.
Charge stacking certainly runs afoul of Double Jeopardy and Cruel and Unusual Punishment clauses; being forced to cede the adjudication of the accusations against you, by a Jury of your Peers, runs afoul of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments.
It is well known that if everyone DENIED plea bargains, that state wouldn't have enough time or money to even imprison 1/10th the current population of incarcerated citizens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
However, in these recent times, we have seen a far more malicious and dark form of attack against the jury system.
The NDAA, or the National Defense Authorization Act, suspends a trial altogether for defendants in Article II courts. Read the following text form the NDAA itself:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4310/text
Nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) or the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Public Law 112–81) shall be construed to deny the availability of the writ of habeas corpus or to deny any Constitutional rights in a court ordained or established by or under Article III of the Constitution to any person inside the United States who would be entitled to the availability of such writ or to such rights in the absence of such laws.
One can be detained indefinitely in an Article II (military court) on mere Executive whim for "terrorism."
Yet, even more disturbing, the Supreme Court declared that the Obamacare Penalty is a 16th Amendment "tax." Thus, if one fails to conform to the Affordable Care Act, they will be forced to pay an additional tax (also known as a penalty!) that is immune to review by a Jury of your Peers!
It seems that the Supreme Court has opened a trapdoor to the Pit itself with that ruling, as you can now be sure that many laws, whether they come from Republicans or Democrats, will now include fiscal penalties under the GUISE of a tax --- a punishment immune to a review by a Jury of your Peers.
This is not happening at a random or inconsequential moment in American history either. During the previous year, the activities of the NSA have been upheld by the Courts. A few lessons and time invested in the history of abuses of the Crown by Writs of Assistance, or "General Search Warrants" should give you an idea of what a danger to the Republic the NSA has become. As an analogy: If angry sheriff had a personal problem with you, he could have a cop car covertly follow you as you drive everywhere you go. Eventually you will would get a ticket, no matter how well a driver you are.
There was a time when the Crown used arbitrary search powers to take colonists to Admiralty courts without a Jury trial!
With the destruction of Fourth Amendment --- a destruction that has ALREADY COMPLETED --- and now the Jury system is slowly being relegated to only the most serious crimes (such as murder), you should ponder the future of our Republic, how will it look in ten years? 20 years?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Contemplate this quote by Thomas Jefferson:
“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”
The Constitution recognizes individuals citizens, such as you, as the highest judicial body. No President or executive can imprison an acquitted person. No Judge can overturn an acquittal. No Legislative Body can pass a Bill of Attainder to override a Jury's decision.
You, the Citizens of the United States, are the Highest Authority on the the Constitution. Although you cannot set precedent, you also have no obligation to uphold precedent. No man can be destroyed unless convicted by a Jury of his Peers.
The Freedom of Press was born in the Zenger trial, when the Jury refused to convict him of sedition. The Freedom of Religion was regained during the Trial of William Penn, when the Jury also refused to convict him.
The Fugitive Slave Laws were almost ineffective, even though they were in the Constitution itself!
Prohibition, another article of the Constitution, was ended as well by Jury Nullification. Many claim that the "violence" brought an end to Prohibition. But that obviously isn't true, since the Government hasn't ended the far more violent War on Drugs. But most people today take Plea Bargains instead of going to trial. If everyone went to a jury trial, the state would have to automatically acquit 90% of them simply because it wouldn't' have the time or money for prosecuting victimless crimes.
Notice that Prohibition and the current War on Drugs all run afoul of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution (the reserved rights of people and the States, these powers have never been delegated to the Federal Government). The Fugitive Slave Laws ran totally contradictory to the Ninth Amendment, which is the philosophical foundation of the Enlightenment --- and thus the Constitution itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Now read this text here from the Declaration of Independence:
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
....
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences (this heavily rings of NDAA)
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws (arbitration and plea bargains, voiding the sixth and seventh amendments, voiding double jeopardy and the eighth amendment cruel and unusual punishment with charge stacking and mandatory sentencing)
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance (IRS/Alphabet soup agencies --- all of which exercise undelegated powers, violating the Ninth and Tenth, and very often the First Amendment)
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever (rampant use of Executive Orders)
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments (demolition of the fourth amendment, heavy infringement of the second amendment)
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us (be it the paramilitarization of the police force, which is far more numerous and better armed than the Redcoats of the 18th Century; or be it the rise of unmanned drones, that can be armed at any time, or recent cases of law enforcement FORCING neighbors to harbor and serve as a base for sting operations, or the martial law occupation of Boston, the THIRD AMENDMENT is now fullly under siege,
Anthony Mitchell Lawsuit: Cops Violated Third Amendment, Occupied Home, Complaint States
As you can see, every amendment in the Bill of Rights is under heavy siege, even the Third Amendment. One of those amendments, the Fourth, is already dead. Imagine if the men who survived the Revolution of 1776 were here today? Our Government has become far more tyrannical than the Crown has had been, and now the ONLY peaceful tool to resist this raw and ugly power, Trial by Jury, is being intentionally eroded by those same tyrants, both directly and indirectly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Many patriots have only TWO conditions that would PERMIT a revolution:
1) Abolition of Trial by Jury
2) Confiscation of Firearms
So long as Trial by Jury remains, the People can only blame themselves for Tyranny, since only they can destroy their Peers.
Thus, the People are Sovereign, as the Enlightenment brought about, Popular Sovereignty being the primary theme of the age. This is stated clearly in the Ninth Amendment. So long as the People are Sovereign, through the Jury, they are the Supreme Judicial Body of the land, and thus the ones ultimately in charge.
The Second Amendment is how the People remain Sovereign, it is the ENFORCER of Trial by Jury. If executives started to imprison innocent men, or judges overturned acquittal,s or legislatures passed Bills of Attainder to usurp the Jury, these Government Agents would be REVOLTING against the People, the Constitution itself. It would be the solemn DUTY of the People to Restore the Rule of Law.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.
Thus, by consequence, if the Government attempted to seize firearms --- before abolishing Trial by Jury, then it must be assumed that the Government has become hostile or intends to be hostile soon after. Once the People are disarmed, their Jury system is irrelevant, as they have no way of enforcing their superiority under the Constitution. They are no longer Sovereign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
So the question that remains, as indicated by the title of this thread:
How much more erosion of the Jury system can we take? Are there any peaceful remedies that remain to restore the Jury system?
Some hope has been observed in New Hampshire where Jury Nullification was made the law of the land in 2012, but can this miracle be repeated elsewhere?
Last edited: