Dear John,
You are warmly invited and strongly encouraged to join FIJA for a presentation on the
Each year in February, the President of the United States delivers to Congress and the nation a State of the Union Address. As stated in the Constitution, this address should "give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It occurred to me that something along those lines is warranted as regards the American jury system.
It's been a heck of year for jury rights. Even prior to 2020, trial by jury had been marginalized to the point where it accounts for only a tiny fraction of decisions in either criminal or civil cases. This was dramatically impacted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic which has wreaked havoc on what was left of our jury system.
Well, it's time to assess the situation and get a baseline for what needs to be done going forward to set the American jury system back in its rightful place as a xxxxxx of liberty. Join us via Zoom or on the FIJA Facebook page for presentations from a great panel of speakers:- Clark Neily of the Cato Institute
- Catherine Bernard, defense attorney and FIJA state contact
- Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center
- Kirsten Tynan of the Fully Informed Jury Association
We will cover the status of the American jury system and threats to it, including recent Supreme Court rulings, relevant legislation, how it is impacted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as well as longer-term threats such as disparities created by plea bargain policy, asset forfeiture law, and more.
