Date: Thu Aug 12 18:48:57 1999
From: thekoba@aztec.asu.edu (K J WALSH)
Subject: Re: NEXT ASH MEETING 1:00pm Sunday, Aug 8th 1999
To: snail
Reply-To: thekoba@aztec.asu.edu
>
>
>
>
>note:to get off this atheist e-mail list send me
> a e-mail at http://aztec.asu.edu/ash
>
>The speaker will be:
>
> Paula Maas
> with
> FIJA - Fully Informed Jury Association
>
>The meeting will be at the
>
> Phoenix Public Library
> Meeting Room A - 1st floor at front of library
> 1221 N Central Ave
> Phoenix, Arizona
> 1:00 P.M. Sunday Aug 8, 1999
>
>Paula Maas will be speaking about
>Fully Informed Jurys which dates back to
>the year 1000 in English
>law when juries were allowed to decide both
>if the law was just and if the person was
>to be convicted. It continued to the
>American system. It was often used during
>the days of slavery when juries refused to
>convict people who helped escaped slaves of
>a crime simply because they though the
>law was wrong. Its also one of the reasons
>the prohibition was repealled. Juries
>during that period often refused to convict
>booze makers and sellers because they felt
>the laws agains booze were unjust.
>
>In modern times thru jury stacking the court
>system has pretty much nullified fully informed
>jurys but if the public is educated about
>their rights to determine if the law is just and fair
>in addition to the facts FIJA could be
>used to stop the stupid drug war if people
>started refusing to convict drug users
>and drug sellers.
>
>Here are several URS on FIJA
>
>http://www.fiji.org
>http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC28/DoigPls.htm
>http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/Lobby/8786/ckjury.htm
>http://www.progress.org/fold22.htm
>http://aztec.asu.edu/ash
>
>--
>"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny;
>when the government fears the people, there is liberty "
> Thomas Jefferson
>
>
Dear Mike,
We missed you at the meeting. Paula Maas was the only one who showed other than John Lyon and myself. We both attended the ASH meeting which was held next door, and Ms. Maas was asked to give her speech there, which she did, having no audience at the aforementioned site. It was fascinating, and it sparked a debate (Linda Chapman took the side against fully informed juries, and I said that if she thought jurors should be mindless puppets, the jury system ought to be abolished, as it would be redundant). You ought to give some notice if you can't attend a meeting that you yourself schedule. Anyway, I hope the new ASH can get together another time. Let me know if you have anything else scheduled.
--Kevin
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