Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
dark times
the tension
between democratic values and market fundamentalism has reached a
breaking point The social contract is under assault, neo-Nazism is on the
rise, right-wing populism is propelling extremist
social movements
anti-immigrant sentiment is now wrapped in the poisonous logic
of nationalism
racism has become a mark of celebrated audacity and
a politics of disposability comes dangerously close to its endgame of
extermination for those considered excess
the
conditions for totalitarianism and state violence are still with us
smothering critical thought, social responsibility, the ethical imagination
and politics itself
In
the United States the extreme in both political parties no longer needs the
comfort of counterfeit ideology which appeals
to the common good
power is now concentrated in the hands of relatively few
people
the state
has become
The forces of free-market fundamentalism are on the march ushering in a terrifying horizon of what Hannah Arendt once called
.[1]
and exceptionalism,
. As Bill Dixon observes: [T]he totalitarian form is still with us because the all too protean origins of totalitarianism are still with us: loneliness as the normal register of social life,
the frenzied lawfulness of ideological certitude, mass poverty and mass homelessness, the routine use of terror as a political instrument, and the ever growing speeds and scales of media, economics, and warfare.[2]
,
right
in
are made
, human
and corporations while power is global and free from the limited politics of the democratic state. In fact,
and the
compromising
a discourse of
up
. Informed judgment
creating both a
now
.A
foolishness
, celebrity culture,
viewed as
, just as
people today
quickly
that their
is a much
today
Yet, there is more at work here than a flight from social responsibility, if not politics itself. Also
democratic
. With the return of the Gilded Age and its dream worlds of consumption, privatization and deregulation, both
such
and protections
. As market mentalities and moralities tighten their grip on all aspects of society, democratic institutions and public spheres are being downsized, if not altogether
disappearing.
energizing public spheres and the thick mesh of mutual obligations and social responsibilities to be found in any viable democracy.[5]
grim
, a practice that acts directly upon the conditions that bear down on our lives in order to change them when necessary. cur-Sam Bosma [Credit: Sam Bosma.] At a
time
good
there seems to be a
-minded
is the
There is
agents
addressing important social issues and being alert to the
responsibility of deepening and expanding the meaning and practices of a
vibrant democracy At the heart
is the question of what education
should accomplish
, attentive to
of such a challenge
in a democracy. What work do educators have to do to create the economic, political and ethical conditions necessary to endow young people with the capacities to think,
question, doubt, imagine the unimaginable and defend education as essential for inspiring and energizing the people necessary for the existence of a robust democracy? In a world in which there is an increasing abandonment of
educate young people to challenge authority and in the words of James Baldwin
and
.[8] In
affair
here
Reason Produces
the
an
.[9]
a language
. In this instance,
. For example, the Tucson Unified School District board not only eliminated the
famed Mexican-American studies program, but also banned a number of Chicano and Native American books it deemed dangerous. The ban included Shakespeares play The Tempest, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by the famed
that is
. Such actions
suggest
. It becomes part of
. At issue here is
. In this context,
critical pedagogy illuminates the relationships among knowledge, authority and power.[11]
Orwells
vision totalitarian society casts a shadow over the U S
seen clearly in the ongoing and ruthless assault on the social state
nightmarish
of a
dark
nited
tates. The
consequences can be
workers, unions, higher education, students, poor minorities and any vestige of the social contract. Free market policies, values, and practices with their emphasis on the privatization of public wealth, the elimination of social
protections, and
now shape practically every commanding political and economic institution in the United States.
Public spheres that once offered at least the glimmer of progressive ideas, enlightened social policies, non-commodified values, and critical dialogue and exchange have been increasingly militarizedor replaced by private spaces
tranquilization and a paralyzing level of social infantilism. Chris Hedges crystalizes this premise in arguing that Americans now live in a society in which
,
and violence as the organizing principle of politics.[1] Under such circumstances, malevolent modes of rationality now impose the values of a militarized neoliberal regime on
everyone, shattering viable modes of agency, solidarity, and hope. Amid the bleakness and despair, the discourses of
war brings death and destruction, not only to the adversary but also to ones side, and without distinguishing between guilty and innocent.[2] Human barbarity is no longer invisible, hidden under the
bureaucratic language of Orwellian doublespeak. Its conspicuousness, if not celebration, emerged in the new editions of American exceptionalism ushered in by the post 9/11 exacerbation of the war on terror. In the aftermath of
If politics
seemed irrelevant before the attacks on the World Trade Center
it
now seemed both urgent and despairing
Already imperiled
democracy became even more fragile in the aftermath of 9/11.
9/11 has transformed a terrorist attack into a war
on terror that mimics the very crimes it pledged to eliminate
Security trumped civil liberties
a state of emergency that
justified
terrorist practices
homeland security-industrial
complex
This is not to suggest that security is not an important
consideration
but it cannot serve
as a pretext
for abandoning civil liberties
Nor
as a
pretext for American exceptionalism and its imperialist
goals
these monstrous acts of terrorism, there was a growing sense among politicians, the mainstream media, and conservative and liberal pundits that history as we knew it had been irrefutably ruptured.
. But history cannot be erased, and those traditional public spheres in which people could exchange ideas,
debate, and shape the conditions that structured their everyday lives increasingly continued to appear to have little significance or political consequence.
Almost
as shared fears replaced any sense of shared responsibilities. Under Bush and Cheney, the government lied about the war in Iraq,
created a torture state, violated civil liberties, and developed new antiterrorist laws, such as the USA PATRIOT ACT. It imposed
a range of
, including extraordinary rendition and state torture, which made it easier to undermine those basic civil liberties that protect individuals
against invasive and potentially repressive government actions.[3] Under the burgeoning of what James Risen has called the
, state secrecy and organized corporate corruption filled the coffers of the defense industry along with the corporate owned security industriesespecially those providing drones who benefited the most
for the United States. Clearly, any democracy needs to be able to defend itself,
, as it has,
, democratic values, and any semblance of justice, morality, and political responsibility.
can it serve
expansionist
has suggested rightly that under the so war on terrorism, the political landscape is changing and that we are no longer citizens but detainees, distinguishable from the inmates of Guantanamo not by an indifference in legal status,
but only by the fact that we have not yet had the misfortune to be incarceratedor unexpectedly executed by a missile from an unmanned aircraft.[5] The war on terror morphed into a legitimation for state terrorism as was made
the
administration
whistleblowers and use drones
terrorists Obama expanded the
Obama
notion of security rooted in personal fears rather than in a notion of social security that rallied against the deprivations and suffering produced by war, poverty, racism, and state terrorism.
, space, location,
. Obama has become the master of permanent war seeking to increase the bloated military budgetclose to a trillion dollarswhile turning to lawless violence.translated into unrestrained violent interventions from
Libya to Syria and back to Iraq, including an attempt to expand the war on ISIS in Syria and possibly send more heavy weapons to its client government in Ukraine.[6]
and
the imposition of punitive standards included not only the bombing, abduction, and torture of enemy combatants, but also
the regime of
with
and its disdain for democratic values and shared compassion for others,
misguided
the fog of
, a hatred of the other now privileged as an enemy combatant, and an insular retreat into mindless consumerism and the faux safety of gated communities. With the merging of militarism,
the culture of surveillance, and a neoliberal culture of cruelty, solidarity and public trust have morphed into an endless display of violence and the ongoing militarization of visual culture and public space.[7]
as poor
occupying
men and
.[8] As Jeffrey St. Clair has pointed out, one index of how state terrorism and lawlessness have become normalized is evident not only by the fact that the majority of Americans support
torture, even though they know it is totally americas-ed-deficit-300x449 ineffective as a means of intelligence gathering, but also by the
, whether it parades as entertainment or manifests itself in the growing demonization and incarceration of black and brown youth, adults, Muslims, immigrants, and
others deemed as disposable.[9] It should come as no surprise that the one issue the top 2016 GOP presidential contenders agree on is that
, a bellwether of individual liberty, a symbol of what big wants and shouldnt have.[10] Guns provide political theater for the new political extremists and are
symptomatic less of some cockeyed defense of the second amendment than willingness to maximize the pleasure of violence and building a case for the use of deadly force both at home and abroad. As Rustom Bharacuha and
democracy
and war
Susan Sontag have argued in different contexts, There is an echo of the pornographic in maximizing the pleasure of violence,[11] one that dissolves politics into pathology.[12] Notions of
increasingly appear to be
jingoistic
the dominant
. Climate change
deniers, anti-intellectuals, religious fundamentalists, and others who exhibit pride in displaying a kind of thoughtlessness exhibit a kind of political and theoretical helplessness, if not corruption, that opens the door to the wider
bomb Syria
ing
further
the reach of
to go to war
with Iran,
that questions the use of American power. One glaring example can be found in the constant and under analyzed televised images and stories of homegrown terrorists threatening to blow up malls, schools, and any other
Network, made concrete by the an almost fever pitched bellicosity that informs the majority of its commentaries and reactions to war on terror.
Missing from
is
the massive lawlessness produced by the United States government through targeted drone attacks on enemy combatants, the violation of civil liberties, and the almost unimaginable human suffering and hardship perpetrated
through the American war machine in the Middle East, especially Iraq. Also missing is a history of lawlessness, imperialism, and torture that supported a host of authoritarian regimes propped up by the United States. Capitalizing on
almost any
terrorist attack
further amplifies the hyped-up language of war
endless talk shows fanning the fires of patriotism
expand the war
the pent up emotions and needs of an angry and grieving public for revenge, fueled by an unchecked Islamophobia,
reportage of a
globe,
throughout the
to
against any one of a number of Arab countries that are considered terrorist states. For example, John Bolton, writing an op-ed for the New York Times insists that all attempts by the
Obama administration to negotiate an arms deal with Iran is a sign of weakness. For Bolton, the only way to deal with Iran is to launch an attack on their nuclear infrastructure. The title of his op-ed sums up the organizing idea of
and lawlessness
a discourse
prevent the further killing of innocent people, regardless of their religion, culture, and place of occupancy in the world. Instead of viewing the current crisis as simply a new and more dangerous historical conjuncture that has
in addressing what it
nited
from the legacy of a politics that has indulged authoritarian ideologies and embraced violence as a central measure of power, national identity, and patriotism.
[14]
California.Guided by a keen sense of integrity and humanity, Ethans work is both deeply connected and extremely insightful, blending philosophy, politics, activism, spirituality, meditation and a unique sense of humour. Ethans
most popular publications include 108 Steps to Be in The Zone, a set of 108 meditative practices for self discovery and individual betterment, and The Little Green Book of Revolution an inspirational book based on ideas of
peaceful revolution, historical activism and caring for the Earth like Native Americans. "Oligarchy, Police State and The War On Individualism" http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/oligarchy-police-state-the-war-onindividualism/) *****BRACKETS IN THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
being implemented
. Whole swaths of
companies,
, and the police who so diligently strive to meet their arrest quotas. And, most glaringly, the questionably-connected private corporations that are paid per
. And
the illegal
especially
, and
Thorn: One of the big questions asked by nave media talking heads is: Where does all of this heroin come from? The answer is the same as it was a decade ago following a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-led invasion of
80% of
heroin is
from Afghanistan In spite
military controls a great deal of that
country
Afghanistan: 75%-
the worlds
exported
mountainous
of the fact
, production levels hit record highs last year.[1] You do the math. And the
seemingly endless War On Drugs has led to an unparalleled culture of incarceration in the United States. Journalist Maya Schenwar describes the scope of the problem: An estimated
in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 2,259 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79
Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories. [1] Thats about
Americans
60%
of whom
2.4 million
[3]. Add in another almost five million on probation or in some way under the supervision of the
criminal justice system and youve reached about seven million [4], the equivalent of the population of Serbia or Paraguay. Not surprisingly, thats also the largest prison population on Earth On any day of your choice, the United
States, with 5% of the worlds population, has close to 25% of the people imprisoned on this planet. [5] That population, by the way, has risen by 700% since 1970, a tidal movement for incarceration that only in recent years has
shown small signs of finally ebbing. [6] In short, state by state or as a country, the U.S. leaves the rest of the world in the dust. (USA! USA!) As this trend has proven, making narcotics illegal does not eliminate drug use, or cure
addiction,
it
only
risk to a prohibitionist society than one that deals openly and constructively with issues of addiction and regards the alteration of consciousness (whether casually or addictively) as a personal and spiritual concern instead of a social
, by the same
from prohibition, that crime becomes an inherent part of the story. Thus,
conducted
creeping
decline of the public sphere in late twentieth-century America poses a series of great dilemmas and challenges.
Many ideological currents scrutinized here localism, metaphysics, spontaneism, post-modernism, Deep Ecology intersect with
and reinforce each other. While these currents have deep origins in popular movements of the 1960s and 1970s, they remain very much alive in the
1990s. Despite their different outlooks and trajectories, they all share one thing in
common: a depoliticized expression of struggles to combat and overcome
alienation. The false sense of empowerment that comes with such mesmerizing impulses is accompanied
by a loss of public engagement, an erosion of citizenship and a depleted capacity
of individuals in large groups to work for social change. As this ideological quagmire worsens, urgent
problems that are destroying the fabric of American society will go unsolved
perhaps even unrecognized only to fester more ominously in the future. And such problems (ecological
crisis, poverty, urban decay, spread of infectious diseases, technological
displacement of workers) cannot be understood outside the larger social and global context of
internationalized markets, finance, and communications. Paradoxically, the widespread retreat from politics, often inspired by localist sentiment, comes
at a time when agendas that ignore or sidestep these global realities will, more than ever, be
reduced to impotence. In his commentary on the state of citizenship today, Wolin refers to the increasing sublimation and dilution of politics, as
larger numbers of people turn away from public concerns toward private
ones. By diluting the life of common involvements, we negate the very idea of politics as a source of public ideals and visions. 74 In
the meantime, the fate of the world hangs in the balance . The unyielding truth is that, even as the
ethos of anti-politics becomes more compelling and even fashionable in the
United States, it is the vagaries of political power that will continue to decide the
The
fate of human societies. This last point demands further elaboration. The shrinkage of politics hardly
means that corporate colonization will be less of a reality , that social hierarchies will somehow disappear,
or that gigantic state and military structures will lose their hold over peoples lives. Far from it: the space
abdicated by a broad citizenry, well-informed and ready to participate at many
levels, can in fact be filled by authoritarian and reactionary elites an already familiar dynamic in
many lesser-developed countries. The fragmentation and chaos of a Hobbesian world, not very far removed from the rampant individualism, social Darwinism, and civic violence that
have been so much a part of the American landscape, could be the prelude to a powerful Leviathan designed to impose order in the face of disunity and atomized retreat. In this way
the eclipse of politics might set the stage for a reassertion of politics in more
virulent guise or it might help further rationalize the existing power structure. In either case,
the state would likely become what Hobbes anticipated: the embodiment of those universal,
collective interests that had vanished from civil society. 75
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/jury-nullification-an-imp_b_1165640.html)
of The Wire wrote a passionate piece in Time magazine where they called on Americans to join them in the use of jury nullification as a strategy to slow the drug war machine. From the
article: "A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right," wrote Thomas Paine when he called for civil disobedience against monarchy --
the flawed national policy of his day. In a similar spirit, we offer a small idea that is, perhaps,
no small idea. It will not solve the drug problem, nor will it heal all civic wounds. It does not yet address questions of how the resources spent warring with our poor
over drug use might be better spent on treatment or education or job training, or anything else that might begin to restore those places in America where the only economic engine
remaining is the illegal drug economy. It doesn't resolve the myriad complexities that a retreat from war to sanity will require. All it does is open a range of intricate, paradoxical issues.
But this is what we can do -- and what we will do. If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws,
regardless of the evidence presented.
will -- to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty -- no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government
ones to cages because they have a drug problem. We have more power than we realize.
follow.
Nullifying war on drugs cases prompts lawmakers to actempirically proven in the Fugitive Slave Act and the
Prohibition-even one juror is enough --- It shocks the police
Silverman 13
*******BRACKETS IN
- Stever Silverman December 18, 2013, (How Jury Nullification Accelerates the Drug Wars Demise. Flex Your Rights. https://www.flexyourrights.org/jury-nullification-drug-war-demise/) NC
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Jury nullification
is another mechanism to go around the politicians by going directly to the
people in the community. My role on this panel has been to report on developments in New Hampshire and the prospect for [changing laws in other
states]. But in the meantime, before these state legislative battles, we can accelerate the pace for reform by
simply spreading the word about jury nullification. There arent many
people here who have close ties to politicians. But I bet everybody here has a family member, a
friend, an acquaintance, a neighbor, or a coworker who has receivedor is going to receivea jury summons. Dont let these
opportunities slip by. In ten minutes you can share important information about jury nullification from your laptop or iPad. Blast this information to
all of your contacts. When we win an acquittal through jury nullification thats an opportunity to start this cycle all over again. Take that news story and blast
How Jury Nullification Advances Drug Reform In Washington and Colorado we won through the initiative process by going around politicians.
it to all your contacts, planting the seeds again for a future case by reminding people that the nullification prerogative is out there and they can use it when the situation is right.
Kirsten Tynan We have adults alive today who have never had a president who hasnt violated a drug law, yet none of these presidents have ever been prosecuted under the laws that
are typically used to ruin other peoples lives. Kirsten Tynan Kirsten Tynan is the national coordinator for the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA). Shes been a grassroots pro-liberty
activist for more than 20 years. She gives us an overview of what FIJA does in the area jury nullification activism, advocacy, and education. (Jump to video of Kirstens talk.) Tynan
playing field, bullying defendants into forgoing their right to trial by jury and taking a plea bargainand those plea bargains are much harsher than they would have been during
prohibition. Drug War & Race Were also seeing a two-tiered system just as we did during prohibition. Back then, prominent members of the community, often
government officials, would have their own private entrances to speakeasies so that they could
violate the law in privacy and comfort. In the current situation we actually have adults alive today who have never had a
president who hasnt violated a drug law, yet none of these presidents have ever been prosecuted under the laws that are typically used to ruin other peoples livesand especially used
against low-income individuals and and people of color.Fugitive Slave Era: Jury Nullifications Finest Hour 1850s-style rights flexing Kirsten displayed this pre-Civil War know-yourrights flyer, urging Northern abolitionists not talk to police tasked with enforcing fugitive slave laws. She highlights famousShadrack Minkins
fugitive slave
case and others where Northern prosecutors repeatedly failed to secure convictions under these onerous laws. Re: Disingenuous Fact Finding Id like to reframe something that
Clay [Conrad] said. He referred to jury nullification as disingenuous fact finding. Id like to suggest an alternative framing. I consider it a genuine
finding that a law applied in a case at hand is wrong . The true disingenuous of the system is from laws that
redefine vices, which harm nobody, as crimes. Crimes are actually things that harm people or property. And further disingenuousness comes from judges who explicitly misinform jurors
of their rights. With all of these parallels [between alcohol prohibition and the fugitive slave era], there is a notable missing parallel.
Mass jury
nullification undermined the Fugitive Slave Act and the Compromise of 1850, contributing to bringing
emancipation. Mass jury nullification made a laughing stock of prohibition, but were not seeing those things
now. Jury nullification really should be a tool that we use to provide relief from
the War on Drugs and to protect all of our rights. And the fact that were not makes me a little nuts. It boggles my mind. But it is indeed a tool
for policy change, and we can see that because two constitutional amendments were helped along to their final passage through jury nullification. The highest
and best purpose of the independent jury is to protect each other from the unjust laws and abusive prosecutions imposed by government. Whats at Stake? What is at stake is huge.
You can save reputations. You can save relationships. You can save peoples livelihood or property. You can save their educations, because they might not be able to get a student loan if
convicted. You can save their freedom, and you can in fact save their life. (Even if its not a death penalty case people get killed in prison.) You cannot be required to check your
a potential viral media event, especially when jurors decide to speak out. Steve Silverman Steve Silverman is the founder & executive director of Flex Your Rights. He discusses our
upcoming movie, Jury Duty: What the Government Doesnt Want You to Know, and how it will inspire a wave of jury nullification acquittals that help dismantle the War on Drugs. (Jump
to video of my talk.) Hero Inspiration by Norman Rockwell The Jury, by Norman Rockwell This is a Norman Rockwell painting calledThe Jury. It debuted on the cover of The Saturday
Evening Post in 1959. At that time women were prohibited from serving on juries in three states and their jury service was restricted in eighteen states. The predominant sexist attitude
of the time suggested that women jurors would crumple too easily under the intense psychological pressure of the deliberation room. This painting is Rockwells response to that. One
this young woman is that she could fit perfectly inside a jury
deliberation room today. Maybe today shes a punk rock chick hiding scene
tattoos underneath her blouse. Or maybe shes a hippie Burner who cut off
her dreads and removed a facial piercing or two after receiving her
summons. But most importantly, she represents US. She represents the 58% of Americans who according to this most recent Gallup p oll
thing that strikes me about
support the legalization of marijuanayet we are routinely disqualified from serving as jurors in cases where a non-violent drug defendants liberty is on the line. Viral Disruption of The
War on Drugs The possibility for profound systemic disruption of the War on Drugs is exactly why Flex Your Rights is now taking on jury nullification as the subject of our next big film.
Ive received hundreds of emails and Facebook and YouTube comments from people thanking me for helping save their ass in one way or another. Thats great, but aside from a few
every time one of our viewers is able to either secure an acquittal for a drug drug defendant or even simply hang the jury because they refused to vote guiltythis creates the
California.Guided by a keen sense of integrity and humanity, Ethans work is both deeply connected and extremely insightful, blending philosophy, politics, activism, spirituality, meditation and a unique sense of humour. Ethans
most popular publications include 108 Steps to Be in The Zone, a set of 108 meditative practices for self discovery and individual betterment, and The Little Green Book of Revolution an inspirational book based on ideas of
peaceful revolution, historical activism and caring for the Earth like Native Americans. "Oligarchy, Police State and The War On Individualism" http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN/oligarchy-police-state-the-war-onindividualism/)
http://www.brettsanders.me/2015/10/jury-nullification-the-achilles-heal-of-the-police-state/)
One of the most powerful rights you have as an American juror is the
ability to not only judge the case for which you sit, but to judge the merits of the law. This right is
often suppressed by judges and prosecutors as it could render the vast
majority of legislation null and void, much to the chagrin of the state. With Americans facing an
alarming risk of criminal prosecution, there is no better time for a mass awakening in the jury
box to combat the misinformation trotted out by judges and prosecutors who
mislead their peers of their constitutional power. This part of the Police State has a weakness that
can be infiltrated. Jury nullification is your right as a juror to decide with
your conscience and say no to unjust legislation. Currently, more than 90% of
criminal cases never appear before a jury, people charged with crimes just forgo their
constitutional rights and just plead guilty and pay the fine. This changes the game in the justice
system, the truth is that the tyrannical government has intentionally
designed the system to guarantee that the jury trial system thats clearly
in the Constitution is to be hidden so its not used against them. A Defendant is being
tried for disobeying a man-made law, but to their advantage one informed juror is there to say that since
there was no victim, there was no crime. Then a person is taken off the
road to being fined, locked in a cage, and held against their will by a group
of armed authoritarians. The system of mass incarceration depends entirely on the
steady stream of misinformation it imposes on the humans it looks to control. If overnight everyone
charged with victimless crimes exercised their constitutional rights , the shortage of judges, lawyers, and cops
would be exposed right away in the handling of overflowing jury trial cases. Can we just Imagine if the number of people
demanding their trial rights just doubled or tripled in occurrence ? It would be absolute chaos for the justice
system. This immediate crisis would bullet train mass incarcerations to the number one priority for judges and politicians. They would
only be left with the option to either throw out a lot of the criminal cases
filed, for example drug possession, disobeying unjust laws, and victimless crimes. Or go with the more difficult option and try to
amend the Constitution to turn the tables into their favor. Crashing the system by being
informed and exercising our rights is an achievable concept. Even the
dissolution of the Drug War could be commenced with this powerful tool .
Sparing the destruction of innocent lives on the civilian side and senseless overreach on the police side. Leaving it to the individual to decide what to put
into their own bodies without being raided, kidnapped, and locked up for a precious portion of their life. The advocating for
jury
nullification concerns local prosecutors, therefore supporters of jury nullification in several U.S. cities have raised
the ire of many judges and prosecutors. So scared of the distribution of knowledge
pertaining to jury nullification being presented judges have had some activists arrested. Government fearing We the
People is the direction that the wind needs to blow. Jury nullification without a doubt gets under the skin
of judges, prosecutors, and all the petty tyrants. The jury nullification process is also one of the last strongholds
of Freedom that we have in our technocratic driven society. With this spear, and millions of citizens willing to unleash
them, then maybe well really be defined as Land of the Free .
video series Grasping for the Wind, its companion book, which focus on key cultural events of the 20th Century. The series received two Silver World
Medals at the New York Film and Video Festival and is now available on DVD. Whitehead has filed numerous amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
His law reviews have been published in Emory Law Journal, Pepperdine Law Review, Harvard Journal on Legislation, Washington and Lee Law Review,
Cumberland Law Review, Tulsa Law Journal and the Temple University Civil Rights Law Review. John W. Whitehead earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Arkansas in 1969 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974] 8-21-2015, "We Are The
Government: Tactics For Taking Down The Police State," Washington's Blog, http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/08/we-are-the-government-tacticsfor-taking-down-the-police-state.html
hard to persuade
anyone to stand against tyranny when all you can promise them as a reward is persecution, prosecution and a one-way trip to the morgue. And when
conclusion
it can seem
to be a foregone
armed
are
ing
every kind of weapon imaginable, from grenade launchers and sniper rifles to armored vehicles and Black Hawk helicopters. So
used to great effect through the use of sit-ins, boycotts and marches. Take part in
the local level (in other words, think nationally, but act locally).
ing
some
with mixed results on issues as wide ranging as gun control and healthcare
cities and
have been
ing
historic
wrongheaded. Where
, however, is
. According to former federal prosecutor Paul Butler, the doctrine of jury nullification is premised on the
idea that
where the citizenrynot the government or its corporate controllersactually calls the shots and determines what is just.
, where
, jury
acts
authoritarian
with neither the approval nor oftentimes even the knowledge of the citizenry. Indeed, Butler
believes so strongly in the power of nullification to balance the scales between the power of the prosecutor and the power of the people that he advises: If you are ever on a jury in a marijuana case,
recommend that you vote not guilty even if you think the defendant
actually smoked pot
As a juror, you have this power under the
Bill of Rights
you
make our laws fairer
the laws
should reflect the concerns of the citizenry opposed to
Corporate
America
the
punishment rarely fits the crime
every ill
inflicted upon us by the American police state , from overcriminalization
and surveillance to militarized police and private prisons, its money that
drives the police state there is a lot of money to be made from
criminalizing nonviolent activities and jailing Americans for nonviolent
people who can and should be determining what laws are just, what activities are criminal and who can be jailed for what crimes. Not only should the punishment fit the crime, but
also
as
of the land
. Unfortunately, for thousands of Americans who are serving life sentences for nonviolent crimes as a result of harsh mandatory sentencing laws passed by tough on crime politicians,
. As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, with
. And
the power of
. Of course, the powers-that-be dont want the citizenry to know that it has any power at all. They
would prefer that we remain clueless about the governments many illicit activities, ignorant about our constitutional rights, and powerless to bring about any real change. Indeed, so determined are they to keep us in the dark
anyone daring to
educate a jury about nullification runs the risk of prosecution
about the powers vested in we the people that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1895 that jurors had no right during trials to be told about nullification. Moreover,
Mark Iannicelli was charged with seven counts of jury tampering for handing out jury nullification fliers outside a Denver courtroom. Now Iannicelli is not being accused of advocating for or against any case in progress, nor is he
could be sentenced to
one to
because
he dared to educate the jurors about an option that no judge or prosecutor ever mentions in court: the right to acquit someone who may be guilty if they also believe that the law is unjust.
used against Julian
, who
18 U.S.C. 1504
(the First Amendment squarely protects speech concerning judicial proceedings and public debate regarding the
functioning of the judicial system, so long as that speech does not interfere with the fair and impartial administration of justice). Jury nullification has played a significant role in our nations history. It was championed early on by
John Hancock and John Adams and relied on at various points since then to push back against laws deemed egregious, unjust or simply out of step with the times. Most recently, jury nullification has become a popular tactic to
thwart laws that mandate harsh punishments for those convicted of possessing even minimal amounts of marijuana. For instance, in one case I worked on years ago, a jury refused to convict a 54-year-old man who had been
charged with possession of marijuana. Prosecutors claimed that a SWAT team, doing an area-wide land and air sweep, had spotted two marijuana plants growing in the hollow of a dead tree on the mans 39-acre property. Had the
the
prosecutor warned the jury that disagreement with the laws against pot
possession and disapproval of police tactics are not valid reasons to nullify
a case. Of course, those are exactly the reasons why more Americans
should opt for nullification
government officials
are treated with general leniency the average citizen is prosecuted to the
full extent of the law
For too long
representatives call the shots its time to restore the citizenry to
their rightful place in the republic
Jury nullification is
doing
so
For
us
dependent on the
fairness of the system there exists a multitude of ways in which justice
can and does go wrong every day Police misconduct. Prosecutorial
misconduct. Judicial bias. Inadequate defense. Prosecutors care more
about winning than
justice Judges care more what is legal than
just
overwhelming body of laws
that render the average American a criminal
youre going up against three adversaries who more often than not
are operating off the same playbook: the police, the prosecutor and the
judge. If you
hope of remaining free
your best bet remains in
your fellow citizens. They may not know what the Constitution says
they may not know what the laws are
and they may not even believe in your innocence, but if
youre lucky, they will have a conscience that speaks louder than the
legalistic tones of the prosecutors and the judges and reminds them that
justice and fairness go hand in hand
jury nullification
restoring
a sense of fairness to our system of justice Its the best protection for we
the people against the
government
we can use all the
protection we can get
nullification is a powerful way to remind the
man been found guilty, he would have been sentenced to jail and his 90-year-old mother, blind, deaf and dependent on him for care, would have had to be institutionalized. In delivering his closing arguments,
. In an age in which
, while
, jury nullification is a powerful reminder that, as the Constitution tells us, we the people are the government.
our so-called
to
weve allowed
. Now
. The reality with which we must contend is that justice in America is reserved for those who can afford to buy their way out of jail.
one way of
the rest of
who are
who
a case
seeking
who
about
what is
. Jurors who know nothing of the law and are left to deliberate in the dark about life-and-death decisions. And an
, statutes and
ordinances
, no matter how law-abiding they might think themselves. As Ive said before, when
re to have any
is all about:
government
set the rules
all of those bureaucrats who have appointed themselves judge, jury and jailer over all that we are, have and do
prosecutors in Washington are having panic attacks because a small billboard in the Judiciary Square Metro
states the truth. There was an article in the Washington Post recently about this billboard and that truth it advocates. Good jurors
nullify bad laws and You have the right to hang the jury with your vote if you cannot agree with other jurors. The billboard just recently was installed and
strategically placed along the route to the D.C. Superior Court. State prosecutors are up in arms about this, and are asking judges to screen all
prospective jurors and weed out any who have either seen or been influenced by the
billboard. I am proud to say that Kirsten Tynan, a fellow Montanan of the Montana based Fully Informed Jury Association has contact information on the billboard.
Juror nullification demands that each juror decide the validity of laws , and
also decide if punishment is too harsh. Jurors should be interested in facts, but they should
also be the interpreters of the law. That concept is nearly completely foreign to modern juries, as judges and
prosecutors go to great lengths to instruct and control all that jurors think
and do. According to The Free Dictionary: A sanctioned doctrine of trial proceedings wherein members of a jury disregard either the evidence presented or the instructions of
the judge in order to reach a verdict based upon their own consciences. It espouses the concept that jurors should be the judges of both law and fact. In other words, jurors
should not only determine the validity of the states laws, but should
ignore any jury instructions delivered that contradict their own
consciences. Most all who are incarcerated in horrible U.S. corporate, state and federal prisons,
prison systems that are mostly fascist by nature, have been found guilty of victimless crimes or non-crimes, by
uninformed juries. The U.S. has the highest prison population per capita of all other countries on earth, and most of those held captive have
never harmed any other person or their property. The prison system you see, is very big
business, in fact it is a multi-billion dollar business for profit. That is why
prosecutors in many areas are rewarded for convictions, while bad law,
corruption and outright conspiracy throughout the court system is
rampant. My conclusions are based on the fact that I believe in the natural rights of the individual, and
State
that men are free to do as they choose to so long as they harm no others or their property, and do not infringe on any others rights. If I adhere to these solid convictions, I am bound
be without doubt!