================================================= Expat Worlds Bi-Monthly Digest ================================================= 13 August, 2004 Vol. 6, Issue 13 .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== THE STORY =================== -=Jury nullification=- ==== OTHER EZINES ================ ==== EW SPECIAL ================== -=The Best Maildrop in Singapore=- ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... == -=Trivia=- -=News Story=- -=Traveller's Tales=- -=Jokes=- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============= -=Password Safe=- ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD == -=Table of Content=- ==== THE STORY ================================== Just came accross an old Expat World issue from 1997 and read this story. I still think its worth distributing it. JURY NULLIFICATION This is a true story of Laura Kriho’s miscarriage of justice as told in Liberty Magazine. It is EW’s opinion that the best way to prevent this from happening again is to start the process of letting every US citizen and potential juror know his right to apply jury nullification. On May 14, 1996,Iwas the lone juror who refused to convict a defendant accused of methamphetamine possession in a trail in Gilpin County, Colorado. Sixty-six days later, I was cited for contempt based on evidence of “improper” arguments I made in the jury room about jury nullification and the harsh sentence the defendant could receive. At the time, I didn’t know much about juries. I was passingly familiar with the doctrine of jury nullification, but for the record, I wasn’t trying to “nullify” the drug laws. I had reasonable doubts based on the lack of evidence, which I argued about extensively during deliberations. I only mentioned my vague understanding of jury nullification as a last resort, in frustration at the other jurors’ desire to convict and get home for dinner. I know a lot more now. On February 12, 1997 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 any questions about it. On March 7, I was fined $1,200, though I could have received six months in jail. My conviction is under appeal to the Colorado Court of Appeals. The Colorado American Civil Liberties Union and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar filed briefs supporting my appeal. Contempt proceedings against jurors are quite rare. I’ve been told mine is the first like it in over 300 years. On its face, my case seems like an anomaly, a rare aberration. But there is more to it than that. It is with some trepidation that I write this. A letter to the editor of a Denver newspaper about nonpsychoactive hemp fiber was used as evidence against me at my trial. But since the government seems so determined to prevent citizens from knowing about their full powers as jurors, it is important for me to share what I have learned. Jury “nullification” describes the historic power of jurors to vote their consciences, even if it is contrary to the evidence. Juries can “nullify” laws in a particular instance, either because the jurors believe that the law is unjust or because they believe the application of the law in a particular instance is unjust. A jury can acquit for any reason. This power is also referred to as jury “discretion.” Police use discretion when deciding whether to enforce a particular law in a particular case; prosecutors use discretion in deciding whether to bring a particular violation of the law to trial; judges use discretion in deciding whether to dismiss those charges. Jurors have similar power of discretion in applying the law. This jury discretion/nullification power of juries is widely recognized. It has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and was even reaffirmed by Gilpin District judge Henry Nieto in his ruling that convicted me. However for the past 100 years, the courts have ruled that jurors do not have to be informed of their power to evaluate laws, and judges typically instruct juries that they can only judge the facts of the case, and not the merits of the law. My conviction has taken this judicial promulgation of ignorance a step further. It implies that any potential juror who knows the power of the jury and who fails to volunteer that knowledge during jury selection, even if not asked, can and will be prosecuted. There is a nation-wide movement among judges actively to mislead jurors about their power to use their discretion. One of the leaders of this movement is a Gilpin County judge, Fred Rodgers, who wrote an article in Judges ‘Journal outlining strategies for judges to use to keep jurors ignorant of their power to “nullify” unjust law and for prosecuting “obstructionist” jurors who don’t volunteer their knowledge of this power to the court. Shockingly, Judge Rodgers discussed the supposed facts of my case in his article, although it was written before I was even charged. Judge Rodgers denied any conspiracy to prosecute me as part of his crusade for juror ignorance, but he did admit to a local reporter that the article “might have been lying around in the lunchroom and someone from the district attorney’s office may have gotten a hold of it.” This movement among judges to deceive and frighten jurors suggests the real reason I was prosecuted. They wanted to purge juries of anyone who knows they have the power to acquit, make jurors afraid to acquit, and prosecute jurors who do acquit. Having read this article, you possess this same forbidden knowledge. If you tell the court that you know that as a juror you have the same power of discretion as police, prosecutors and judges, you will be excluded from the jury. If you fail to volunteer the fact that you know this, you can be prosecuted and fined, like I was, or even imprisoned. The jury is the last line of nonviolent defense against a tyrannical and oppressive government. The systematic exclusion of knowledgeable jurors results injuries acting compliantly as tools of the state. It subverts justice and undermines the very purpose of the jury. (Hallelujah!! EW’s comment) To serve on a jury is a great responsibility. It is the only direct voice that citizens have in a government whose laws are often imposed upon them without their consent and is a barrier against unjust persecution. The next time you are having a beer and solving the problems of the world, do your part and spread the word on jury nullification!!!! EW UPDATE: On August 4 2000, First Judicial District Chief Judge Thomas Woodford signed a motion filed by the District Attorney to dismiss the contempt of court case against Laura Kriho, ending a four-year saga that brought the issues of jury rights and jury nullification into the international spotlight. ==== OTHER EZINES =============================== ASIAN TIMES ONLINE Asia most trusted source for news, business,commentary and analysis from throughout Asia and our world. (www.atimes.com). ----- Subscribe now to the "Timely Time Management Tips" newsletter. Free tips sent to you to help you get more done in less time, with less stress. Send your email now to: mailto:timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com ----- japan-guide.com Extensive, up to date online guide on Japan living and travel related information. http://www.japan-guide.com/ ==== EW SPECIAL ================================= THE BEST MAILDROP IN SINGAPORE For less than a dollar a day you can have your mail received, held and/or redirected to anywhere. US $350 per year gets you a maildrop (MD) in your personal name (real or otherwise) OR you company name. This fee includes a $50 "stamp" deposit for redirecting your mail. You have complete control over the account via an email address and secret code number. Real easy set up. Need only the name on the account and where you want your mail forwarded to in a "plain brown wrapper." Just email Expat World that information and tell us how you want to pay for it. We accepted US dollar checks, cash, money order or you can charge it on a credit card. Start on the first step of your personal and financial freedom today. Contact EW today at office@expatworld.net! ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... ================ NEWS STORIES What Are You Smiling At, Traveler? LONDON (Reuters) - The fight against terrorism has wiped the smile off the face of British passport holders. The UK Passport Service (UKPS) said Friday it would forbid open-mouthed smiles on passport pictures, one of several rules introduced to comply with strict new U.S. standards. Smiles are forbidden -- along with sunglasses and hair slanting across the eyes -- because they may confuse security cameras used to scan faces and verify the passport is authentic. "These new guidelines are an important step in the development of the new biometric e-passport and use of facial recognition technology that will be introduced in 2005 as part of the ongoing fight against fraud and international terrorism," UKPS Chief Executive Bernard Herdan said in a statement. New British passports will also be fitted with a chip containing the facial image and other data, hi-tech measures introduced to help stamp out passport fraud. --- Brits get hot and steamy, but not for sex THE first thing that goes through the average Briton's mind on waking up is not making steaming hot love, but a steaming hot cup of tea. According to a poll by the UKTV Food channel, many Brits can get up for a cuppa, but not for sex. An overwhelming 52 percent of women cannot wait to brew up, while just one in every hundred would rather stay in the bedroom and cuddle up. And when British men are roused from their sleep, just five percent want to get aroused, but 42 percent want to get the kettle on. Otherwise, 17 percent of men and 9 percent of women wake up thinking about work, whereas 11 percent and 14 percent respectively would rather rest in bed and doze off again. Just five percent of women and eight percent of men have their minds on breakfast, while six percent and four percent respectively contemplate what to wear. --- UFO Town Seeks Aid for Earthly Visitors WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish town plans to ask the European Union (news - web sites) for the equivalent of $126 million to help it build facilities for hundreds of visitors lured by its mysterious crop circles, a local official said on Tuesday. Crop circles -- areas in farmers' fields where grain has been flattened, often in complex interlocking patterns -- have been appearing in Wylatowo, western Poland, for four years. The circles have drawn interest from UFO enthusiasts who believe they are made by alien spacecraft, while others dismiss them as hoaxes. "We are drawing up a formal request -- we'd like to fix the sewer system and put up a campsite for visitors, both from Poland and from elsewhere in Europe," Wylatowo town councilor Tadeusz Filipczak told Reuters. "I've got an exhibit for tourists set up in my place where they can come and ask questions -- I mean, you can't just send people out in the fields," he said. ----- TRAVELLER'S TALES EXPRESSIVE: Name of law passed to cut down on the amount of graffiti in Lahore, Pakistan: "The Punjab Prohibition on Expressing Matters on Walls Act." ----- Oxymoron: Windows XP (Extra Performance) ----- If people behaved like governments, you'd call the cops. -- Kelvin Throop ----- When a man talks dirty to a woman, it's sexual harassment. When a woman talks dirty to a man, it's $3.95 a minute. -- Author Unknown ----- A man flying in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced height and spotted a man on the ground, descended further to shouting range. "Excuse me," he called, "Can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am." The man answered: "You are in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above the ground, between 40 and 42 degrees north, and about one degree west. "You must be a engineer," responded the balloonist. "I am, how did you know?" answered the man. "Everything you have told me is technically correct, but I am still as lost as before. "You must be a manager" responded the man. "Yes, but how did you know? "Well," said the man, "you have no idea where you are, or where you are going. You made a promise that you cannot keep, and you expect me to solve the problem. In fact you are in the same position as when I met you, but now somehow it is all my fault!" ----- A British visitor was stopped by customs at Melbourne airport was asked if he had a criminal record, and replied that he didn’t realise you still had to have one to get in! ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============================ Find below a response from one of our EW Digest Reader to the last issue resource tip. Jonas: In a recent digest there was recommended a password generator called the "ZPG - PASSWORD GENERATOR". Effectively there is a much safer, and better program called Password Safe, whch offers a password generator with added security. here: http://www.schneier.com/passsafe.html We also like the password Safe program. Furthermore, at the above mentioned website you also can subscribe to the Crypto-Gram Newsletter . Crypto-Gram is a free monthly e-mail newsletter from security expert Bruce Schneier, with over 100,000 readers. In its seven years of regular publication, Crypto-Gram has become one of the most widely read forums for free-wheeling discussions, pointed critiques, and serious debate about security. As head curmudgeon at the table, Schneier explains, debunks, and draws lessons from security stories that make the news. Check it out at ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD =============== EXPAT WORLD NEWSLETTER (VOL.16 ISSUE 06) Table of Content: - PANAMA IS HOT - A WORLD CLASS RETIREMENT HAVEN THAT'S RIPE FOR PROFITABLE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT - BITS & PIECES - THE RED LIGHTS OF SEOUL - YOUR PRIVACY IS BEING SLICED, DICED, CUT, SHREDDED AND HOMOGENIZED UNTIL THERE IS VIRTUALLY NOTHING LEFT OF IT. - PASSPORTS BY MAIL UPDATE - ISLANDS LURED TO SELL PASSPORTS - DOMINICA PASSPORTS - SERBIAN CUSTOMS SEIZE FAKE BELGIUM PASSPORTS - EUROPEAN UNION SEEKS VISA-FREE TRAVEL TO THE USA FOR ALL EU MEMBERS - TURKS-CAICOS SERIOUSLY CONSIDER BECOMING CANADA'S 11 PROVINCE - THE EMPLOYEE TAX-FREE TAKE HOME PAY INDEX - AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD - INTERNATIONAL SNIPS & CLIPS - CRAPPER RAPPER - THE PERILS OF BEER - HOUSE OF PRICKS - "JOHN" WAYNE YOU MISSING SO MUCH Each week the EXPAT WORLD DIGEST gives you just a smattering of what you can find in the EXPAT WORLD newsletter that we produce once a month. Why not get the whole story and subscribe now to our electronic version for just US $30 per year. Go to our website: www.expatworld.net to sign up. ********************************************************************* EXPAT WORLD - the newsletter of international living URL - http://www.expatworld.net Email - office@expatworld.net ---------- End of Expat World Digest -------------------------------- To unsubscribe, write to unsubscribe-digest@expatworld.net