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| “I Don’t Care What the Judge Said!” Marijuana user found Not Guilty |
[23 Apr 2007|04:07pm] |
Juries in the United States have the power to effectively change law. In this case against a man for his 3rd possession of marijuana, a brave jury member stands up for marijuana users everywhere and convinces the jury to give him a 'not guilty' verdict.
“I Don’t Care What the Judge Said!”
How Jury Nullification Can End the Sick War on Drugs
“Look, Mr. Straun, John, can I call you John? We’ve been at this for 25 days. We’re all sick of this. We all want to go home. You’re the only one left. You’re the one keeping us here. I got things to do at home. I got to go to work and make a living. All of us do. The judge is mad as hell at us. You’re going to hang this jury. You’re going to make this three-month trial into a farce and waste of time. You have no right to vote acquittal. You heard the judge’s instructions. The jury is not allowed to judge the law, only the facts.”
“The fact are clear as day, aren’t they?” Dillard ranted. “You even admitted that to us. The guy was found with marijuana in his car. That’s against the law. And the guy admitted the marijuana was his. What more do you need?” said Raymond Dillard, the jury foreman. Raymond Dillard was tall, beefy, in his 30’s, and he was getting mad, so mad he wanted to beat John Straun’s head in.
Straun was a small, slim man in his 30’s, with a straight back, dark brown hair, large, steady eyes, and a firm mouth. He seemed not to care at all about all the trouble he was causing. And he seemed to be fearless.
John Straun said, “I don’t care what the judge said. I happen to know for a fact that a jury has the right to judge the law. Jury nullification has a long history in this country. A jury has the right to judge the law, not just the facts.”
Raymond Dillard and a few other jurors sneered. Dillard said, “Oh, are you a lawyer, Mr. Straun? You think you know more than the judge? What history are you talking about?”
John Straun said calmly, “No, I’m not a lawyer. I’m an engineer. But in this particular case, I do know more than the judge. When I found out I was going to be on this jury, I did a little research about the history of juries, just for the hell of it. Most people don’t know this, but jury nullification has been upheld as a sacred legal principal in English common law for 1000 years. Alfred the Great, a great English king a thousand years ago, hung several of his own judges because they removed jurors who refused to convict and replaced these courageous jurors with other jurors they could intimidate into convicting the defendant on trial.”
“Jury nullification also goes back to the very beginning of our country, as one of the crucial rights our Founding Fathers wanted to protect. Our Founding Fathers wanted juries to be the final bulwark against tyrannical government laws. That’s why they emphasized the right to a jury trial in three of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. John Adams, second President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, third President and author of the Declaration of Independence, John Jay, First Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Alexander Hamilton, First Secretary of the Treasury all flatly stated that juries have the right and duty to judge not only the facts in a case, but also the law, according to their conscience.”
“Not only that, more recent court decisions have reaffirmed this right. In 1969, in “US. vs. Moylan,” the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the right of juries to judge the law in a case. In 1972, the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals upheld the same principal.”
Raymond Dillard said, “Yeah, if that’s the case, how come the judge didn’t tell us this?”
“That’s because of the despicable Supreme Court decision in “Sparf and Hansen vs. The United States in 1895.” John Straun said. “That decision said juries have the right to judge the law, but that a judge doesn’t have to inform juries of this right. Cute, huh? And guess what happened after this decision? Judges stopped telling juries about their rights.”
“The judge knows about jury nullification. All judges do. But they hate letting juries decide the law. They hate juries taking power away from them. That’s why judges never mention a jury’s right to judge the law, and most judges squash defense attorneys from saying anything about it in court. Remember when Jimmy Saunders’ defense lawyer started talking about it? The judge threatened him with contempt if he didn’t shut up about jury nullification.”
“And since you asked me,” Straun continued, “I’ll tell you a little more about jury nullification. Did you ever hear of the Fugitive Slave Act? Did you ever hear of Prohibition? Do you know why those despicable laws were repealed? Because juries were so outraged over those laws that they consistently refused to convict people who violated them. They refused to convict because they knew that these laws were unjust and tyrannical, that Congress had no right making these laws in the first place. So, because juries wouldn’t convict, the government couldn’t make these laws stick. They tried for many years, but finally gave up.”
“What do you think this mad War on Drugs is that we’ve been fighting the last sixty years? It’s the same as Prohibition in the 20’s. It’s the same principle. A tyrannical government is telling people that they can’t take drugs, just like in the 20’s they said people couldn’t drink liquor. What’s the difference? A tyrannical law is telling people what they can or can’t put in their own bodies. Who owns our bodies, us or the self-righteous politicians? Does the government own your body, Mr. Dillard? Do you smoke, Mr. Dillard? Do you drink beer?”
Dillard nodded his head, “Yeah, I do.”
“Well, how would you like it if they passed laws telling you that can’t smoke or drink a beer anymore. Would you like that, Mr. Dillard?”
Dillard looked at John Straun, thought about the question, then admitted, “No, I wouldn’t, Straun.”
John Straun turned to the others around the table. “You, Jack, you said you’re sixty-five years old. You like to play golf, right? What if they passed a law saying anyone over sixty-five can’t play golf because the exercise might give him a heart attack? You, Frank, you said you eat hamburgers at McDougals all the time. What if they passed a law saying fatty hamburgers give people heart attacks, so we’re closing down all the McDougal restaurants in the country, and they make eating a hamburger a criminal offence? You, Mrs. Pelchat, I see you like to smoke. Everyone knows that smoking can give you lung cancer. How would you like it if they passed a law banning all cigarettes? What if they could crash in the door of your house without a warrant to search for cigarettes in your house, like the SWAT teams do now, looking for drugs? Mrs. Pelchat, how would you like to be on trial like Jimmy Saunders because they found a pack of cigarettes you hid under your mattress?”
“Do you all see what I mean? If they can make it a crime for Jimmy Saunders to smoke marijuana, why can’t they make golf, hamburgers, and cigarettes a crime? If you think they wouldn’t try, think again. They had Prohibition in the 20’s for almost ten years, till they finally gave up. The only reason they haven’t banned cigarettes is because there are thirty million cigarette smokers in this country who would scream bloody murder. They get away with making marijuana and other drugs illegal only because drug-users are a small minority in this country. Drug users don’t have any political clout.”
Raymond Dillard sat down in his chair. The others started talking among themselves. John Straun started seeing heads nodding in agreement, thinking about what he had said.
“OK, Straun,” Dillard said. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe Jimmy Saunders shouldn’t go to jail for smoking marijuana. Hell, probably most of us tried the stuff when we were young. Clinton said he smoked marijuana in college. Bush said he tried drugs in college. Probably half of Congress and their kids took drugs one time or another. O.K. we agree with you. But what about the judge. He said we can’t judge the law.”
John Straun stood up. He was not a tall man, but he stood very straight, and he looked very sure of himself. He looked from one to another of them.
He said, “If you agree with me, then I ask you all to vote for acquittal. You are not only defending Jimmy Saunders’ liberty, but your own. You are fighting a tyrannical law that is enforced by a judge who wants the power to control you. I told you that many juries like us in the past have disregarded the judge’s instructions. They stood up for liberty against a tyrannical law. Are you Americans here? What do you va!ue more, your liberty, your pride as free men, or the instructions of a judge who doesn’t want you to judge the law precisely because he knows you’ll find the law unjust? Will you stand with those juries who defended our liberty in the past, or will you give in to this judge?”
“Here’s another thing to think about,” John Straun said with passion. ”What if it was your sister or brother on trial here? Do you know that if we say Saunders is guilty, the judge has to send him to prison for twenty years? I understand this is Saunders third possession charge. You know the “three strikes and you’re out” rule, don’t you? The politicians passed a law that if a guy gets convicted three times on possession, the judge now has no leeway in sentencing. He has to give the poor guy twenty years in prison. What if it were your sister or brother on trial? Should they go to jail for smoking marijuana, for doing something that should not be a crime in the first place? Do we want to send Jimmy Saunders to prison for twenty years because he smoked a joint, hurting no one? Can you have that on your conscience?”
“Do you know that there are almost a million guys like Jimmy Saunders in federal prisons right now, as we speak, for this same so-called “crime” of smoking marijuana or taking other drugs? These men were sent to prison for mere possession. They harmed no one but themselves when they took drugs. How can you have a crime without a victim? When does this horror stop? It has got to stop. I’m asking you all now to stop it right here, at least for Jimmy Saunders. The only thing that can stop tyrannical laws and politicians is you and me, juries like us. If we do nothing, we’re lost, the country is lost.”
“I’m asking you all to bring in a not-guilty verdict, because the drug laws are unjust and a moral obscenity. I’m asking you all be the kind of Americans our Founding Fathers would have been proud of, these same men who fought for your liberty. That’s what I’m asking of all of you.”
John Straun sat down and looked quietly at Dillard and all the others around the table. They looked back at him, and it seemed that their backs began to straighten up, and they no longer complained about going home. They were quiet. Then they talked passionately amongst each other.
Fifteen minutes later, they walked into the courtroom and sat down in the jury box. When the judge asked Raymond Dillard what the verdict was, he was stunned when Dillard, standing tall, looking straight at the judge, said “Not guilty.” Over the angry rantings of the red-faced judge, all in the jury box looked calmly at John Straun, and felt proud to be an American.
Found at theconservativevoice.com | digg story
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[28 Jun 2006|09:30pm] |
I will no longer be using this blog for anything other than event information. Please visit my site www.djarkady.com to catch up on news and local events as well as my personal opinions on everything from music to people.
Oh, and I've been smoke free for 6 days. :woot:
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| Scholars for 9/11 Truth |
[24 Feb 2006|01:30pm] |
Scholars for 9/11 Truth
http://www.st911.org/
Everyone should read/listen to what these people have to say about the 9/11 cover up theory. This isn't just another conspircy site. These people present a lot of real evidence from main stream sources and scholars that there is a massive coverup concerning 9/11.
I'm no expert but I know what my gut says. I'd challenge anyone to actually prove with sound arguement that this is just another tin-hat society site.
20 reasons to question the official story of 9/11
(1) The 9-11 Commission refused to examine the vast majority of evidence about 9/11, and even the former director of the FBI says there was a cover up by the 9/11 Commission
(2) The tape of interviews of air traffic controllers on-duty on 9/11 was intentionally destroyed by crushing the cassette by hand, cutting the tape into little pieces, and then dropping the pieces in different trash cans around the building
(3) Investigators for the Congressional Joint Inquiry discovered that an FBI informant had hosted and rented a room to two hijackers in 2000 and that, when the Inquiry sought to interview the informant, the FBI refused outright, and then hid him in an unknown location, and that a high-level FBI official stated these blocking maneuvers were undertaken under orders from the White House
(4) A retired Air Force Colonel who flew over 100 combat missions and was the director of the Star Wars defense program under both Republican and Democratic administrations (and a member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth) recently said:
"If our government had merely done nothing, and allowed normal procedures to happen on that morning of 9/11, the twin towers would still be standing, and thousands of dead Americans would still be alive. That is treason!"
(5) Recently declassified documents show that in the 1960's, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff signed off on a plan to blow up AMERICAN airplanes (using an elaborate plan involving the switching of airplanes), and also committing terrorist murders against U.S. citizens on American soil, and then blaming it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion of Cuba
(6) The Secret Service, which is highly trained to whisk the president away from danger and to a secure location in the event of a threat, breached all standard procedures and allowed President Bush to remain at a highly-publicized location for 25 minutes after it was known that the nation was under attack
(7) The U.S. defense agency responsible for protecting the U.S. had run drills for several years of planes being used as weapons against the World Trade Center and other U.S. high-profile buildings, and "numerous types of civilian and military aircraft were used as mock hijacked aircraft". In other words, drills using REAL AIRCRAFT simulating terrorist attacks crashing jets into buildings, including the twin towers, were run
(8) The military had also conducted drills of planes crashing into the Pentagon
(9) On the morning of 9/11, 5 war games and terror drills were being conducted by several U.S. defense agencies, including one "live fly" exercise using REAL planes. And the drills apparently included the injection of false "radar blips" onto the screens of air traffic controllers
(10) The government was running a simulation of a plane crashing into a building on the morning of 9/11
(11) While the government has consistently stated that it did not know where the aircraft were before they struck, the Secretary of Transportation testified before the 9/11 Commission that Vice President Cheney monitored flight 77 for many miles as it approached the Pentagon
(12) A third world trade center building, called building 7, collapsed on the afternoon of 9/11, but was never hit by plane, fell at the same speed as if there were no floors or walls to cause resistance, contained only small fires before the collapse, and became the first steel-frame building in history to collapse due to fire alone
(13) USA Today stated that the FBI believed that bombs in the buildings brought the buildings down
(14) MSNBC stated that police officials believe "that one of the explosions at the world trade center . . . may have been caused by a van that was parked in the building that may have had some kind of explosive device in it, so their fear is that there may have been explosive devices planted either in the building or in the adjacent area"
(15) The NY Fire Department Chief of Safety stated there were "bombs" and "secondary devices", which caused the explosions in the buildings
(16) NYC firefighters who witnessed attacks stated that it looked like there were bombs in the buildings. A NYC firefighter stated "On the last trip up a bomb went off. We think there was bombs set in the building"
(17) The head of a national demolition association stated that the collapse of the towers looked like a "classic controlled demolition"
(18) Eyewitnesses have testified that substantial explosions occurred well BELOW the area impacted by the planes, and -- according to some witnesses -- they occurred BEFORE the plane had even hit
(19) A police officer testified that there were numerous, HUGE explosions at the top of one of the twin towers 15 minutes apart, before the tower collapsed
(20) Numerous, credible ex-government officials are warning that the U.S. government might very well attack its own people to justify a further clampdown on civil rights and to justify additional wars
Refrences for each statement listed here
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| Voltaire show Cancelled In Nashville |
[12 Feb 2006|03:14pm] |
Sunday, February 12, 2006
NASHVILLE SHOW CANCELLED
I am extremely sorry to report that due to the blizzard here in New York City, the show in Nashville tonight is cancelled.
We've gotten 23 inches of snow so far and it's still snowing, so the city
has closed all of the airports. My flight, along with hundreds of other flights,
has been cancelled.
I was REALLY looking forward to this show and I'm really going to miss
seeing some of my friends in Nashville.
The promoters and I are working on rescheduling this show to a date in
the very near future.
I will let you know once we have a date.
I hope to see you guys in Nashville really soon!
Voltaire
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| Hopelessly Old School? |
[12 Feb 2006|02:11pm] |
I have decided that I am hopelessly old school. Perhaps this is because I think that the things that were cool to me in the 90’s are a hell of a lot cooler than anything that is considered cool today. Also, I absolutely HATE 96% of all the modern music I have heard. At first, I thought that it was just because I’m getting older and my ears have changed with my tastes but I really don’t think so. I think music just sucks these days. I really feel sorry for all the kids that are just coming to their own these days.
What do you think?
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| Don't use the new Google Desktop |
[10 Feb 2006|12:25pm] |
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_02.php#004400
"Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation
Consumers Should Not Use New Google Desktop
San Francisco - Google today announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password."
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[08 Feb 2006|02:37pm] |
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| Feeling better today |
[06 Feb 2006|08:02pm] |
I finally boxed up the Christmas shit today so I could give Alexander more room to run around. Yeah, I said Christmas shit. Deal with it. :P
It looks like there has been a slight kink in the plans for the Masked Ball due to scheduling. We may have to have it a few weeks later than we initially wanted because we want a Friday. Here’s hoping that our single named mystery guest can accommodate us for the available dates. I have to say that I am really looking forward to seeing the aforementioned mystery guest. It will be my first time. But, there again, I believe it will be the Mystery Guests first time in performing in Knoxville.
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| Blah |
[05 Feb 2006|04:17pm] |
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mood |
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music |
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Naked Ape - "Fashion Freak" |
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I am feeling very blah today, like a deflated balloon. (sigh) I can not seem to even motivate myself enough to finish that damned NIN after-party flyer. I think perhaps the winter blues are setting in.
Watch This:
Naked Ape "Fashion Freak"
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| IMPORTANT: Sanctus Announcement |
[03 Feb 2006|01:55pm] |
Sanctus Announcement:
After over 4 years and 54 fantastic events, Sanctus has finally drawn to a close. KG Productions along with Blue Cats have decided to end Sanctus This is due to a combination of attendance and a desire to do something better. Those of you who were out with us this last month got to witness the end of the "Sanctus Era".
There will be no more events known as Sanctus.
A special thank you is in order for all of you who have attended, and been a part of Sanctus over the years. It has been a one hell of a ride and, we're glad you all were along for it.
Now to the Good News:
This does not mean an end to Knox Gothic or KG Productions. We are taking this opportunity to focus on Quarterly Parties at Blue Cats that will be more of a regional event rather than just another club night. The first of these parties will be in April with our "The Third Annual Masquerade Ball". Having just met with Vader & Arkady for planning, I can confidently say that there are some BIG surprises on the horizon!
We are also working on some more one-off events and special nights. The first of which is going to be the Nine Inch Nails after party at Blue Cats, featuring some of the best G/I DJs in the South East! Full Details for this event will be announced next week.
So to sum up:
We are basically working on creating more quality for you instead of quantity. We hope you all will be along for this new era that is about to begin. And once again, thank you all for your support!
DJ Bone
Please feel free to ask us questions and discuss this announcement!
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| RE yesterdays post |
[02 Feb 2006|12:56pm] |
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It has been said that my last post was a bit snooty. I would say that is accurate. I make no apologies about being an audio snob. After all, it is what I am paid to do. Like I said before, I wasn’t trying to offend the Grotto peeps. It’s a great venue and I love the way that they are synthesizing art, culture, and music. It truly feel that the Grotto is a wonderful concept. That being said, if that much capitol is to be spent on a venue featuring live music, it’s a nit silly to nickel and dime the audio system. That’s just my opinion though.
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| Feeling better today |
[01 Feb 2006|04:13pm] |
I’m Feeling better today. I’m still coughing and blowing my nose a lot but my head doesn’t feel so pressurized and I can actually breathe a little through my nose. This is good because we have the Natti Lovejoys at Blue Cats tonight in celebration of Bob Marley’s birthday and I would have been absolutely miserable otherwise. The Lovejoys always put on a good show and the vibe should be nice and mellow tonight so no worries. At least they’ll sound better than they did at the World Grotto on NYE.
Speaking of the Grotto, And this is not meant to offend but who ever “set up” their sound system either did not take the time to do it correctly or just plain didn’t know what they were doing. My guess is the latter. Last time I looked, the FOH EQ looked like the zig-zag on Chalie Brown’s shirt and it still sounded like a tin can.[shiver] My guess is that the crossovers were set up wrong to begin with which makes EQing the room next to impossible. Then you add to the mix someone with no ear trying to compensate by turning knobs at front of house and you get tin-can feedback central. Audiences and bands LOVE that. Oh and here’s a tip: If you are going to do bill yourself as a professional venue featuring World Music, you need more that 2 monitor mixes on stage for the musicians. You really need 4 bi-amplified mixes bare minimum. Like I told Michelle, I’d be happy to come in and work my magic. All they have to do is get in touch and we’ll work out a deal.
Other than the complaints above (and I am a sound snob), I have to say that the Grotto has a cool vibe and a lot of potential.
Time to eat and get ready for work.
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| NIN after Party Confirmed |
[31 Jan 2006|06:11pm] |
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music |
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Lascivious Biddies - I Feel Biddy |
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The Nine Inch Nails after party has been confirmed and will be at Blue Cats. I don�t have any other details on that as yet but will post them as soon as possible.
Currently listening:
I Feel Biddy
By Lascivious Biddies
Release date: By 03 March, 2003
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[31 Jan 2006|03:10pm] |
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I know, it's been along time.
I've been sick with an upper-respiratory infection for several days now. I feel like dog shit. I was able to motivate myself to clean up the area around my desk though. This in fact was no small feat and took the better part of the day. I'm not totally done but I can actually see my desk now.
In other news, I have picked up a new hobby. For those of you that like cool toys, I highly recommend the Nerf Maverick. I have 2, the wife has 1, and Boo (daughter) has one. Both of mine are heavily modified for distance and such. Check out this link for more info.
It is time to go get Boo from school. I'll continue this later.
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| Computer Geek Questions |
[22 Nov 2005|01:17pm] |
I've been thinking alot lately about the current state of personal computing and especially about our current OS choices. As most of you know you only have 3 choices. You have a Microsoft Windows, A veriety of UNIX clones, and the Mac software/hardware combo and that's it.
Now my #1 question is why is that it? Why has there been no new GUI based OS developed specifically to compete with Windows? It seems to me that now more than ever the market is ripe for this kind of venture. Especially with the Macs slowly taking more and more market share and the price of PCs being so low.
My #2 question is why the hell hasn't the Linux community produced desktop/distro that's A easy to install and update, Is visually stunning, and has documentation that doesn't assume that you are an ubergeek nix hacker and know root from a hole in the ground. I mean, when I go to install Wine for instance, I want to know step by step what to do and how to make it work for me.
I fugure some of you have opinions on this that might help educate me a bit.
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