Dear Friend of Liberty:
Thank you for your interest in the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA). This
information will give you an overview of our purpose and projects. I hope that when you
have finished exploring this site, you will decide to become a supporter. As I am sure you
know, the highest and best function of the jury is not, as many think, to dispense
punishment to fellow citizens guilty of breaking the law, but rather to protect fellow
citizens from tyrannical prosecutions and bad laws imposed by a power-hungry government.
Juries protect society from dangerous individuals and also protect individuals from
dangerous government. Jurors have a duty and responsibility to render a just verdict. They
must take into account the facts of the case, mitigating circumstances, the merits of the
law, and the fairness of its application in each case. The recognition of the authority
and right of jurors to weigh the merits of the law and to render a verdict based on
conscience, dates from before the writing of our Constitution, in cases such as those of
William Penn and Peter Zenger. Should this right ever be suppressed, the people will
retain the right to resist, having an unalienable right to veto or nullify bad and
oppressive laws, and in fact then would be morally compelled to do so.
Jurors, as the representatives of the people, hold no personal agenda during any trial and
most certainly not the government’s agenda. Let us not forget that the prosecutors,
judges, arresting officers and the forensic investigators in mostcases are all a part of
and receive their paychecks from government, with personal power bases to build and
personal careers to protect through the productivity of successful prosecutions resulting
in convictions. Jurors have no such stake in the outcome, and are, in fact, the only truly
objective individuals in the courtroom.
The role of our jurors is to protect private citizens from dangerous government laws and
actions. Many existing laws erode and deny the rights of the people. Jurors protect
against tyranny by refusing to convict harmless people. Our country’s founders
planned and expected that we, the people, would exercise this power and authority to judge
the law as well as the facts every time we serve as jurors. Juries are the last peaceful
defense of our civil liberties.
FIJA works to restore and protect the role of the juror, and the institution of Trial by
Jury. We sponsor educational seminars for legal professionals, publish commentary, develop
and present Amicus briefs when the institution of the jury is at issue, provide interviews
to the media, speak at functions and in classrooms, and of course distribute educational
literature. Our newsletter The American Juror is published quarterly. We articulate that
the authority of the jury is the right that protects all other rights.
For more information, be sure to visit our web site at www.fija.org or call 1-800-TEL-JURY
for a free information packet. Thank you again for your interest. I hope you will join
with us in our work. To make a contribution for liberty today, visit our contributions
page at www.fija.org/support_liberty_now where you can make a secure donation and
subscribe to our newsletter. Thank you for your support!
For Liberty and Justice for All,
Iloilo Marguerite Jones
Executive Director
Purpose
The FIJA mission is to educate Americans regarding their full powers as jurors,
including their ability to rely on personal conscience, to judge the merit of the law and
its application, and to nullify bad law, when necessary for justice, by finding for the
defendant.
The Fully Informed Jury Association(FIJA)is a nonpartisan public policy research and
education organization located in Helena, Montana. FIJA focuses on issues involving the
role of the jury in our justice system and the preservation of the full function of the
jury as the final arbiter in our courts of law. The FIJA mission is to inform all
Americans about their rights, powers and responsibilities when serving as trial jurors.
FIJA works to restore the political function of the jury as the final check and balance on
our American system of government.
To assist supporters who press for a “fully informed jury,” FIJA has drafted the
following model bill language suitable for passage into law or for amending a state
constitution:
“An accused or aggrieved party’s right to trial by jury, in all instances where
the government or any of its agencies is an opposing party, includes the right to inform
the jurors of their power to judge the law as well as the evidence, and to vote on the
verdict according to conscience.
This right shall not be infringed by any statute, juror oath, court order, or procedure or
practice of the court, including the use of any method of jury selection which could
preclude or limit the empanelment of jurors willing to exercise this power.
Nor shall this right be infringed by preventing any party to the trial, once the jurors
have been informed of their powers, from presenting arguments to the jury which may
pertain to issues of law and conscience, including (1) the merit, intent,
constitutionality or applicability of the law in the instant case; (2) the motives, moral
perspective, or circumstances of the accused or aggrieved party; (3) the degree and
direction of guilt or actual harm done, or (4) the sanctions which may be applied to the
losing party.
Failure to allow the accused or aggrieved party or counsel for that party to so inform the
jury shall be grounds for mistrial and another trial by jury.
When every American juror is aware of and permitted to exercise all of his and her rights,
the final judgment of law will return to where it was always intended to be located…in
the hands of the people. Once again our jury system will function as our country’s
founders intended it to function as people’s final check against the government’s
tendency to encroach upon the rights of its people.
N.B. FIJA conducts its campaign solely through educational outreach programs and
materials, and works to achieve its goals through means appropriate to its 501(c)(3)
status. It does not advocate violence or willful disobedience to the law, and does not
associate itself with any anti-government movement or organization.
To maintain its independence, FIJA accepts no government funding. FIJA programs and
publications are possible because of generous contributions received from individual
donors, foundations and corporations. FIJA generates revenue through seminar fees and the
sale of FIJA publications and materials. FIJA is a public policy nonprofit, tax-exempt
educational foundation under Section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
