In June 2021, Russell and his daughter Jordan purchased American Tripoli, a 150-year-old mining company in the small town of Seneca, Missouri...
The right to a jury trial has been a cornerstone of our legal tradition for more than 800 years.
In 1215, English land barons included a provision in Magna Carta stating that no free man should be punished without being afforded the opportunity to stand before “the lawful judgment of his peers.”
Our Founding Fathers echoed similar sentiments in the Declaration of Independence and the Sixth and Seventh Amendments of the Bill of Rights.
But in recent decades, thanks to federal agencies’ use of in-house tribunals, many Americans are seeing their right to a jury trial stripped away.
Fortunately, some Americans—like PLF’s newest client Russell Tidaback—are taking a stand and demanding that their rights be restored.
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In June 2021, Russell and his daughter Jordan purchased American Tripoli, a 150-year-old mining company in the small town of Seneca, Missouri.
American Tripoli produces silicon dioxide, or “tripoli,” for use in everyday products like glass, toothpaste, and certain powdered foods like spices.
The father-daughter team went to work, hoping to rejuvenate the mine and the community, but they hit a roadblock when their business—and their rights—became entangled in a labor dispute with a miner they had let go.
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Russell and Jordan eventually found themselves in an in-house hearing before the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presiding.
Without a jury, the ALJ—who isn’t actually a federal judge but rather an agency bureaucrat—ruled against Russell, ordering American Tripoli to pay more than $40,000 in penalties.
Last week, my colleagues and I filed a federal appeal
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on Russell’s behalf—challenging the agency’s unaccountable and unconstitutional structure.
Learn more about PLF’s initiative to End Agency Adjudication
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or explore our broader efforts to restore the constitutional separation of powers
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—and stay tuned for updates on this fight
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to restore due process.
In liberty,
Adi Dynar
Attorney
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, for regular updates from the front lines of our fight against government overreach.
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