In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
We point out, here, that suits at common law when the value exceeds twenty dollars shall be tried by jury. Whether it be a person suing a person or the State suing a person to impose fines. It did not say “twenty dollars based on the value of a dollar.”
Jury duty is rarely explained properly. I have found that juries have been composed of six- or twelve-jurors of your peers. A woman cannot, technically, be on my jury because she does not see the world, or the Constitution, as I do—in many cases. A Democrat cannot try a Republican, theoretically. Of course, we are jumping hoops, here, for fun.
The fact remains, though, that jury nullification has been given a bad name, but is an important part of our jurisprudence. It is the main block that citizens have to bad government. That is why trial by jury was to be preserved. Even if a person has “broken the law,” one juror can vote not guilty simply because he does not think the law is Constitutional. We expect that jurors will use common sense. If a man is clearly guilty of violating the rights of a five-year old girl through sexual abuse, he must be found guilty. Other wise, you risk the safety of other five-year old girls.
However, if you have a man on trial for an Internet site derogatory to John McCain, he should be congratulated rather than punished. McCain and Feingold came up with the legislation preventing “character ads” within ninety-days of an election, for example. You might believe that is the best time to run them. So you can say not guilty to someone accused of just such an offense.
In Arizona, you have the right to defend yourself, but the various county attorneys will drag you into court anyway. They don’t have to pay for it, after all. If people keep voting not guilty—and voting those county attorneys out of office—the law may remain on the books, but they will discontinue trying to enforce it because they cannot get a guilty verdict. Again, if it is an obvious case of murder, you should vote your conscience. You will be responsible if that person murders again.
And finally, the double-jeopardy clause. As we have seen, you may be found innocent in one court, only to face another. They may try you until the “get you” or have exhausted all recourse. Again, the government does not pay for it. You do.
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Tags: 7th Amendment, Arizona, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Education, History, Honor America Days, Seventh Amendment
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