Jacob Hornberger writes:
While the U.S. government was expressing outrage over attacks on freedom of speech at the hands of U.S.-supported dictators in the Middle East, the U.S. Justice Department was securing a federal grand jury indictment against a man named Julian Heicklen. The charge? The feds are charging Heicklen for handing out jury-nullification pamphlets to people who are entering the federal courthouse in New York City, including prospective jurors. The feds say that that’s “jury tampering.”
Also covered at:
and others.
IPR Note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Attorney_General_election,_2000
Libertarian
Julian Heicklen 41,519 0.9%
http://www.personal.psu.edu/jph13/ResumeJPH.html
Organizer and Chair, Centre County Chapter of the Libertarian Party, 1997; Member Libertarian Party of
Pennsylvania Board, 1998-2002; Student Outreach Program Chairman, 1999-2002; Western Vice Chair. Libertarian Party of PA, 2002; Faculty Advisor, College Libertarians of Penn State, 1998-2001. Libertarian Party National Platform Committee, 2002.
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania Achievement Award 1999 and 2006
LASIS thinks Heicklin is innocent. Read here to find out why: http://www.lasisblog.com/2011/03/16/ex-prof-accused-of-jury-tampering/
We all keep doin’ what we can….
Andy I do that when possible along with other material.
On my plate right now is the state party news letter. So I be workin’ for the LPMan
Also, as I said before, handing out Fully Informed Jury pamphlets does not have to be done in front of court houses, it can be done anywhere.
“Michael H. Wilson // Mar 9, 2011 at 7:39 pm
George since I made the first suggestion for others to hand out FIJA literature I will take this opportunity to be the first to reply.
I happen to be 3,000 miles away. If I can find someone to help take care of an ill family member and having done some similar type of pamphleting in the past, I’ll be there.”
Michael, why don’t you just hand out Fully Informed Jury pamphlets where ever it is that you live? If you don’t have much time to do it then just do it every once in a while, and/or you could also pay to print up Fully Informed Jury pamphlets and give them to others who’ve got more spare time on their hands to hand them out.
It can be done everywhere, not just where Heicklen was doing it.
George since I made the first suggestion for others to hand out FIJA literature I will take this opportunity to be the first to reply.
I happen to be 3,000 miles away. If I can find someone to help take care of an ill family member and having done some similar type of pamphleting in the past, I’ll be there. 😉
“Calls for people to copy Julian and friends fall flat – unless you yourself are taking up your own call.”
I’ve handed out a bunch of Fully Informed Jury pamphlets over the years, and I’ve been telling people about the concept both on-line and in person for years as well.
George D,
Calls for people to copy Julian and friends fall flat – unless you yourself are taking up your own call.
The way you find those 10 libertarians is by being one yourself!
As an aside, after my arrest in Allentown last May (for videorecording Julian and Jim Babb doing the fully informed jury pamphleting), those 10 libertarians popped right up and got to work.
Very good points. Leading by example always works best.
BTW Jill, that also applies to the discussion we had @ 12-15 IMO
It would be naive to expect the actual pamphlets to be entered into evidence.
When Larken Rose went to court, they refused to allow him to present evidence they introduced into court. They did however use two snippets of the (computer) evidence out of context. And that was a jury trial.
Also, so what if they do enter it? Julian is not getting a jury trial.
Want to make a serious effort to fight this? Start handing out fully informed jury pamphlets. But talk to someone (like me or Jake Witmer) who has some experience doing it before you start.
Calls for people to copy Julian and friends fall flat – unless you yourself are taking up your own call.
The way you find those 10 libertarians is by being one yourself!
As an aside, after my arrest in Allentown last May (for videorecording Julian and Jim Babb doing the fully informed jury pamphleting), those 10 libertarians popped right up and got to work.
“The LP at the last convention couldn’t even pass a resolution recognizing Mr Heicklein’s efforts last May. At the last convention he was even ridiculed as just an cranky old man just seeking attention in the media.
Where are you going to find those ten ‘Libertarians’ that will put their asses on the line? And then the TEN Libertarians after that?”
This is yet another reason why the Libertarian Party and Movement has not advanced further than it has.
JW “Wealthy libertarians should pay for jury rights activism, before they finance ballot access. (Especially since the two can be done simultaneously. )” Interesting idea……
Wealthy libertarians should pay for jury rights activism, before they finance ballot access. (Especially since the two can be done simultaneously. That said, when the LP hires mercenaries to the exclusion of libertarian activists, this never happens. One more reason for ending the de facto petitioner blacklist, and hiring ballot access coordinators who can be held accountable. We’d have a “leveller rebellion” in the USA tomorrow, if the LP’s leadership fully understood this.) The jury rights activist risks everything he has: which is the primary reason why so few people do it. People like Heicklen (and John “Freeborn John” Lilburne) are the rarest of creatures: men who believe in freedom for people other than themselves. Heicklen had a successful career as a chemistry professor behind him. Had he not, I doubt he would have been willing or able to engage the system as he has.
Incidentally, this kind of person is the only kind of person that has ever increased system-wide individual freedom. You can see the care in the logically-chosen tactics. Heicklen is actually doing something that directly attacks tyranny and oppression (the courts, and their bar-licensed servants).
In IL, MA, and MD, if you are an optimized jury rights activist (if you are videotaping your activism, so that you can optimally inspire others, and provide exculpatory evidence for yourself, should you be harassed, attacked, and/or arrested by an extra-constitutional court-defending cop), you will be charged with “felony eavesdropping” which –in IL– carries a sentence equal to that of rape. (Incidentally, the Chicago Tribune has been running an ongoing story covering the backlog of untested rape kits in IL. In 2001 there were well over 2,000, and in 2009, well over 1,000. So, they can’t bother to protect women from sexual assault and murder, but if you dare videotape an on-the-job cop or judge so he can be held accountable for his actions? —You’re goin’ to a concrete box, so you can have less freedom than Southern slaves enjoyed!)
Just in case you’re not a regular on this site, and you don’t consider yourself a libertarian, you might want to pick up a copy of the book “The New Prohibition” ed. Bill Masters, and read Doug Casey’s essay “The Drug War as the Problem”, where he points out that drug seizure laws destroy innocent people’s lives, without a trial by jury. If you support paying taxes, then you’re supporting the seizure laws, no “ifs”, “ands” or “buts”. That’s where your tax money goes (and you don’t get a choice). Since money is representative of your labor, if you’re paying taxes, you’re paying for the abject oppression of your fellow man. …And it doesn’t matter whether you’d prefer the money went elsewhere, because –when it comes to government– nobody gives a damn what you’d prefer.
Of course, tyranny (especially tyranny that’s enforced on the basis of race, social status, and class), cannot stand in a country that has proper (constitutional, common-law) jury trials before any punishment. Every judge knows this, which is why every judge (with the exceptions of John Buttrick of Arizona, and Susan Bell of Hagerstown, Indiana) engages in unconstitutional jury selection, unconstitutional jury instruction, and the suppression of constitutional arguments via “contempt of court” threats and sustained prosecutorial “motions in limine” (gag orders).
In the battle to reinstate proper jury trials, and thus create a vastly more libertarian society, it would be an immense help if Judge Andrew Napolitano, John Stossel, and alternative media like Alex Jones would have Judges like these on their shows, championing the proper role of the juror as the informed citizen conscience.
Such shows should focus almost exclusively on the topic of “Surviving Voir Dire”. (Surviving the jury selection process, which didn’t exist before 1850 in the USA, and which was instated to allow prosecutors a method of allowing only those who sympathized with returning Fugitive Slaves to slavery.) “Surviving Voir Dire” is also the title of an excellent essay on the subject by Clay Conrad, free here:
http://fija.org/download/BR_YYYY_surviving_voir_dire.pdf
Conrad also covers the subject in his equally excellent book: “Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine”.
Although America stands as a degraded and decayed empire, where once there was a republic, returning to a state of limited government and republicanism is possible. All we have to do is return courtroom procedure to constitutionality, by eliminating the practice of voir dire, and reinstating the practice of informing the jury that they may ignore the law if applying the law would violate their conscience. We have not lost jury trials entirely, as of now, in most cases, (although some states deny jury trials for misdemeanors and traffic offenses, those can be escalated and appealed to jury trial status with skilled application of the law).
The first step is to reach the general public, the whole body of the jury, with the message that they need not obey a judge’s instructions to “apply the law as it is given to them”. This can be done in any forum, be it on a mass media television show, or one-on-one outside a courthouse.
The LP generally doesn’t seem to take to civil disobedience, to wit Mr. Heicklein, Irwinn Schiff and even Paul Jacob.
Unfortunately. But I believe this can change.
Russell Means POTUS campaign couldn’t get past it, in spite of his eloquent libertarian oratory and ability to get media exposure.
From what I’ve read there was more to it than that.
Where are you going to find those ten “Libertarians” that will put their asses on the line? And then the TEN Libertarians after that?
I think they are out there. I’m not giving up hope at all.
The LP at the last convention couldn’t even pass a resolution recognizing Mr Heicklein’s efforts last May. At the last convention he was even ridiculed as just an cranky old man just seeking attention in the media.
Highly unfortunate. That needs to change.
Yet another reason why I want to recruit more libertarians from among former leftists.
srl21: The LP generally doesn’t seem to take to civil disobedience…
me: Breggin’s observation may be insightful here. Why is that the case, why are Ls not prone to civil disobedience? We certainly have strong critiques of the State. With “anxiety” being our predominant psychological profile, we are as a group afraid of the State, and what it does.
Conservatives are shame-filled, so it’s no surprise that they as a group don’t engage in much civil disobedience.
Liberals, OTOH, are guilt-ridden, so they are more inclined to rid themselves of their guilt through acts of sacrifice.
Just a theory…
There needs to be ten Libertarians who replace Julian Heicklen in front of that courthouse. And if they get arrested another ten.
The LP at the last convention couldn’t even pass a resolution recognizing Mr Heicklein’s efforts last May. At the last convention he was even ridiculed as just an cranky old man just seeking attention in the media.
Where are you going to find those ten “Libertarians” that will put their asses on the line? And then the TEN Libertarians after that?
The LP generally doesn’t seem to take to civil disobedience, to wit Mr. Heicklein, Irwinn Schiff and even Paul Jacob. Russell Means POTUS campaign couldn’t get past it, in spite of his eloquent libertarian oratory and ability to get media exposure.
PEACE
I have to echo the sentiment. Education on social policy is protected speech. No ones rights are being directly infringed, and the argument that there is a secondary infringement is weak. Jury tampering is a serious issue, but informing citizens of their role in the courts should not be deemed as such. This man is a hero and deserves support.
Amen!
There needs to be ten Libertarians who replace Julian Heicklen in front of that courthouse. And if they get arrested another ten.
Andy is right.
I think that what Julian was doing was a great thing, and I think that Fully Informed Jury activism is one of the most important and effective things that Libertarians can do. The Libertarian Party really needs to make Fully Informed Juries/jury nullification one of its primary issues.
I encourage more Libertarians to follow Julian Heicklan’s example and get involved in Fully Informed Jury activism ( http://www.FIJA.org ). Those who are concerned about getting arrested and don’t want to do it for that reason can still engage in Fully Informed Jury activism, just don’t do it in front of a court house. Go to some other public gathering places to hand out pamphlets or pass them out door-to-door. If more of the public was aware of the fact that as jurors they have the right to judge not only the facts of a case but also the validity of the law itself, there’d be a lot less people who’d get prosecuted for bogus victimless “crimes”. This is a way for Libertarians to have a big effect without electing one person to office.
Forget CA Excom.
You should do some on whatever issues are good – Libya, War Crimes, Jury Nullification, Bradley Manning….you name it.
One person these can serve is for an example for other regions and states, and maybe in some cases eventual national, to copy.
They could also get you some local news in some cases, which may draw more people to your organization locally.
I’ve actually considered presenting one about not going to war in Libya and taking it to the convention, but perhaps we should stick to local issues. I’ve also considered presenting one saying the same thing to the CA Ex Com, but I doin’t think it would go anywhere there, either.
With the number of people reportedly showing up now-a-days I would expect Jill’s region to be engaging in that level of activism soon.
Jill, does your local LP region do resolutions at the region level?
A week and a half ago, 6 thugs–I mean cops–went to Julian’s home, hauled him out of bed and arrested him for this “jury tampering” charge. This is what our tax dollars are up to.
I predicted last year that liberty activists are going to be roughed up and harrassed at an exponentially increasing rate. In this case, I’m sorry that I was right.
@ 9 IIRC he lives in NJ now and the trial is in NY, but overall you are correct.
And just how are they going to keep his jury from hearing about jury nullification?
Prof. Heicklen is an old dude who just may be found in his room some morning dead of “a stroke” before the trial ever occurs. Sounds like a great opportunity for the Penna. LP to wrassle with the “justice” system.
🙂
Yep…radical libertarians can get media.
Agreed.
What? A Libertarian activist doing controversial things? Is there no one in the party that can keep these hooligans in line? What we need is a tough guy to take over and issue some press releases.
Take for instance a few years ago, the Colorado Libertarian Party had a terrible incident. An open carry activist said something controversial and the press did not vilify him nearly enough. A leadership change was due and boy o boy did the rhetoric change after convention.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20020513/ai_n10005351/
Just 2 months later:
http://www.freecolorado.com/2002/06/seebeck.html
Stupid activists think they can do what ever they want, and permissive leadership only encourages them. We need TOUGH leadership. The kind that will do thorough background checks and expose any and all Libertarians that deviate from the party line, or raise the personal ire of those who know best.
This will be fun, since Jury Nullification pamphlets must be entered as evidence.
This is, thankfully getting quite a bit of attention. Andrew Napolitano actually talked about it on his show.
This is an outrage. There needs to be a serious effort to fight this.
Well, this is certainly no shock. Our government also complains about repressive ballot access abroad. Hypocrisy knows few bounds.