Justice is a Myth Today

Justice is a Myth Today

by Leon Howard

I have told the story many times: After being impaneled on a jury, I was excused because I wouldn't "accept instruction from the bench"; many friends have questioned that story but it is true - After being seated on the jury, the Benton County Superior Court Judge began asking a series of questions to ferret out prejudice but also to see if the folks impaneled were Jurors or Sheeple - Eleven were Sheeple and the judge sent me home!

I have always wanted to serve on jury duty but I am a member of Fully Informed Juror, an organization dedicated to returning Constitutionality to our courts that were lost in 1933 with the 1933 War Powers Act - An aside: Who were we, the People, at war with in 1933? We weren't; FDR and the Congress declared war on the American People and a massive circumvention of our Constitution was instituted: Gold bullion was confiscated from American homes (in exchange for Federal Reserve "Silver Certificates") and judges were sent to Scottsdale, Arizona for a "seminar" to explain how the 'new' court system was to be run.

Under the new 'rules', the courts were no longer the Peoples' Courts, they were now the Judges' courts and they, in essence became fiefdoms. They redesigned the courts to reflect the change: No longer was the court to be a 'level playing field' - the jury was placed in a box, elevated slightly above the prosecutor and defense tables; the witnesses were now placed in witness boxes, slightly above the jury box, and the judge, befitting a king in his fiefdom, was elevated above the witness box - So, instead of one level and no "boxes", we went to 4 levels, 2 "boxes" and a Throne! But that only reflects the cosmetic changes; the substantive changes were more devastating to justice. This is why they would not allow me sit on the jury!

"The jury has the right to judge both the law 
as well as the fact in controversy."


·      John Jay
(1745-1829) first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, First President of the United States - preceding George Washington, 
one of three men most responsible for the US Constitution 
Source: Georgia v. Brailsford, 1794

Not anymore! "It was too cumbersome" - "Too many of the guilty were being found innocent" - The 'reasons' were many but they were no more than excuses! Today, people wonder why we elect judges - It's in our state constitution, ratified in 1889, and judges were the court "referee"; they didn't need to be lawyers because their function was to facilitate order in the court and be certain the evidence was heard by the jury so they could render a "guilty" or "innocent" verdict - Today, juries render "guilty" or "not guilty" verdicts because "innocent" indicates the person did not commit a crime and today's "trials" are no more than "dog-and-pony" shows - Two lawyers, being as convincing as possible, and a judge deciding what evidence the jury can hear! No longer a "referee", the "judge" is more important than the defendant because he, alone, decides what is "evidence"! How many times have you heard of the judge saying, "The jury will disregard that statement or the testimony!" That is "instruction from the bench". After the Prosecution and Defense have presented their case, the judge tells the jury how the jury can find: guilty or not guilty, guilty of the crime the defendant was charged with or guilty of a lesser crime. That is instruction from the bench and you will notice, no where will the judge empower the jury to judge the constitutionality of the law the defendant was charged with!

This is the greatest robbery of Liberty ever perpetrated on the American People! Why? The Constitution is our contract with the federal government; it is our Constitution and we are to interpret the constitutionality of all laws - This has been reaffirmed three (3) times; the first of which is the quote above from John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. There are many other of our founders who felt this and it goes back to the Magna Carta.

But, twelve people taken randomly from the population will represent both friends and opponents of the party in power. With fully-informed juries, the government cannot exercise its powers over the people without the consent of the people. Trial by jury is trial by the people. When juries are not allowed to judge law, it becomes trial by the government.

Here are some quotes from courts, justices, and our founding fathers:

"The jury has the right to judge both the law
as well as the fact in controversy."


·      John Jay
(1745-1829) first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, First President of the United States - preceding George Washington,
one of three men most responsible for the US Constitution
Source: Georgia v. Brailsford, 1794

"If a juror feels that the statute involved in any criminal offence is unfair, or that it infringes upon the defendant's natural god-given unalienable or constitutional rights, then it is his duty to affirm that the offending statute is really no law at all and that the violation of it is no crime at all, for no one is bound to obey an unjust law."

·      Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone

“If the jury feels the law is unjust, we recognize the undisputed power of the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is contrary to the law as given by a judge, and contrary to the evidence.”

·      4th Circuit Court of Appeals, US v Moylan, 1969

“The jury has the power to bring in a verdict in the teeth of both the law and the facts.”

·      Justice Holmes, Homing v District of Columbia, 138 (1920)

"For more than six hundred years-- that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215--there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such law."

·      Lysander Spooner, The Right of Juries

When a jury acquits a defendant even though he or she clearly appears to be guilty, the acquittal conveys significant information about community attitudes and provides a guideline for future prosecutorial discretion...Because of the high acquittal rate in prohibition cases in the 1920s and early 1930s, prohibition laws could not be enforced. The repeal of these laws is traceable to the refusal of juries to convict those accused of alcohol traffic.

·      Sheflin and Van Dyke, Law and Contemporary Problems, 43, No. 4, 1980

“It is not only the juror's right, but his duty, to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment and conscience, though in direct opposition to the directions of the court.”

·      John Adams

"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."

·      Thomas Jefferson

Further, the jury's veto power protects minorities from "the body of the people, operating by the majority against the minority."

·      James Madison, June 8, 1789

"In short, if the jury have no right to judge of the justice of a law of the government, they plainly can do nothing to protect the people against the oppressions of government; for there are no oppressions which the government may not authorize by law."

·      Lysander Spooner, "Jury Power" by L. & J. Osburn

As you can see, this right is being ignored as the powers that be want them to be! Keep the American People educated in their Constitution and these abuses are less likely to occur. I write this now so you will be provoked to learn more about the Fully Informed Juror Association and defend your COnstitution from an irresponsible government not operating in your best interest! Check FIJA at: http://fija.org/

You can share this with your email lists because both parties are creating more and more "laws" to control the American People and exempting themselves from those same laws. The best way to stop this tyranny is to nullify their unconstitutional laws from the jury box!

Major GOP Betrayal Coming?

Major GOP Betrayal Coming?

By Leon Howard

Major GOP betrayal is coming? Nah – It’s already here! The party hacks (John Boehner, Doc Hastings, Kathy McMorris-Rogers, (to name a few) and the ‘progressive-lites’ and RINO’s (John  McCain, Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, etc.) are rolling-over and playing dead for the administration!

Actually, they’re offering the administration “ideas” to avoid the dreaded ‘fiscal-cliff’ they created – None of them will work but they’re too arrogant and stupid to realize nothing they do will save the nation from the real ‘fiscal cliff’! It is too late for the wimpy ideas they have collectively compiled. They have, knowingly and unwittingly, re-created the German Weimar Republic of  the1920’s that led to the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler!

I hope it doesn’t go that far but it will be up to liberty-minded, freedom-loving patriots to hold firm and reclaim our Constitution from the Marxists trying to run the show now!

If the GOP “leadership” was smart – Now there’s an oxymoron – A ‘smart’ member of Congress? LMAO!!  Plato’s observation: “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”  Are we there yet? But, if they were smart, they’d hold a press conference and explain to the American Sheeple what’s happening and do not pull any punches! If I were holding that press conference, I would say it this way:

“We have tried to hold the line on this out-of-control-government-spending that we helped create but the American people are split in their beliefs so we, the Republican Party, have decided the only thing that will heal this rift is for the majority to have it their way! 50.4% of you voted for this administration because you think the Democrats have the answer so we’re going to go with that. We will not offer any ideas nor will we offer any opposition to the Democrat proposals but we will not vote for them! We will vote “Present” as the President has his entire political career! This is the Democrats turn to create the solutions … The only opposition we will front will be to stop any effort to make the Executive Branch more powerful – We will not allow the Debt Ceiling decisions to be in the hands of the President! That is the responsibility of the House! Other than that, the Democrats will control the legislation and may God have mercy on our nation!”

But that won’t happen because they have no idea what will work and what won’t – They are collectively stupid on economics and prove it every session! Another reason they haven’t the guts to do this is because they want to feel like we still have a two-party system – We don’t! We have two-party names but the “owners” of both parties are the same moneymen and they call the shots!

They won’t take this tact because the owners of the Federal Reserve will not allow them to! They won’t because George Soros and his ilk will not allow them to! It makes no difference what any of the People say because we are slaves to the Federal Reserve, George Soros and his ilk!

I started this off saying the GOP was betraying us again but I never explained how; I will do that now. (1) Today, John Boehner agreed to $800 Billion in new taxes and more spending demanded by Obama. (2) The House Republicans purged all Tea Party members from the House Budget Committee and replaced them with “moderate” Republicans; this was done to allow Obama to get what he wants. (3) Senator John McCain stepped forward and endorsed Harry Reid’s proposal to end the possibility of the GOP filibustering Democrat legislation and Supreme Court appointments! John McCain: War hero and idiot!

What can you do? Not much and, then again, a lot! You can send emails and FAX members of Congress but I think the “fix is in”! That’s the “not much” I spoke of – If you want to do a lot – Pray! Pray we will survive the financial tsunami headed our way. We, the People, didn’t create it, the government did but we will pay the price. Elected officials, concerned only with getting re-elected for more power used the public purse to buy votes and retain their position!

Let's Dive Off the "Fiscal Cliff"?

Let’s Dive Off The “Fiscal Cliff”?

By Leon Howard

This Blog is in response to the stupidity reprinted in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin on 12/03/12, written by Danny Westneat of the Seattle Times – That should give you an indication of just how far out of touch with reality the article was! The other indicator of this would be the Senator he quotes and, apparently, admires – Sen. Patty Murray has been voted “Dumbest Senator” every year she’s been there!

“No one wants to go off any cliff or hill or slope,” she says.

But she is one of the main voices saying this: Going over the cliff won’t hurt as much as keeping the same failed tax and budget policies of the past decade.

“A worse idea is to accept a compromise that allows wealthy Americans to continue to not pay their fair share, because the result will be that middle-class families will bear the entire burden of the challenges this country faces,” she told MSNBC.

“The middle class will bear the entire burden …”? The middle class’ challenge is to survive the dangerous fiscal policies of this administration! Part of Obama’s plan, from the beginning, has been to destroy the middle class to realize his dream of a Marxist America! And Murray furthers this Marxist drivel when she reverts to class-warfare with: “…. allows wealthy Americans to continue to not pay their fair share …” “Wealthy Americans” earning $250,000.00 a year? Ms. Murray chooses to ignore that these are mainly small business owners who create 90% of the new jobs and if the government steals more of their money, how do they create jobs? They don’t, which fits the Marxist (sorry … ‘progressive’) plan – No jobs; more government assistance needed!

The “fiscal cliff” was created by both parties in Congress as well as the White House … We, the People, didn’t create this but we will pay the price for it – In a way, we share in the blame because we keep electing these party hacks into office – It’s insane! Einstein said it best: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” That is the government we have today: Insanity should be their logo! Yes, this train wreck started under Bush (with a Democrat majority in both houses), and has been continued, at an accelerated rate, under the Pretender to the White House’s first term and continuing as we get ready to start his second term!

The first 2 years of Obama’s reign, he had Democrat control of both houses of Congress; the Congress gave us a $Trillion “stimulus” bill and Obamacare against the wishes of the American People – He did nothing to create jobs because his goal is to destroy the American economy and he told us during the campaign what he was going to do and further proof can be found in both of his books: “Dreams of My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”.

We, the People, organized and spoke out through the Tea Party movement; we pushed to change the face of Congress and were successful in the House but the Democrats retained control of the Senate, ruled over by “King Reid”! We did not end the madness of spending! We only slowed the train wreck down. The “lamestream” media began their campaign of vilifying the Tea Party movement and have been partially successful in marginalizing us but we continue to work for sane fiscal policies that neither party embraces!

Mr. Westneat then whines about the loopholes in the Tax Code and how we must “suck it up” to close these loopholes – Here he really misses the point! There is no way to make the Income Tax Code “fair” – It requires, not a “revamp” of the current system; it requires a new tax system – The Fair Tax; a consumption tax on all new products and services would be the “fairest” system because it assures everybody “has skin in the game”!

As it is now, the top 2% of the nation’s wage earners pay over 60% of the cost of this behemoth government – What does Ms. Murray and Mr. Westneat think is their “fair share”?

All the entitlement programs need drastic reduction and/or elimination – Social Security is not an entitlement but even it must be revamped to continue to pay it to those who rely on it for their retirement, if they paid into it!

The entitlement mentality must be eliminated because it is bankrupting the nation so that is something Mr. Obama will fight because he wants to expand dependence on the federal government, not diminish it!

If both these parties would follow the Constitution, we wouldn’t have these problems but they cannot gain control over the people if they do that. They have totally reversed the role of governments and the people in the last 145 years by circumventing the founding documents! The intent of the founding documents is that the individual is “sovereign” – The term “king of his castle” explains that – The “great experiment” was not democracy; it was self-governance. The “sovereign” allowed part of his/her powers to be used by the state governments and the state governments allowed the federal government certain ‘enumerated powers’ – The primary power was to protect our individual God-given rights from intrusion of government … In other words: I have my God-given rights that I control but cannot force onto another individual and violate their God-given rights. Ask yourself this question: “Can I force you to give me $1,000.00, for nothing?” Obviously, the answer is, “No!”; that would be robbery. Now ask yourself this question: “If I cannot force you to give me $1,000.00, for nothing, can I grant that power to the government?” If you answer that question with anything else but a resounding, “NO!!”, you are not an American and a big part of the problem!

Yet, that is exactly what the federal government is doing through the Income Tax System – Robbing the People of their wealth through this ‘progressive’ tax system that punishes success and rewards failure and non-producers!

Both parties use this flawed tax system to punish their enemies and reward their cronies – It’s called “loopholes”; both parties create them for this purpose. If their loophole happens to benefit a few of the People, so much the better and makes it easier to justify.

Be prepared! We are going over the cliff because both parties aren’t serious about correcting government; they’re only interested in the next election and blaming somebody else for the nation’s financial woes!

If they were serious, they would:

·      Drastically reduce and/or eliminate the entitlement programs;

·      Scrap the current tax system for the Fair Tax;

·      Eliminate all subsidies;

·      Eliminate all foreign aid;

·      Cut the Representative’s, Senator’s, and the President’s salaries in half;

·      Eliminate their federal retirements;

·      Close all of our overseas military bases;

·      Get us out of the United Nations and the United Nations out of the U.S.!

·      Combine and/or eliminate several government agencies and departments, including but not necessarily the only ones, the Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, et al.

What we will be facing over the next 2 to 3 years is worse than anybody in the government is willing to own up to; the Congress, this administration, and the Federal Reserve, with Bernanke’s help, is re-creating the German Weimar Republic so they can fully destroy our republic in favor of a dictatorship! Many of the members of both parties are dupes but the “leadership” of both parties are complicit in this endeavor and should be tried for treason!

If you love this nation, as I do; if you love your family, as I do; and if you value Liberty, as I do, prepare for the worst, pray for the best, and, above all – Keep your powder dry!