Current Shareware 1994 January/SHAR194.ISO/textfile/fija.zip/GUERRILL.TXT

Text File | 1990-08-29 | 4KB | 103 lines

                   THE GUERRILLA FIJA FIGHTER



     A few more ideas you can use to spread the word and help  us
get this job done:



     1.  Attend candidate forums and ask the candidates what they
think of FIJA.



     2.   If a group that you belong to sends questionnaires  out
to  political  candidates,  try to  get  a  question  about  FIJA
included,  to the effect that you want to know whether he or  she
would, if elected, support or sponsor a FIJA amendment.



     3.   If you have access to a booth or table at a fair,  swap
meet, gun show,  or any other public event or gathering, pass out
FIJA literature (and talk to and recruit activists).



         FIJA  volunteers staffing a table can have a  supply  of
writing paper and envelopes, sample letters to editors and sample
requests   for  legislative  action,  accompanied  by  lists   of
legislators and their districts, and extra chairs.  Then when  an
enthusiast is identified, hand that person a pen!



     4.   A tactic which has been used by constitutionalists  for
years  is  to show up at the local courthouse with  pamphlets  on
jury  rights  (lately, with FIJA brochures).  It's  easier,  more
educational  and  less  dangerous  to  give  the   literature  to
everyone, not just jurors.  That makes it harder to accuse you of
"jury  tampering",  as happened to Chuck  Bowers  of  California.
(Want  to help him out with court expenses?  His mailing  address
is P.O. Box 457, Pine Grove, CA 95665).



     5. Similarly, if you can get a copy of the current  district
jury pool (it's part of the public record), mail FIJA  literature
to prospective jurors. Notice that this does nothing to interfere
with  or influence any particular jury trial, which is what  must
be proven if you are to be convicted of jury tampering.



               IF YOU'RE CALLED FOR JURY DUTY...



     Show  up,  of course.  If this happens before  FIJA  becomes
law, just remember that it is always your right to decide on  the
justice  of any law you're being asked to apply to  the  accused.
So if the judge insists that you must consent to follow and apply
the law as he or she describes it, do not be intimidated: you may
in fact safely follow your conscience.



     You can't be punished for voting your conscience, but may be
harassed  (interrogated before or after serving, reprimanded,  or
possibly  even  disempaneled  if  you urge  other  jurors  to  do
likewise;  unbelievably,  it has happened).  But jurors  are  not
bound  to  do anything against their wills, nor  bound  by  oaths
given under duress, nor required to return a unanimous verdict.


     You shouldn't look at jury duty as an onerous task which  is
to be avoided if possible.  For one thing, it's your chance to do
some  real good for yourself and the community.  In  many  cases,
this  may mean voting to convict someone whose behavior is  truly
dangerous to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.



     In  other cases, it may mean acquitting someone because  the
evidence to convict is not convincing, or because the law or  its
application to the accused person appears wrong.  Defense of  the
rights of the citizens of your community is the whole point of  a
jury  system, and those include the rights of the accused and  of
the jurors themselves.  Justice therefore demands that common law
jurors  insist on their right to consider both the facts  of  the
case and the merits of the law.



     For these reasons, we urge you to regard jury service as  an
opportunity, a right worth defending, or a personal duty, despite
whatever obstacles may be thrown in your path.  Since most states
select jurors from voter registration lists, consider the  chance
to serve on a jury as another reason to register to vote!