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Not sure where this came from but it is in some info I have archived.
"It is not necessary for a state legislature to “adopt or officially recognize” jury nullification. All that is necessary is for a critical mass of the people to know about their power and know how to use it. In addition, even if a law exists, judges will still lie. Indiana and Georgia has jury nullification in their constitutions, yet judges still lie, jury tamper, try to trick jurors, often succeeding. Only an educated and confident jury pool guarantees that judges will not suppress jury nullification. Very important -- lobbying the legislature about jury nullification has often confused the general public, making many think we cannot nullify bad laws till the legislature passes a new law. We have our power now, we simply have to know it and use it. POLITICIANS ARE NOT THE SOLUTION – YOU ARE."
Only one problem. The government already knows how much power that juries have, and they don’t want them to have it.
So they try 99% of cases WITHOUT A JURY.
And on top of that, they have instituted administrative hearings, which take over civil and criminal courts. Administrative hearings do not use juries. And you have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to a jury in an administrative hearing. Constitutional, eh? NOT.
So instead of dismantling the government, the result is the government becoming MORE totalitarian.
Way to go!!!
Originally posted by frazzle
reply to post by hawkiye
Great topic and something everybody should know about, however they've done an end run around jury nullification, too, just like every other tool of self governance we once had. Thought I'd post a poster's comment from another discussion on this topic.
butnowyouknow.net...
Only one problem. The government already knows how much power that juries have, and they don’t want them to have it.
So they try 99% of cases WITHOUT A JURY.
And on top of that, they have instituted administrative hearings, which take over civil and criminal courts. Administrative hearings do not use juries. And you have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to a jury in an administrative hearing. Constitutional, eh? NOT.
So instead of dismantling the government, the result is the government becoming MORE totalitarian.
Way to go!!!
How do we get around THAT one?
Id say he is exaggerating a bit on the 99% figure. They can't refuse you a jury trial its just that many people are offered a choice of an administrative hearing and take it. If you do take it and are not satisfied with the verdict you can still opt for a Jury Trial even for a traffic ticket if you know your rights. if most people asked for a trial the system would collapse as they could never be keep with your right to a speedy trial and be forced to dismiss most cases.
Jury trial has become the exception rather than the rule as guilty pleas dispose of the vast majority of criminal cases without trial. 2 Plea bargaining, the system whereby criminal defendants are given inducements in the form of reduced charges or lighter sentences in exchange for pleading guilty, has been accepted as a necessary evil and upheld by the Supreme Court as a constitutional method of determining guilt. 3 Some commentators, however, dispute the Supreme Court's view, arguing that plea bargaining infringes a criminal defendant's absolute right to a trial by jury, and thus is unconstitutional. 4 These commentators urge that the system provide resources adequate to permit the exercise of this constitutional right. 5
litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com... 15&key=b2d55a3b7d075447a27e203902f97ae2
Plea bargaining is a system that is best described as one of condemnation without adjudication. It is a system that replaces trial, which is what our constitution intended, with deals.
Second, those deals are coerced. The prosecutor is basically forcing people to waive their rights to jury trial by threatening them with ever greater sanctions if they refuse to plead and instead demand the right to jury trial.
www.pbs.org...