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Fully Informed Jury Association

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|alt = |caption = |map = |msize = |malt = |mcaption = |abbreviation = FIJA |motto = Judicium Parium Est Leges Terrae |formation = 1989[1] |type = Wikipedia:Membership organization |purpose = Juror education[2] |headquarters = Wikipedia:Helena, Montana |coords = |region_served = United States |membership = |language = |leader_title = Executive Director |leader_name = Iloilo Jones |main_organ = Board of Directors |affiliations = |num_staff = 7[3] |num_volunteers = |budget = $140,000 annually[1] |website = http://fija.org/ |remarks = }} --> The Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) is a Wikipedia:United States national jury education organization, incorporated in the state of Wikipedia:Montana as a 501(c)(3) Wikipedia:not-for-profit organization. FIJA works to educate all citizens on their authority when they serve as jurors. FIJA educates the public, provides commentary on current jury-related cases, and assists defendants with jury authority strategies—including the right to Wikipedia:veto bad laws and the misapplication of laws—by refusing to convict the defendant. The organization was formed in the summer of 1989 by Larry Dodge, a Montana businessman, and his friend Don Doig.[4]

In the U.S., every defendant in a criminal case has the right, under Article III, Section 2 and the Wikipedia:Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to be tried by an impartial jury. If the defendant is acquitted, the Wikipedia:double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment forbids the government from putting him or her on trial again. FIJA advises jurors to vote for Wikipedia:acquittal if they disagree with the law, even if they believe the defendant committed the crime he or she is charged with. This concept is known as Wikipedia:jury nullification.

In August 2005, Nancy Lord, David Brody, Gary Dusselgee and Clay Conrad all retired from the FIJA board at the same time. Julie Sheppard was named as the new Chair, and Don Doig, Phil Graf and Margi Crook were named to the Board.

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Activism[edit]

FIJA has lobbied state legislatures to enact legislation that would explicitly elevate the jury's formerly unspoken power to nullify to an openly acknowledged right. None of the twenty-five bills introduced by the group into state legislatures has become law.[5] FIJA has also proposed abolishing the Wikipedia:juror's oath.[6] FIJA has also launched a "Challenge for Churches" program of jury seminars, focusing on "serving justice through conscience."[7] FIJA has also launched a "Lunch Break for Liberty" program to encourage people to use their lunch break to hand out FIJA pamphlets.[8]

FIJA activists have demonstrated outside courthouses and handed out literature to potential jurors in hundreds of cases.[9] They have generally not been arrested for doing so. FIJA speculates that this may be because "prosecutors have reasoned (correctly) that if they arrest fully informed jury leafleters, the leaflets will have to be given to the leafleter's own jury as evidence."[10] FIJA and its activists have been involved in litigation over these matters.[11] Another argument is that since FIJA literature is generic, making no reference to any cases potential jurors may be called upon to serve on, its distribution is not jury tampering.[12]

In dismissing an activist's lawsuit for Wikipedia:false arrest for Wikipedia:disorderly conduct, the Wikipedia:U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit stated, "Although advocacy of jury nullification could no more be flatly forbidden than advocacy of Wikipedia:Marxism, Wikipedia:nudism, or Wikipedia:Satanism, we cannot think of a more reasonable regulation of the time, place, and manner of speech than to forbid its advocacy in a courthouse."[13]

Criticism[edit]

Some prosecutors and law enforcement professionals are strongly opposed to the notion that juries can nullify undesirable laws.[14] FIJA has been accused of Wikipedia:monkeywrenching the justice system.[12] In 2008, Wikipedia:Clay Conrad, author of Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine, quit the organization, stating that it was "so centered on jury nullification that it was ignoring the numerous threats that exist to the jury as an institution,"[15] as evidenced by the fact that the percentage of cases going to jury trial is continually shrinking.[16] Executive Director Iloilo M. Jones described his parting comments as sour grapes motivated by his disappointment at not being able to shift FIJA's focus toward preparing attorneys to pursue jury nullification.[17] FIJA has been condemned as a threat to the system of Wikipedia:rule of law rather than Wikipedia:rule of men. According to Erick J. Haynie, "it is highly questionable whether jurors should be instructed to 'make' the law when a legislative body has already done the job for them. Congress and the state legislatures have superior expertise, resources and perspective to make macro-social decisions, and much more time to reach a well-reasoned decision than does 'a group of twelve citizens of no particular distinction snatched away from their primary vocations' to spend a couple of days in court.'"[18]

Cases[edit]

Jerry Begly[edit]

In 2001, Jerry Begly was dismissed from the jury pool after a Wikipedia:bailiff noticed he was passing out copies of the Wikipedia:Citizens Rule Book, a jury rights publication. The bailiff confiscated the booklets from the recipients and Begly was charged with Wikipedia:contempt of court.[19] The judge dropped the charges "in the interest of judicial economy."[20]

Frank W. Turney[edit]

In Turney v. State of Alaska, FIJA advocate Frank W. Turney was indicted by a Wikipedia:grand jury for Wikipedia:jury tampering and Wikipedia:criminal trespass, and on Wikipedia:interlocutory appeal, the Wikipedia:Supreme Court of Alaska allowed the indictment to stand. While a Wikipedia:felon in possession of a firearm case was underway, Turney allegedly told a juror, who was wearing a button identifying him as such, to call FIJA's telephone number and learn about his rights. According to court records:

During deliberations the next day, Juror Ellis told other jurors that he had called the number, and that he was changing his vote. He told them that "I can vote what I want." He also told them that they should call the number...The jury announced the next morning that it could not reach a decision, and was excused. Jury Foreman Romersberger testified that two jurors had changed their votes to "not guilty" after speaking with Turney or calling the number, leaving the jury deadlocked at eight "guilty" votes to four "not guilty" votes. He testified that the jurors who had switched stated that "their conscience was greatly relieved, and they were going to vote their conscience."[21]

After the verdict, Turney called in to a radio talk show to express his opinion that Hall should not have been prosecuted for possessing a concealable firearm since Hall previously had been convicted only of a non-violent felony. Turney's writ of Wikipedia:habeas corpus was denied by the Wikipedia:U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[22]

Julian Heicklen[edit]

Professor Wikipedia:Julian Heicklen has been arrested multiple times by U.S. Wikipedia:Department of Homeland Security federal police officers while distributing FIJA literature at the Wikipedia:United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. During arrests, he goes limp, falls face first to the ground and once was hospitalized. He has been known to sign his hospital release form as "Wikipedia:John Galt" and "Wikipedia:Ayn Rand."[23]

On May 25, 2010 Mr. Heicklen was arrested for refusing to stop handing out pamphlets at the US District Courthouse at 500 Pearl St and was handed over to the NYPD. Due to previous failures to appear in court, he was remanded to Wikipedia:Riker's Island until the June 8th, 2010 arraignment.[24] His arrest reached national attention over the following year due to the First Amendment implications of arresting a citizen for handing out educational pamphlets about jury nullification to prospective jurors outside of a courthouse.[25] Because most states do not allow lawyers to educate the jury about nullification during a trial, jurors must have independent knowledge about this legal option before the trial.

Currently, no laws prevent an independent party from educating the public about nullification, even if a person distributes educational material within close proximity to a courthouse and even if the material is intended to target jurors. The law only prevents individually targeted jury tampering. Legal experts and attorneys will watch Mr. Heicklen's case closely because if the federal courts allow a prosecution for distributing information to the public, it would be a major new exception to an individual citizen's First Amendment protections. Generally, the Supreme Court has held as sacrosanct the individual right to protest the government through spoken or written word. The Court only allows content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions to political speech, and the Court subjects all such restrictions to strict scrutiny. If the federal courts and, eventually, the Supreme Court allows this prosecution and/or conviction, it would be the first content-based restriction on speech upheld in over a generation of case law.

Mr. Heicklen's case has brought jury nullification into the mainstream, which many defense attorneys applaud. Mr. Heicklen argues that jury nullification functions as just one more check and balance in our system, allowing citizens to not enforce unjust laws imposed by the legislature or pursued by a prosecutor.

A fellow activist, George Donnelly, was arrested for filming on federal property without permission while recording Mr. Heicklen's November 9, 2009 arrest.[26] Protests were held against his prosecution.[27] Heicklen has continued his FIJA activism in spite of the arrests.[28]

Other[edit]

A 26-year-old man was acquitted on obstruction of justice charges stemming from his distribution of FIJA literature at the Wikipedia:Perry County, Pennsylvania courthouse in 1994.[29] In 1996, a 53-year-old man was arrested for passing out FIJA pamphlets to prospective jurors at the Wikipedia:Clark County, Nevada courthouse.[30] In 1995, a 51-year-old mother was charged with jury tampering for papering the windshields of cars near the federal courthouse with FIJA literature when her son was on trial and facing a heavy Wikipedia:mandatory minimum sentence for drug offenses.[31]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://fija.org/about/history/
  2. ↑ http://fija.org/about/fijas-purpose/
  3. ↑ http://fija.org/about/who-we-are/
  4. ↑ Scheflin, Alan W.; Van Dyke, Jon M., {{{first}}} (1991). Merciful Juries: The Resilience of Jury Nullification, 165. 48 Wash. & Lee L. Rev..
  5. ↑ Richard St. John, {{{first}}} (1997). License to Nullify: The Democratic and Constitutional Deficiencies of Authorized Jury Lawmaking, . Yale Law Journal.
  6. ↑ Pepper, David A., {{{first}}} (1999-2000). Nullifying History: Modern-Day Misuse of the Right to Decide the Law, 599. Case W. Res. L. Rev..
  7. ↑ http://fija.org/2010/03/23/challenge-for-churches-serving-justice-through-conscience/
  8. ↑ http://dev.fija.org/2010/06/11/freedom-friday-lunch-break-for-liberty-online-3/
  9. ↑ Rodgers, Frederic B., {{{first}}} (1996). Jury in Revolt - A Heads up on the Fully Informed Jury Association Coming Soon to a Courthouse in Your Area, The, 10. 35 Judges J..
  10. ↑ http://www.fija.org/docs/JG_If_You_are_Facing_Charges.pdf
  11. ↑ Nowak, John E., {{{first}}} (2000-2001). Jury Trials and First Amendment Values in Cyber World, 1213. 34 U. Rich. L. Rev..
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Black, Robert C., {{{first}}} (1997-1998). FIJA: Monkeywrenching the Justice System, 11. 66 UMKC L. Rev..
  13. ↑ Braun v. Baldwin, 346 F.3d 761 (7th Cir. October 10, 2003). Text
  14. ↑ Hannaford-Agor, Paula L.; Hans, Valerie P., {{{first}}} (2003). Nullification at Work - A Glimpse from the National Center for State Courts Study of Hung Juries, 1249. Chi.-Kent L. Rev..
  15. ↑ Conrad, Clay, {{{first}}} (July 20, 2008). Re: apology, . {{{publisher}}}.
  16. ↑ Conrad, Clay, {{{first}}} (Jan 16, 2006). Re: FIJA Does FIJA Still Exist?, . {{{publisher}}}.
  17. ↑ Iloilo Jones, {{{first}}} (15 Jan 2006). Re: FIJA Does Fija Still Exist, . {{{publisher}}}.
  18. ↑ Erick J. Haynie, {{{first}}} (Autumn, 1997). Populism, Free Speech, and the Rule of Law: The "Fully Informed" Jury Movement and Its Implications, 343–379. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-).
  19. ↑ Rick Carroll, {{{first}}} (March 9, 2001). Potential juror booted for handing out flyers, . Aspen Daily News.
  20. ↑ Rick Carroll, {{{first}}} (March 14, 2001). Judge drops charges in jury leaflet case, . Aspen Daily News.
  21. ↑ Turney v. State, 936 P 2d 533 (4/4/97).
  22. ↑ Turney v. Pugh, 400 F3d 1197 (9th Cir. March 15, 2005). Text
  23. ↑ Heicklen, Julian, {{{first}}} (Autumn 2009/Winter 2010). FIJA Demonstrations in New York, . American Juror.
  24. ↑ http://jailedactivist.info/activists/julian-heicklen/
  25. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/nyregion/brief-details-jury-nullification-case-against-julian-heicklen.html?scp=1&sq=Julian%20Heicklen&st=cse
  26. ↑ http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20100426-3.html
  27. ↑ http://www.wfmz.com/news/23797465/detail.html
  28. ↑ http://www. examiner.com/x-26370-Libertarian-News-Examiner~y2010m4d10-FIJA-activists-harassed-threatened-in-Philadelphia
  29. ↑ , {{{first}}} (May 2, 1996). Appeal Reverses T-shirt Conviction, B2. Harrisburg Patriot & Evening News.
  30. ↑ Carri Geer, {{{first}}} (June 7, 1996). LV Man Jailed for Pamphlets, 2B. Las Vegas Rev. J..
  31. ↑ William P. Cheshire, {{{first}}} (August 17, 1995). Nevada Florist Charged with "Felonious" Handbill Distribution, B4. Arizona Republic.

External links[edit]

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