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Probably the greatest failure in government today is the court system, in particular the criminal justice system. The failure is so great and so widespread that the entire system needs to be scrapped and something different tried. We propose a system of justice based upon the jury ONLY. No professional judges, no precedent, no hair splitting, just common sense from a jury of twelve. Throughout history, all over the world, judges have been corrupt. This can only be ended by eliminating judges as we know them and using temporary referees from the jury in their place.
The base or any jury system is the jury list. This list should consist of all property owners (freeholders) who own a gun and can demonstrate at least crude competency in its use, except government employees. The reasoning here is that A.) Freeholders were the juries in the days of our Founding Fathers, B) Property owners pay the taxes to support the system, C) Being a gun owner makes you part of the unorganized militia and prepared to defend society. Those who understand the Second Amendment will own guns; those who do not understand the Second Amendment don�t understand the Bill of Rights and should not be allowed on the jury.
It is necessary to own your property free and clear to make jurors less subject to outside pressure. The justice system should be supported by property taxes and operated by a Grand Jury, but completely outside the rest of government. Anyone employed by other branches (executive, legislative) and their dependents are not on the jury list. That would be obvious conflict of interest as well as a violation of the separation of powers.
Only complete independence will allow the checks and balances of separation of powers envisioned by our Founding Fathers. No money should ever flow between Congress (legislature) and the judicial system. The judicial system must not be appointed or approved by either the executive or legislative branch. The jury system must be made as immune to corruption as is humanly possible. A key element is the selection of all jurors by going down the list and missing no one. The number of juries and the length of service should be adjusted so that everyone serves several times in their life.
When a jury has finished its term, it will pick the next jury from the next twelve names on the list. Anyone with an obvious conflict of interest will be pushed forward to a future jury. Anyone who is working for any other branch of the government, and their dependents, will be stricken from the jury list. With the next jury selected, the last act of the jury is to elect one of their number to be judge to preside over the next jury.
The independence of the jury justice system must be complete. The legislature passes laws, the executive (police) enforce them, the justice system applies them. Once the police have made their case, the alleged criminal is handed over to the justice system. The justice system handles the trial and PUNISHMENT including jail, execution, fines, etc. In essence, the legislature is the wholesaler, making broad laws. The police attempt to apply these laws to individuals. The justice system deals only with individuals and how to apply the laws in particular cases. The jury decides not only guilt or innocence, but if the law applies in this particular case, and what the punishment will be. Their decision sets no precedent for future cases, but it might signal the legislature that a law needs to be changed. There is no need here for a separate juvenile court, jurors can see the age of the accused.
The jury has always had the power to acquit in the face of any law or evidence, indeed this is the main reason to have a jury. We would suggest that this has worked so well that we would also explicitly give the jury the power to impose the sentence, including a different sentence than listed in the statute (perhaps subject to veto by the judge or victim). This power should be given to the jury because they are responsible financially for the penalty; thus the jury needs the ability to select cost effective sentences to fit the crime and rehabilitate or eliminate the convict. This eliminates a separate penalty trial. We would guess that jail time would be eliminated as punishment; violent criminals need burial and non-violent can be house arrested. Jails would never again teach inmates how to be smarter criminals.
It follows that any appeal for a new trial or reduction of sentence can only be made to a jury. The jury must be convinced that something serious went wrong in the first trial. The law is not the issue here, since the jury deals with particulars only, and the law is only a rough guide. No precedent is being set so there is no use for a superior court. If the law is being applied slightly differently in Peoria or Tampa, that is trivial in comparison to the massive failure of the criminal judicial system today. In the long run, common sense will outweigh legal volumes. Justice will be swift. Lawyers will find little employment here.
Any lawyer is subject to the jury, and if any approval is required to operate in court, it must come from the jury. No association of lawyers can qualify lawyers, but the jury might require a citizen (lawyer or not) to pass a test on the Constitution and the law at issue in the trial. This could be done by a computer test, and would apply to the prosecution as well as to the defense. It should be obvious that anyone who speaks in court should be sworn in under penalties of perjury; this includes all lawyers and the judge too!!
Yet another function of the justice system would be to maintain taxpayer voter lists, and actually operate the polling and qualification stations. This would be supported by user fees. Since all polling places would have to have a firing range to qualify voters, it could be rented out on non-voting days to provide additional support for the justice system. All employees of the justice System would have to be on the jury list, and would be limited to one year. The high turnover would keep corruption low.
If jurors are to be plucked from their normal life to serve for little or no pay (zero pay is probably best) , they must at least be treated as a valuable asset. They must spend their time hearing trials, not waiting for days just to learn if they are even wanted and then being excluded from the important parts of the trial that they are judging. The way to do this is obvious although unused. The trial is conducted on the jury�s terms. The jury decides when, where, and how.
Some of the best people to have on a jury are independent businessmen. They operate directly in the real world, but they would suffer real hardship by being dragged away from their business at the wrong time. The solution is simple; let the jurors pick their own time. The farmer who cannot be absent during planting or harvest can make time in mid winter or summer. The florist who cannot afford to close his shop before valentines day can find time in the off season, especially at night. Some people are free on weekends, some businesses are closed Mondays. Let each juror pick the best time for him to serve, and he will be called up for that time and court will be held then.
When the jury assembles itself, court is in session. The judge, plaintiff and defendant must appear at this time. The jury itself will decide what evidence is appropriate, and all court business will be conducted in front of the jury. The jury will be free to ask any question at any time, and can dismiss any witness who wanders off the subject at hand, or call in additional witnesses. The judge should expedite these things at the request of the jury.
The justice system will maintain specialized jury lists, for example, scientific, medical, contractual. Any otherwise qualified juror can be put on these lists if he passes an appropriate test to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts and terminology. If any jury gets bogged down in technical details, they can request that any or all of their members be replaced by special jurors who understand better what is happening in court.
Nick Hull, < [email protected] >
Secretary, Committees of Correspondence
2702 Kimbrell Road, Lenoir City, Tennessee 37772
865-856-6185
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