I seem to be scheduled to start 2021 with jury duty. The modern American court system is really quite peculiar when examined with any skepticism. I completely understand the principle of a jury trial as a bulwark against judicial and prosecutorial misconduct, but the implementation really makes no sense whatsoever.
Jury duty is compulsory service with a pathetically small remuneration and a threat of harm for noncompliance with the summons. This is sanctioned slavery, plain and simple. How does it create an incentive for fair and impartial hearings?
The education system in no way prepares people to handle jury duty. Yes, we learn it's a thing, but not the hows and whys or what power a jury has to protect people from bad laws by refusing to convict. Is it any surprise government schools don't teach people how to nullify government abuse?
I don't intend to dodge this demand, though. If they allow an anarchist on the jury, you can at least be damn sure the accused will have one person with a conscience in their corner demanding a solid case before accepting anything from the State.
I just hope it isn't some petty argument gone too far and dragged into court.
I am curious to see how they will respond to my refusal to swear oaths or pledge allegiance or sit and stand on demand, too. I doubt Quakerishness is much appreciated, but what do they think the Bible upon which so many people swear says about swearing oaths? I cannot stomach the pompous self-importance of government goons and their peacocking or demands for veneration, either.
I also detest the way courthouses operate like little totalitarian fiefdoms. I will feel naked without my usual EDC fare. Not even my Leatherman tool. It is infantilizing. They want me to potentially hold someone's life in my hands, but not carry a pocket knife? Am I an adult or am I not?
What could be done to improve the system, though? The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The courts are overburdened with victimless crime laws that create an endless stream of "criminals" who haven't harmed anyone and whose only fault is ignoring arbitrary dictates. The leviathan feeds on misery, and it creates abuse at every turn. We are saddled with the mistakes of our ancestors with no power to undo them. Maybe one "not guilty" decision is all we have left.
They say we have four boxes to defend our freedom: the ballot box, the jury box, the soapbox, and the cartridge box.
The ballot box is rigged.
The jury box is rife with abuse and neglected by many. Still, it is a way we can throw sand in the gears of the political machine.
The soapbox is being censored, and while social media outlets are nominally private interests not subject to restraint by the 1st amendment, I wonder what a little digging into their financials might be. Now involved are they with the NSA?
And while we have romantic notions of glorious revolution, wars do not tend to result in a victory for liberty.
We are in a bad spot. An underground economy of cryptocurrencies and a society outside the purview of the State may be our best bet yet. Meanwhile, check out the Fully Informed Jury Association.
