2020 marks the 350th anniversary of the landmark conscientious acquittal of William Penn by brave and independent jurors. Each year for more than 25 years, FIJA has commemorated this momentous occasion as Jury Rights Day, our signature day of education.
Penn's acquittal by a conscientious jury was a key milestone in establishing many of the rights we claim in the United States today. Not only does our right to trial by a truly independent jury trace back to this foundational case, but so do our freedoms of religion, speech and assembly flow from it as well.
2020 has been... different. Normally, the toughest years to mount a robust, nationwide day of action are when Jury Rights Day falls on a Saturday when courts are closed and/or in the middle of a holiday weekend when many people have vacation plans. I was ready to deal with both those factors this year. But in the middle of a pandemic when people don't want to interact with strangers? Yeah... that's a major game changer.
But we will let neither Saturday nor holiday nor vacation plans nor threat of deadly pestilence stay our dedicated juror rights educators from their appointed mission of creating more fully informed jurors on Jury Rights Day!
This year we're taking the celebration online. Starting at 12:15 pm Mountain time, I'll be posting videos periodically throughout the day. Each one will feature the inspiring story of a trial in which the independent jury played a critical role in a just outcome.
Don't worry! You won't just be seeing and hearing me over and over again. Several friends of FIJA are pitching in! We'll have stories told by J.D. Tuccille of Reason magazine, Clark Neily of the Cato Institute, Joe Grumbine of The Human Solution International, FIJA Speaker and PhD Fellow Nathan Goodman, and FIJA Vice Chairman Robert Anthony Peters.
What's more, we'll be continuing to recruit people to make more of these story videos throughout the month of September. If you have a suggestion for a story you'd like to see covered, please dash off a quick note to me.
For today, I challenge you to create a fully informed jury by sharing this email, the Jury Rights Day page on our website, or any of the videos that premiere today with twelve other people.
