Man charged with felony for passing out jury rights fliers in front of court house

[William Tell]

“I was speechless:” Man charged with felony for passing out jury rights fliers in front of courthouse


MECOSTA COUNTY, Mich. — A Mecosta man is charged with a felony for obstruction of justice and misdemeanor of tampering with a jury for passing out fliers about jury nullification rights on the sidewalk of the Mecosta County courthouse.


Keith Wood, 39, faces these charges after handing out about 50 fliers on Nov. 24, which the Fully Informed Jury Association wrote, that describe juror rights that are typically not given by judges during jury instructions before a trial.


Wood's Attorney Dave Kallman told FOX 17 the charges are "outrageous," especially after Wood posted bond set at $150,000 last Tuesday. Obstruction of justice is a five-year felony with up to $10,000 in fines, and attempting to influence jurors is a one-year misdemeanor with fines up to $1,000.

Wood told FOX 17 he was speechless.


“When he (the Judge) told me the bond, again I was speechless," said Wood. "$150,000 bond for handing out a piece of paper on a public sidewalk? Speechless.”


Wood said he charged $15,000 to his credit card to post bond. Kallman said he will fight for all of Wood's bond to be returned, and called these charges an attack on free speech.


“It’s just a blatant illegal improper use of government power to squelch a person’s Constitutional rights of free speech, that’s what this is,” said Kallman.


"There has to be push-back, and judges and prosecutors and people need to know: you cannot squelch people’s free speech rights and get away with it."


Wood said he was motivated to educate the public on jury rights knowing of an upcoming Mecosta County trial.
"It's not illegal to fully inform jurors, it's just that judges don't do it anymore, " said Wood.


"To me, I just feel like the justice system would be much better off, and we the people would be much better off if jurors were fully informed again."

http://fox17online.com/2015/12/01/m...thouse/#ooid=EzZWY5eTqZqxaR-F49H-EkKVC5wzkbMk

 

[Ronin Truth]

He should have just had a soapbox and read his flier aloud. That would have been protected speech.

 

[Ronin Truth]

I SWAG that this is the flier in question:

http://fija.org/docs/BR_Fresh_Air_For_Justice_022011.pdf

 

[tod evans]

Justice will not be found in their courts.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Wood told FOX 17 he was speechless.

No, NOW he is "speechless".

This is called Freedumb.

Move along now.

 

[CPUd]

If the prosecutor knows a guy is out there passing out nullification flyers where jurors are walking in, they almost always will sic the dogs on him. This is because if the defense counsel knows there was a juror who got the flyer, he will call for and usually get a mistrial.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

77th District Court - Mecosta - Mecosta (D77~1)

Mecosta County Building

400 Elm Street

Big Rapids, MI 49307

(231) 592-0799

Honorable Scott P. Hill-Kennedy, Chief Judge

Honorable Peter Jaklevic, District Judge

 

[Chester Copperpot]

He should have just had a soapbox and read his flier aloud. That would have been protected speech.

then he would have gotten arrested for obstructing the sidewalk or some other dubious rule

 

[Ronin Truth]

then he would have gotten arrested for obstructing the sidewalk or some other dubious rule

Being radical often requires extreme care and vigilance.

 

[Suzanimal]

After Judge Kimberly Booher adjourned the preliminary exam Thursday, both parties argued who should be called as witnesses in the case. Mecosta County Prosecutor Brian Thiede told Judge Booher he’s not a necessary witness, and if he is called as one he plans to tell the jury the pamphlets Wood passed out could create a “lawless nation.”

“This (Fully Informed Jury Association pamphlet) just says ignore the law, ignore the facts, do what your conscience wants,” said Thiede after he tossed the pamphlet on the table, "and I’m thinking, Oh my goodness, well, we could have the jury who thinks that jihad is righteous, and if the San Bernadino shooters had not been killed, they’ll say, Let’s acquit."

This statement was greeted by booing from the courtroom gallery, and Judge Booher asked people to not comment as Thiede then said, “We would have a lawless nation if people were to vote their conscience.”

Defense attorney Dave Kallman said he understood the concerns of Judge Jaklevic and Thiede with jury nullification.

“I understand what (Thiede is) saying: we don’t want anarchy and that sort of thing," said Kallman. "But I think he’s conflating what was going on here with what the actual rights of jurors are. Jurors have the power to rule according to their conscience.”

People in the courtroom applauded Kallman when he quoted from the Michigan Criminal Jury Instructions: “Quote, ‘In the end, your vote must be your own, and you must vote honestly and in good conscience.’ It’s in the jury instruction for goodness sake, that’s given every single time in every single criminal case in this state."

http://fox17online.com/2015/12/10/p...ve-a-jury-who-thinks-that-jihad-is-righteous/

 

[LibertyEagle]

Yeah, I seem to recall something about this being made illegal in and around a courthouse.

 

[fisharmor]

I SWAG that this is the flier in question:

http://fija.org/docs/BR_Fresh_Air_For_Justice_022011.pdf

Good gravy, is there nobody in the fully informed jury movement who knows the first thing about graphic design?

 

[Danke]

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