The WØRD – “Juries”

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From chairperson Lavora Barnes

A jury: 12 ordinary citizens who take an oath to put aside their personal beliefs and opinions, listen to testimony presented by both sides in a trial, and render a verdict based solely on that testimony and the law.Our jury system dates back to the founding of the nation. The Sixth Amendment states that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused criminal has the right to a trial by an impartial jury of the state and district in which the individual allegedly committed a crime.

Attacks on the American jury system are, in fact, an attack on one of the constitutional rights that makes the United States exceptional. Yet that is what we are hearing in the aftermath of the unanimous finding of guilt against former President Trump.

It’s no surprise that Trump is lashing out. Anytime he loses at anything, he attacks and never accepts responsibility. In his mind he’s never lost an election, his numerous bankruptcies were the fault of others, and his recent losses in multiple civl and criminal trials are the results of a rigged system and corrupt people.

Donald Trump’s political campaign is based on grievance. He poses as a martyr constantly under attack by corrupt, evil people. It is part of his longstanding history of working to tear down our core American institutions: the Justice Department, FBI, intelligence agencies, the courts, his political opponents, the news media, scientists, women who have accused him of sexual assault, and now our system of jury trials. 

Particularly galling is the claim by Trump and his acolytes that the Department of Justice has been weaponized by the Biden administration. The reality is that the DOJ is acting as an independent protector of the law. It is, in fact, currently prosecuting two Democratic members of Congress for bribery: Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, and Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas. It is also prosecuting the President’s son.

The Biden administration hasn’t weaponized the Department of Justice, but Trump has promised he will. Trump has said he will order the DOJ to go after his critics and political opponents. He has already identified his first targets: President Biden, multiple Democrats in Congress including all the members of the January 6 special committee, and the prosecutors in all four of his criminal cases.

We cannot allow this to happen. Turning the federal government’s law enforcement power into a weapon of the White House would spell the end of equal justice under law, and threaten to topple our democracy.

All across Michigan municipal and township clerks are in the final stages of preparing for the August primary. Regardless of party affiliation, they share one goal: elections that are fair and accurate.

One the leaders among them is longtime Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum. He has been the Washtenaw County Clerk and Register of Deeds since 2005; he was first elected in November, 2004, defeating his predecessor.

Previously, he served as a county commissioner, at different times, in Ingham and Washtenaw counties.  In appointed positions, he has been a member of the Capital Area Transportation Authority board of directors, the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission, the East Lansing Planning Commission, and as a board member for several nonprofits.

Born in Chicago, he grew up in East Lansing, where his father was a professor of history at Michigan State University.  He has a B.A. in Economics from MSU and a law degree from Wayne State University law school; he did graduate work in city and regional planning at Cornell University.

Rob Rogers – TinyView.com

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