Time: Wed May 28 18:38:46 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id PAA01132; Wed, 28 May 1997 15:51:02 -0700 (MST) by usr09.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id PAA13700; Wed, 28 May 1997 15:50:55 -0700 (MST) Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 18:35:57 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Laura Kriho LTE in Washington Post (fwd) >Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 16:26:56 -0600 (MDT) >From: Jury Rights Project <jrights@darkstar.cygnus.com> >Subject: LTE: Washington Post (5/28/97) >To: Jury Rights Project <jrights@darkstar.cygnus.com> > >The Washington Post >Wednesday, May 28 1997 >Letters to the Editor >Page A18 > >When Courts Violate the Founders' Intent > > > I want to thank Saundra Torry for her April 7 Business column "When >Jurors Choose to Ignore the Law," which discussed my prosecution for my >service as a juror on a drug-possession case in Colorado. I was convicted >of contempt of court, in part for failing to volunteer my knowledge about >the doctrine of jury nullification to the court during jury selection, >even though I wasn't asked about it. I was fined $1,200, though I could >have received six months in jail. > Although I did discuss jury nullification in the jury room, I was not >trying to nullify the drug laws. I had reasonable doubts that the >defendant was guilty based on the lack of evidence. > My investigation and prosecution was caused by "improper" arguments I >made in the jury room about jury nullification and the harsh sentence the >defendant could receive. If I had voted guilty, I never would have been >prosecuted. > My conviction for contempt illustrates just how threatened judges and >prosecutors are by jurors. Many judges and prosecutors see jurors as an >inconvenience, a formality and an impediment to conviction. I believe >they want to make me an example to other jurors: an example of what will >happen if you refuse to convict. > The practice of prosecuting jurors based on evidence of "improper" >jury-room deliberations is reminiscent of medieval inquisitions and Nazi >fascism. There is no kinder way to describe it. > In Ms. Torry's column, defenders of jury nulification argue that juries >were designed to protect citizens from unjust laws and unjust application >of laws. The jury has been called the last line of nonviolent defense >against a tyrannical and oppressive government. > When courts have the power to punish and imprison jurors, the >jury system no longer can stand between the citizen and the government. >The jury system has then become a rubber-stamp for the government >prosecution. > >LAURA KRIHO > >Nederland, Colo. > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Re-distributed by the: > Jury Rights Project (jrights@welcomehome.org) > Background info.: http://www.execpc.com/~doreen > To be added to or removed from the JRP mailing list, > send email with the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the title. >Donations are requested for the court appeals to overturn the conviction >of former juror Laura Kriho, convicted of contempt of court for failing to >volunteer information about her political beliefs during jury selection: > -- Laura Kriho Legal Defense Fund -- > c/o Paul Grant (defense attorney) > Box 1272, Parker, Colo. 80134 > Email: pkgrant@ix.netcom.com > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S. : Counselor at Law, federal witness email: [address in tool bar] : Eudora Pro 3.0.1 on Intel 586 CPU web site: http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this ========================================================================
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