Dear Editor,
I believe if you had asked our founders what they wanted to accomplish with their writing of our founding documents, they would all agreed that these were meant to afford our citizens Liberty and Justice for all; just as our pledge allegiance to the flag states. Just as the second amendment allows us to protect ourselves and others against those who would harm us (even a tyrannical government if necessary), the sixth amendment allows our fellow citizens to protect us from unfair and unjust (bad) laws while sitting on a criminal trial jury. The jury can accomplish this by not enforcing an unjust or unfair law. This of course is referred to as jury nullification today.
Those who oppose this right of the jury to ignore an unjust or unfair law say that if a law is unfair or unjust, should insist that the legislature change it. Apparently, the same legislature that passed the law in the first place will be trusted to acknowledge the error of their ways! These people tend to be the same people that say that we should rely on the police (i.e. The government) to protect us instead of being allowed to protect ourselves. We and our fellow citizens who are about to be attacked whether it is physically by others or by convicted of an unfair or unjust law need protection against these now and not be expected to die waiting for the police or sitting in jail for possibly years before this unjust law is changed.
Interestingly those people who are opposed to the power of the jury to ignore the law as our founders meant the jury to be able to do if necessary are the same people who believe that the constitution is a living and breathing document. In this group you will find all of the progressives, most RINO Republicans and neoconservatives. It is too bad so few people now days can actually think like our founders did.
Dr. W. David
Herbert ESQ
Billings, MT
