Time: Sat Apr 12 20:35:01 1997
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Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 20:31:38 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: JRP Newsletter #1 (4/12/97) (fwd)
>Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 15:17:47 -0600 (MDT)
>From: Jury Rights Project <jrights@darkstar.cygnus.com>
>Subject: JRP Newsletter #1 (4/12/97)
>To: jrights@darkstar.cygnus.com
>
> Jury Rights Project Newsletter (email version)
> Volume 1 Number 1 - April 12, 1997
>
> The Jury Rights Project (JRP) was founded in Colorado to
>defend the 1000-year-old tradition of trial by jury. The JRP is
>dedicated to educating citizens about the importance of juries
>and the rights of jurors. The JRP is committed to preserving and
>enhancing the rights of jurors to be the voice of the community
>without fear of retribution. Through education, the JRP will
>empower citizens to defend their 6th Amendment right to trial by
>jury, which includes the right to serve on a jury as well as the
>right to be judged by an impartial jury of your peers.
> The JRP formed around the case of Laura Kriho, a Gilpin
>County juror who was maliciously prosecuted after she was the
>lone holdout juror on a drug possession case. Kriho was
>convicted of contempt of court, after four months of deliberation
>by the judge, for failing to -volunteer- information about her
>political beliefs and knowledge of the Constitution during jury
>selection.
> Kriho's conviction is an unprecedented assault on jury
>rights and the independence of juries from judges. It has
>national ramifications for potential jurors and for defendants
>and plaintiffs seeking a fair and impartial jury. Jurors will
>now be reluctant to deliberate freely and will fear to vote
>against the majority lest they be investigated and prosecuted
>later. A fair trial is impossible if the jurors are serving
>under the threat of prosecution.
> The JRP has been active in promoting awareness of Kriho's
>case through the Internet. We are ready to develop a corporeal
>as well as ethereal existence by expanding our activities to include
>more of the general public.
> The JRP will have its first organizational meeting on
>Tuesday, April 22. The JRP will continue Tuesday meetings through May.
>Future meetings will be decided by the participants.
>
> JRP Meetings/Presentation Schedule
>
>Date: Room: Time: Topic:
>
>April 22 Hellems 141 6:30 pm Organizational Meeting
>
>
>April 29 Hellems 141 6:30 pm Organizational Meeting
>
>
>May 6 Hellems 141 6:30 pm Organizational Meeting
> 8:00 pm Video: Larry Dodge, co-founder
> of the Fully-Informed Jury
> Association speaks about the
> history of jury nullification.
>
>May 13 NO MEETING
>
>May 20 Hellems 241 6:30 pm Organizational Meeting
> 8:00 pm Paul Danish, Boulder County
> Commissioner, will give a talk
> entitled "We the Jury."
>
>Directions: All meetings are held on the CU Campus in Boulder.
>The Hellems Building is located northwest of the UMC Fountain.
>The UMC (Univ. Memorial Center) is located at the intersection of
>Broadway and Euclid/16th Street on the Hill in Boulder. There is
>a parking garage located on Euclid east of Broadway.
>
>Update on Laura Kriho case
> In March, Laura Kriho was convicted of contempt of court for
>her service as a juror and fined $1200. She will appeal the
>decision. The first court in the appeals process is the Colorado
>Court of Appeals. Kriho's attorney, Paul Grant, is writing the
>appeal and gathering support from other legal associations to
>fight the ruling.
> The appeal will be filed with the Colorado Court of Appeals
>this month. Briefs will then be filed over the next several
>months. If the Court of Appeals does not issue a favorable
>ruling, a petition will be filed with the Colorado Supreme Court
>asking them to hear the case, then the U.S. Supreme Court. If
>Kriho gets a favorable ruling at any lower court, it is likely
>the State will petition the next higher court to review the
>decision.
> Donations to support this very important appeal are strongly
>encouraged and can be sent to: Laura Kriho Legal Defense Fund,
>c/o Paul Grant, P.O. 1272, Parker, CO 80134, (303) 841-9649.
>
>C-SPAN Broadcast on Jury Nullification
> On March 31, Paul Grant, Kriho's attorney, was a panelist in
>a discussion sponsored by the American Bar Association titled:
>"Jury Nullification: A 'Right,' A 'Power,' or an Invitation to
>Anarchy?" The panel was excellent and was broadcast on C-SPAN.
>Copies of the tape are available from C-SPAN. Call
>1-800-277-2698. Tape ID: 80075 / Title: Jury Nullification /
>Length: 2 hrs. 19 min.
>
>Jury Reform in Colorado
> The Colorado Supreme Court issued a proposal for jury reform
>on March 6, 1997, entitled "With Respect to the Jury." The proposal was
>prepared by a 27 member committee composed of judges, attorneys, and
>former jurors who met for over a year to study ways to make jury duty
>"friendlier" for jurors. The report does not mention the Kriho case nor
>does it address the new duty of jurors to "volunteer" information
>during voir dire.
> Among other things, the 74 page report recommends:
>- allowing jurors to take notes during the trial and to submit
>written questions which the court may pose to witnesses
>- eliminating the occupation of lawyer as a ground for challenge
>for cause in a criminal trial
> The Supreme Court will decide which recommendations to enact. We
>will inform you if there is an opportunity for public comment.
>For copies of the complete report, contact Rebecca Virtue,
>Colorado Judicial Branch, at (303) 837-3658.
>
>On the Internet
> The JRP sends out frequent updates on the Internet about
>jury issues and the Kriho case. To subscribe to our email list,
>send email to: jrights@welcomehome.org with the word SUBSCRIBE in
>the title of the message. (To unsubscribe, use UNSUBSCRIBE).
> Background information on the Kriho case and jury issues is
>available on the World Wide Web at:
><http://www.execpc.com/~doreen/kriho.html>
><http://www.fija.org>
><http://www.flash.net/~rcoursey>
> If you can't find info. there, send us a line.
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jury Rights Project
> P.O. Box 729, Nederland, CO 80466
> jrights@welcomehome.org
> {Re-distribution of this document
> is encouraged under the copyleft doctrine.}
>
>
>
========================================================================
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
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