Called for Jury Duty?

1. Called for Jury Duty? Some facts you should know before you go...

2. FIJA: Our Mission Our mission is to inform all Americans about their rights, authority, and responsibilities when serving as trial jurors. Jurors must know that they have the authority, theright, and the duty to render a verdict based on their conscience and sense of justice, as well as on the facts and the merits of the law. Jurors must think for themselves, and not allow others to direct their verdict.

3. The historical, true, and primary function of each juror is to protect the people on trial from tyrannical prosecutions and bad laws unfairly imposed by power-hungry politicians or bureaucrats.

4. Why are Jurors Important? • Protect society from dangerous individuals and protect individuals from dangerous, ambitious government employees • Protect people from unjust prosecutions, government tyranny, and government mistakes • Have the duty and the authority to render a just verdict • Have an absolute right to veto bad laws and refuse to convict anyone tried under those bad laws • Cannot be punished for their verdict and cannot be required to give a reason for their verdict Note: The principle of jury authority applies equally in criminal and civil cases

5. “The judge cannot direct a verdict it is true, and the jury has the power to bring in a verdict in the teeth of both law and facts.” Justice Oliver Wendell HolmesHorning v. District of Columbia 249 U.S. 596, 1920

6. Thomas Jeffersonto Thomas Paine1789, ME 7:408, Papers 15:269. “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”

7. What are Your Rights and Duties as a Juror?

8. Your Rights as a Juror When You are Called for Jury Duty • You have the right to be treated with courtesy, respect, and honesty by all court officials and all other government employees. • You have the right to have your privacy respected and protected. • You have the right to ask questions of the judge and lawyers during the selection process. • You have the right to question everything that you do not understand or that appears to be incorrect in the instructions and jury selection process. • You have the right to do your own independent research on the authority and rights ─ as well as the duties ─ of jurors

9. Your Duties as a Juror Appear for jury duty when you are called • Your participation and your verdict will have an impact on the life of the defendant and on all of your community. Your most powerful vote is your veto vote as a juror when you vote against bad laws by refusing to convict.

10. Your Rights as a Juror • Your have the right to vote your conscience, even if you are the only one who believes in your verdict • You have the right to have others listen respectfully to you as a fellow juror • You have the right to not give in to pressure from other jurors or the judge • You have the right to render a just verdict, according to your own conscience and thinking • You have the right to see and hear all the evidence from all sources and witnesses • You have the right to give no reason for your verdict • You have the right to never be punished for your verdict

11. Your Duties as a Juror • Pay attention to all witnesses and evidence • Listen respectfully to fellow jurors • Render a just verdict, according to your own independent conscience and thinking • Vote your conscience, even if you are the only juror who believes in your verdict • Do not give in to pressure from other jurors or the judge to change your verdict • Respect the privacy of the jury deliberation room

12. “One may ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there [are] two types of laws: just and unjust… One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ ” Martin Luther King, Jr."Letter from Birmingham Jail”Why We Can't Wait, April 16, 1963

13. Rendering a Just Verdict Take into account… • Every defendant is innocent until proven guilty • The facts of the case • The credibility of witnesses and evidence • That the judge may suppress important evidence to help get a conviction or for some other reason • Any mitigating circumstances • That the prosecutor may stack charges, and you cannot compromise by agreeing to one charge if you think that “not guilty” is the right verdict for all of the charges • The fairness of the law, and the application of the law in this particular case and this trial

14. Jurors are Representatives of the People • They hold no personal or political agenda, and must work as a team to determine the outcome of the case • They have no stake in the trial outcome, but must remember to render justice in every case • Jurors serve as the conscience of the community, but must rely on their individual conscience to render a verdict, and must think for themselves • Jurors must remember that they, themselves, may be on trial someday, and would want jurors who are independent, who want justice, and who will not cave in to peer or government employee pressures

15. Jurors are Representatives of the People • Jurors may be the only objective people in the courtroom, without a career to build, a case to win, or political ambitions to advance • Jurors serve as a check and balance on all branches of government: those who make the laws, those who enforce the laws, and those who serve the laws • Jurors are the last peaceful defense of our rights against power-hungry politicians, bureaucrats, and government employees who may ignore the Constitution to enforce flawed, lesser laws and statutes

16. John Adams1771 2 Life and Works of John Adams253-255 C.F. Adams ed. 1856 “It is not only (the juror's) right, but his duty... to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, even though in direct opposition to the direction of the court.”

17. What Does FIJA/AJI Do? • Maintains an educational website at www.fija.org • Publishes educational literature, essays, other material, commentaries, CDs, and DVDs, all available through the Media Catalog at www.fija.org • Presents Amicus briefs when the authority, composition, or instructions for the jury are at issue • Provides interviews to media • Provides speakers and literature for meetings, clubs, seminars, classrooms, and other events

18. How Can I Get More Information? • Call 1-800-TEL-JURY for a free information packet • Visit our website: www.fija.org • Send a note • P.O. Box 5570, Helena MT, 59604 • Email: aji@fija.org • Contact your local representative www.fija.org/state-contacts/

19. What Can I Do to Help? • Appear for jury duty when you are called • Learn more about the rights and role of jurors • Share FIJA information with friends and neighbors • Volunteer for jury education projects in your neighborhood, state, and community • Spread the word about FIJA at every opportunity • Support FIJA with your contribution

20. What Can I Do to Help? Mail your contributions to: FIJA/AJI PO Box 5570 Helena, MT 59604 • Contribute online through our secure site: • www.fija.org/support-fija/

21. The Authority of the Juror is the Right that Protects all Other Rights

22. The Fully Informed Jury Association and American Jury Institute (FIJA/AJI) is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization located in Helena, Montana. FIJA/AJI focuses on issues involving the role of the jury in our justice system and the preservation of the full function of the jury as the final arbiter in our courts of law. The FIJA/AJI mission is to inform all Americans about their rights, authority, and responsibilities when serving as trialjurors. Jurors have both the authority and the obligation to render a verdict based on conscience, and retain the right to nullify bad law and misapplied laws. FIJA/AJI works to restore the political function of the jury as the final check and balance on our American system of government.To ensure public understanding of the power and function of the jury, FIJA/AJI hosts conferences and educational seminars. FIJA/AJI publishes an extensive variety of educational and research literature, and answers queries from the public, scholars and legal professionals. As well, FIJA/AJI officers are often featured speakers and guest commentators in the press, where they discuss cases in which jury selection, information, or jury instructions had a significant role in the outcome of the case. To maintain its independence, FIJA/AJI accepts no government funding. FIJA/AJI programs and publications are possible because of generous contributions received from individual donors, foundations, and corporations. FIJA/AJI generates revenue through seminar fees and the sale of FIJA/AJI publications and materials. FIJA/AJI is a public policy nonprofit, tax-exempt educational foundation under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

23. Fully Informed Jury Associationand American Jury Institute 1-800-TEL-JURY www.fija.org