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RE: FUCK THE JUDGE- JURY NULLIFICATION

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Lori
Date: Jul 9, 2008 4:32 PM


From: Doreen
Date: Jul 9, 2008 6:29 PM


http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Jury_nullification
Jury nullification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jury nullification means making a law void by jury decision, in other words "the process whereby a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her.



"[3]

Jury nullification is more specifically any rendering of a verdict by a trial jury, acquitting a criminal defendant despite the defendant's violation of the letter of the law. This verdict need not disagree with the instructions by the judge concerning what the law is, but may disagree with an instruction, if given by the judge, that the jury is required to apply the law to the defendant if certain facts are found.





Although a jury's refusal relates only to the particular case before it, if a pattern of such verdicts develops in response to repeated attempts to prosecute a statutory offense, it can have the practical effect of disabling the enforcement of the statute. "Jury nullification" is thus a means for the people to express opposition to an unpopular legislative enactment.





The jury system was established because it was felt that a panel of citizens, drawn at random from the community, and serving for too short a time to be corrupted, would be more likely to render a just verdict, through judging both the accused and the law, than officials who may be unduly influenced to follow merely the established law. Jury nullification is a reminder that the right to trial by one's peers affords the public an opportunity to take a dissenting view about the justness of a statute or official practices.





Despite perceived righteous applications of jury nullification, this verdict anomaly can also occur simply as a device to absolve a defendant of culpability. Sympathy, bias or prejudice can influence some jurors to wholly disregard evidence and instruction in favor of a sort of "jury forgiveness.



"

“ I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.




—Thomas Jefferson, 1789 letter to Thomas Paine

“ The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.




—John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court



Historical examples include American revolutionaries who refused to convict under English law,[1] juries who refuse to convict due to perceived injustice of a law in general,[2] the perceived injustice of the way the law is applied in particular cases,[3] and cases where the juries have refused to convict due to their own prejudices such as the race of one of the parties in the case.



[4]

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Common law precedent
3 Canada
4 UK
5 United States
6 See also
7 References
8 External links



[edit] Background

A nineteenth century juryJury nullification is a de facto and traditional power of juries, not normally disclosed to jurors by the system when they are instructed as to rights and duties. The power of jury nullification derives from an inherent quality of most modern common law systems—a general unwillingness to inquire into jurors' motivations during or after deliberations. A jury's ability to nullify the law is further supported by two common law precedents: the prohibition on punishing jury members for their verdict, and the prohibition (in some countries) on retrying defendants after an acquittal; and the constitutional prohibition on retrying criminal defendants (see related topics res judicata and double jeopardy).





Jury nullification is the source of much debate. Some maintain that it is an important safeguard of last resort against wrongful imprisonment and government tyranny. Others view it as an abuse of the right to a jury trial that undermines the law. Some view it as a violation of the oath sworn to by jurors. Others view the requirement that jurors take an oath to be unlawful while still others view the oath's reference to "deliverance" to require nullification of unjust law: "will well and truly try and a true deliverance make between the United States and the defendant at the bar, and a true verdict render according to the evidence, so help [me] God." United States V. Green, 556 F.2d 71 ~.1 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Some fear that nullification could be used to permit violence against socially unpopular factions.[who?] The safeguards against abuse of jury nullification during conviction are the requirements for the jury, the judge and any courts of appeal to be unanimous. Nevertheless, some opponents of jury nullification maintain conviction through nullification is sufficiently threatening to minority rights to counter-act benefits to minority rights during acquittal through nullification of unjust law. Jury nullification may also occur in civil suits, in which this distinction between acquittal and conviction is of course irrelevant.



[citation needed]

Nevertheless, there is little doubt as to the ability of a jury to nullify the law. Today, there are several issues raised by jury nullification.





First, whether juries can or should be instructed or informed of their power to nullify.




Second, whether a judge may remove jurors "for cause" when they refuse to apply the law as instructed.




Third, whether a judge may punish a juror for exercising his power of jury nullification.




Fourth, whether all legal arguments, except perhaps on motions in limine to exclude evidence, should be made in the hearing of the jury.





[edit] Common law precedent
The early history of juries supports the recognition of the de facto power of nullification. By the 12th century, common law courts began using juries for more than administrative duties. Juries were composed primarily of "laymen" from the local community. They provided a somewhat efficient means of dispute resolution with the benefit of supplying legitimacy.





Largely, the earliest juries returned verdicts in accordance with the judge or the crown. This was achieved either by "packing the jury" or by "writ of attaint". Juries were packed by hand-selecting or by bribing the jury so as to return the desired verdict. In cases of treason or sedition, this was frequently the case. In addition, the writ of attaint allowed a judge to retry the case in front of a second jury when the judge believed the first jury returned a "false verdict". If the second jury returned a different verdict, that verdict was imposed and the first jury was imprisoned or fined.





This history, however, is marked by a number of notable exceptions. In 1554, a jury acquitted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, but was severely punished by the court. Almost a century later in 1649, in the first known attempt to argue for jury nullification, a jury likewise acquitted John Lilburne for his part in inciting a rebellion against the Cromwell regime.



The theoretician and politician Eduard Bernstein wrote of John Lilburne's trial:

His contention that the constitution of the Court was contrary to the fundamental laws of the country was unheeded, and his claim that the jury was legally entitled to judge not only as to matters of fact but also as to the application of the law itself, as the Judges represented only 'Norman intruders', whom the jury might here ignore in reaching a verdict, was described by an enraged judge as 'damnable, blasphemous heresy.' This view was not shared by the jury, which, after three days’ hearing, acquitted Lilburne — who had defended himself as skilfully as any lawyer could have done — to the great horror of the Judges and the chagrin of the majority of the Council of State. The Judges were so astonished at the verdict of the jury that they had to repeat their question before they would believe their ears, but the public which crowded the judgment hall, on the announcement of the verdict, broke out into cheers so loud and long as, according to the unanimous testimony of contemporary reporters, had never before been heard in the Guildhall. The cheering and waving of caps continued for over half an hour, while the Judges sat, turning white and red in turns, and spread thence to the masses in London and the suburbs. At night bonfires were lighted, and even during the following days the event was the occasion of joyful demonstrations.



[5]

In 1653 Lilburne was on trial again and asked the jury to acquit him if it found the death penalty "unconscionably severe" in proportion to the crime he committed. The jury found Lilburne "Not guilty of any crime worthy of death".





By the late 17th century, the court's ability to punish juries was removed in Bushell's Case[6] involving a juror on the case against William Penn.





In 1670, William Penn and William Mead were arrested for illegally preaching a Quaker sermon and disturbing the peace. Four jurors, led by Edward Bushell refused to find them guilty but instead of dismissing the jury the judge sent them back for further deliberations. Despite the fact that the judge demanded a guilty verdict, the jury this time unanimously found Penn guilty of preaching but acquitted him on the charge of disturbing the peace and acquitted Mead of all charges. The jury was then subsequently kept for three days without "meat, drink, fire and tobacco" to force them to bring in a guilty verdict and when they failed to do so the judge ended the trial. As punishment the judge ordered the jurors imprisoned until they paid a fine to the court. Four jurors refused to pay the fine and after several months, Edward Bushell sought a writ of habeas corpus. Chief Justice Vaughn, sitting on the Court of Common Pleas, discharged the writ, released them, called the power to punish a jury "absurd" and forbade judges from punishing jurors for returning a verdict the judge disagreed with.



[7]

In 1681, a grand jury refused to indict the Earl of Shaftesbury. Then in 1688, a jury acquitted the Archbishop of Canterbury and six other Anglican bishops of seditious libel.





Juries continued, even in non-criminal cases, to act in defiance of the crown. In 1763 and in 1765, juries awarded £4,000 and £300 to John Wilkes and John Entwick, respectively, in separate suits for trespass against the crown's messengers. In both cases, messengers were sent by Lord Halifax to seize allegedly libelous papers.





In Scotland jury nullification had a profound effect bringing in (or as others believed reviving) the verdict of "not guilty". It was in 1728 that one Carnegie of Finhaven accidentally killed the Scottish Earl of Strathmore. As the defendant had undoubtedly killed the Earl, the law (as it stood) required the jury merely to look at the facts and pass a verdict of "proven" or "not proven" depending on whether they believed the facts proved the defendant had killed the Earl. However if the jury brought in a "proven" verdict they would in effect cause this innocent man to die. To avert this injustice, the jury decided to assert what it believed to be their "ancient right" to judge the whole case and not just the facts, rendering the verdict of "not guilty" which remains in Scotland to this day. Over time, however, juries have tended to favour the "not guilty" verdict over "not proven" and with this the interpretation has changed[citation needed]. Now the "not guilty" verdict has become the normal verdict when a jury is convinced of innocence and the "not proven" verdict is only used when the jury is not certain of innocence or guilt.





Standard jury trial practice in the USA during the Founding Era and for several decades afterward was to argue all issues of law in the presence of the jury, so that the jury heard the same arguments the bench did in reaching his rulings on motions. This is evidenced by such decisions as the 1839 case Stettinius v. U.S., in which it was held that "The defense can argue law to the jury before the court gives instructions."[8] Later, judges began to demand the parties submit motions in writing, often before the jury was empaneled, to be argued and decided without the jury being present. This transition began with motions in limine, to exclude evidence, on which it was felt the jury should not hear the argument because they would be informed of the evidence to be excluded. Later that was expanded to include all legal argument, so that today, that earlier practice of arguing law before the jury has been largely forgotten, and judges even declare mistrials or overturn verdicts if legal argument is made to the jury. However, since the original understanding of "jury" at the time the U.S. Constitution was framed included the making of legal argument to them, this raises the question of whether a trial before a jury in which legal argument is kept from them is a constitutional jury trial.






[edit] Canada
Although very rare, nullification does occur in Canada, however the Crown (prosecution) has a broader power to appeal rulings than in the US. So while a jury may ignore a judge's direction, Canadian law allows the prosecution to appeal from an acquittal (see also Double jeopardy). The often referred to case of jury nullification being appealed all the way to the country's highest court in Canada is the 1988 Supreme Court case, R. v. Morgentaler, 1988 SCR 30 [4]. In addition, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a more recent decision R. v. Krieger 2006 SCC 47 [5], confirmed that juries in Canada have the power to refuse to apply the law when their consciences require that they do so. The issue was also touched upon in R. v. Latimer, 2001 SCC 1 [6], where "The trial did not become unfair simply because the trial judge undermined the jury’s de facto power to nullify. In most if not all cases, jury nullification will not be a valid factor in analyzing trial fairness for the accused. Guarding against jury nullification is a desirable and legitimate exercise for a trial judge; in fact a judge is required to take steps to ensure that the jury will apply the law properly.



"


[edit] UK
In 1982, during the Falklands War, the British Navy sank an Argentine Cruiser – the "ARA General Belgrano". A civil servant (government employee) named Clive Ponting leaked two government documents concerning the sinking of the cruiser to the press, and was subsequently charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. The judge in the case directed the jury to convict Ponting as he had clearly broken the Official Secrets Act by leaking official information about the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War. His main defence, that it was in the public interest that this information be made available, was rejected on the grounds that "the public interest is what the government of the day says it is", but the jury nevertheless acquitted him, much to the consternation of the Government. He had argued that he had acted out of 'his duty to the interests of the state'; the judge had argued that civil servants owed their duty to the government.






[edit] United States
Main article: Jury nullification in the United States
Nullification has a mixed history in the United States. The first notable instance of jury nullification in the colonial United States occurred when in 1734 a jury refused to convict John Peter Zenger of seditious libel for publishing a newspaper critical of the governor. Jury nullification appeared in the pre-Civil War era when juries sometimes refused to convict for violations of the Fugitive Slave Act. During the 20th century, especially in the Civil Rights Movement, all-white juries were known to refuse to convict white defendants of murdering blacks.[9] During Prohibition, juries often nullified alcohol control laws,[10] possibly as often as 60% of the time.[11] This resistance is considered to have contributed to the adoption of the Twenty-first amendment repealing the Eighteenth amendment which established Prohibition. In the 21st century, many discussions of jury nullification center around drug laws that some consider unjust either in principle or because they are seen to discriminate against certain groups. A jury nullification advocacy group estimates that 3–4% of all jury trials involve nullification,[11] and a recent rise in hung juries is seen by some as being indirect evidence that juries have begun to consider the validity or fairness of the laws themselves.



[12]

In the early history of the United States, jury nullification was viewed favorably. The use of the jury to act as a protection of last resort was espoused by many influential people surrounding the framing of the U.S. Constitution. For example, John Adams said of jurors: "It is not only his right but also his duty… to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court."[13] First Chief Justice of the US John Jay wrote: "It is presumed, that juries are the best judges of facts; it is, on the other hand, presumed that courts are the best judges of law. But still both objects are within your power of decision… you [juries] have a right to take it upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy". State Of Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 U.S.



1,4 (1794),[14]

It was over time that judicial and legal opinion slowly changed to consider jury nullification only a power and not a right of juries, as judges and prosecutors wanted stricter enforcement of laws that juries nullified. This shift stemmed from the 18th century conflict between two factions of English jurists, the first led by Lord Camden, which was originally prevalent in what became the United States, and the second led by Lord Mansfield. The position of the latter was called "Mansfieldism" by Jefferson[15] and the shift has been called "Mansfieldization".



[16]

In recent years, judges seem to be less likely to favor jury nullification. While unable to take away the power of nullification, they have done much to prevent its use. The first landmark decisions since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution confirmed several rights of the defense in a criminal case: a requirement on the bench not make a decision on motions until all legal arguments had been made by both sides; the right to be free of making those arguments before the jury had been seated; and the right to make those legal arguments to the jury.



[17][18]

The first major decision that departed from this line was Games v. Stiles ex dem Dunn, 39 U.S. 322 (1840),[19] which held that the bench could override the verdict of the jury on a point of law. The 1895 decision in Sparf v. U.S. written by Justice John Marshall Harlan held that a trial judge has no responsibility to inform the jury of the right to nullify laws. It was a 5-4 decision. This decision, often cited, has led to a common practice by United States judges to penalize anyone who attempts to present legal argument to jurors and to declare a mistrial if such argument has been presented to them. In some states, jurors are likely to be struck from the panel during voir dire if they will not agree to accept as correct the rulings and instructions of the law as provided by the judge.



[20]

Recent court rulings have contributed to the prevention of jury nullification. A 1969 Fourth Circuit decision, U.S. v. Moylan, affirmed the right of jury nullification, but also upheld the power of the court to refuse to permit an instruction to the jury to this effect.[21] In 1972, in United States v. Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling similar to Moylan that affirmed the de facto power of a jury to nullify the law but upheld the denial of the defense's chance to instruct the jury about the power to nullify.[22] In 1988, the Sixth Circuit upheld a jury instruction that "There is no such thing as valid jury nullification."[23] In 1997, the Second Circuit ruled that jurors can be removed if there is evidence that they intend to nullify the law, under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 23(b).[24] The Supreme Court has not recently confronted the issue of jury nullification.






[edit] See also
Laura Kriho
Ed Rosenthal
Josephine Terranova
Ultimate Fact
Peter Wright
John Peter Zenger
Citizens Rule Book
Fully Informed Jury Association
Judgment notwithstanding verdict

[edit] References
^ Gaspee Affair
^ Trial of the Quaker William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania), 1670 and Trial of Penn and Mead (HTML)
^ Clive Ponting and "Troubled history of Official Secrets Act", 1985
^ Kennedy, Randall. "Racial Conduct by Jurors and Judges: The Problem of the Tainted Conviction," pp. 277-282, and "Black Power in the Jury Box?", pp. 295-310, Race, Crime and the Law (1997).




^ Eduard Bernstein, Sozialismus und Demokratie in der grossen englischen Revolution (1895); trans. H.J.Stenning (1963, NYC) as Cromwell and Communism: Socialism and Democracy in the Great English Revolution, Library of Congress 63-18392.




^ Bushell's Case trial report.




^ Simon Stern, "Between Local Knowledge and National Politics: Debating Rationales for Jury Nullification after Bushell’s Case," Yale Law Journal 111 (2002): 1815-48.




^ Stettinius v. United States, Federal Case No.


13,387 (C. Ct.


D.C. 1839), 22 Federal Cases 1322, 1333 quoting United States v. Fenwick, Federal Case No. 15,086 (1836).




^ Cato.




^ UMKC.




^ a b Conrad on Jury Duty.




^ Washington Post.




^ The Works of John Adams, The Second President of the United States, pg 255 [1]
^ A Mockery Of Justice Federal Reserve Banks IRS US Government Treason Rebellion Insurrection
^ Letter to James Madison, February 17, 1826, complaining of Mansfieldism
^ Mansfieldism Reconsidered, by Jon Roland
^ United States v. Fenwick, 25 F. Cas. 1062; 4 Cranch C.C.



675 (1836)
^ Stettinius v. United States, 22 F. Cas. 1322; 5 Cranch C.C. 573 (1839).




^ Games v.



Stiles ex dem Dunn
^ "...the court can also attempt to prevent such an occurrence of juror nullification by (1) informing prospective jurors at the outset that jurors have no authority to disregard the law and (2) obtaining their assurance that they will not do so if chosen to serve on the jury." People v. Estrada, 141 Cal.App.4th 408 (July 14, 2006. No. C047785).




^ U.S. vs Moylan, 417 F 2d 1002, 1006 (1969).



[2]
^ U.S.



v Dougherty
^ U.S. v.



Krzyske
^ U.S. v. Thomas No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir. 5-20-97).




History of Trial by Jury, William Forsyth.



(1875)


[edit] External links
"Cromwell and Communism" aka Socialism and Democracy in the Great English Revolution
Jury Nullification by Doug Linder
Jury Nullification: Why you should know what it is by Russ Emal
Juror's Handbook - A Citizen's Guide to Jury Duty by the American Jury Institute
Essay on the Trial by Jury by Lysander Spooner
Bushell's Case - history of Bushell's Case and jury nullification in its aftermath
[hide]v • d • eJury-related articles

Primary articles Jury trial · Grand jury (Indictment) · Jury instructions · Specific finding · Deliberation · Hung jury · Jury nullification · Jury tampering · Jury research

Jury selection Change of venue · Death-qualified jury · All-white jury · Peremptory challenge · Scientific jury selection · Struck jury

Specific jurisdictions Canada · England and Wales · Japan · United States (U.S.



military)

Groups Fully Informed Jury Association · Capital Jury Project


Retrieved from "http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Jury_nullification"
Categories: Court systems | Criminal law | Articles in need of serious revision
Hidden categories: Articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases | Articles with unsourced statements | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since July 2007

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RE: Librarian Ejected From McCain Town Hall Meeting

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Lori
Date: Jul 9, 2008 5:06 PM


From: Debbie
Date: Jul 9, 2008 7:02 PM


----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Peace & Freedom Are Achieved Through Understanding
Date: Jul 9, 2008 7:58 PM





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Librarian Ejected From McCain Town Hall Meeting









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RE: A Sad Day For America

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Lori
Date: Jul 9, 2008 6:22 PM


A Sad Day For America

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Bryan
Date: Jul 9, 2008 8:06 PM


----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: RIOTUSA. ORG (Death To The Federal Reserve) *READY*
Date: Jul 9, 2008 8:46 PM


----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: DiSSeNt!!! LeArN it aNd LiVe it! AnD PrEpArE!!
Date: Jul 9, 2008 7:38 PM


----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Irish American Patriot
Date: Jul 9, 2008 7:33 PM


THEY are watching and Listening to YOU!

A sad day for America. America has lost it's right to privacy.











The real terrorist are in washington taking away your RIGHTS!!!
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: FKNSTEVEN! "WoundedFreedom"
Date: Jul 9, 2008 4:27 PM


Barack votes to spy on you

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: SafetyJoe [Ron Paul 2008]
Date: Jul 9, 2008 7:24 PM








Barack votes to spy on you

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Naomia
From: Debbie
From: JERM
Thanx: metapsychic™ (Omi Oshun) the Blood
And Randi Rhodes is trying to defend him lately, gimme a break. He's one of them, I told you so lol with no pleasure whatsoever..

Obama votes Yes on FISA Bill, Clinton Nay
Congress to sell out
On warrantless surveillance bill Stand with ACLU against spying
action. aclu. org/FISA..Barack Obama goes back on his word and votes Yes on the Fisa Bill while Hillary Clinton votes Nay...

Just Amazing..
..

Barack Obama is a complete fraud...

For Obama: This is an extension for Obama to eavesdrop and go after anyone that will talk bad about him if he becomes elected. This is a way for him to censor more than just YouTube channels, just you watch..

Perhaps, he is being funded by these telecoms all this time...

What a fraud he is. AMERICA WAKE UP...

This bill is worse than immunity, far worse..
It lets them record all your phone and computer traffic as they wish...

They call it datamining. What it is, is universal surveillance...

WATCH THIS VIDEO 50X SO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PUPPET JUST VOTED FOR..








http://obambi. wordpress. com/2008/07/09/obamayesonfisa/

=============================







FISA PASSED!!! America lost it's privacy today!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ~Huntress of Truth~
Thank you
JERM
FISA PASSED!!! America lost it's privacy today!Lori

NoDancing@800 FEMA Concentration Camps Nationwide
FISA PASSED!!! America lost it's privacy today!!! :(The Scarecrow - Ron Paul '08

I added the vote count below...

~Scare


Vote count off of Senate site:
http://www. senate. gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm. cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---69
(Traitors! Who should NOT be re-elected!! )
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs ---28 ( Good American's? )
Akaka (D-HI)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 3 (Chicken shits or Lazy?)
Kennedy (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)

Thanks to..
-[NannaIsSin]- Campaign for Liberty with Ron Paul

Not like they cared about search / wiretap warrants anyway...

jane
Irish American Patriot
QL - ABK {JSC} B&H-S. O. S.

V for Vigilant *READY!*
Irish American Patriot
The Man Common

Senate Approves Telecom Immunity and New Eavesdropping Rules

Go To Original

The Senate on Wednesday affirmed its intention to protect from civil lawsuits telecom companies that helped the government wiretap Americans without court authorization after the Sept 11 attacks

It turned back three amendments that were offered during final debate on a bill that overhauls the rules on secret government eavesdropping

The votes suggest the surveillance bill will pass by an easy margin later Wednesday, and signal an end to almost a year of wrangling between the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, and Congress and the White House over the president's warrantless wiretapping program

The House approved the surveillance overhaul last month

The long fight on Capitol Hill has centered on one question: whether to shield from civil lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on American phone and computer lines after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, without the permission or knowledge of a secret court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

The lawsuits allege that the White House and the companies violated U.S. law by going around the FISA court to start the wiretaps. The court was created 30 years ago to prevent the government from abusing its surveillance powers for political purposes, as was done in the Vietnam War and Watergate eras. The court is meant to approve all wiretaps placed inside the U.S. for intelligence-gathering purposes..
The law has been interpreted to include international e-mail records stored on servers inside the US



''This president broke the law,'' said Sen Russell Feingold, D-Wis

The Bush administration brought the wiretapping back under the FISA court's authority only after The New York Times revealed the existence of the program. A handful of members of Congress knew about the program from top secret briefings...

Most members are still forbidden to know the details of the classified program, and some object that they are being asked to grant immunity to the telecoms without first knowing what they did

The White House had threatened to veto the bill unless it immunized companies like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., from wiretapping lawsuits. About 40 such lawsuits have been filed...

They are all pending before a single federal district court

Sen Arlen Specter, R-Pa, compared the senate vote on immunity to buying a ''pig in a poke''

Opponents to immunity argue that only in court will the full extent of the program be understood, and only a judge should decide whether the program broke the law

Just under a third of the Senate, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, supported an amendment proposed by Sen Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., that would have stripped immunity from the bill...

It was defeated on a 32-66 vote Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain did not vote

Specter proposed an amendment to require a district court judge to assess the legality of warrantless wiretapping before granting immunity...

It failed on a 37-61 vote

Sen Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., proposed that immunity be delayed until after a yearlong government investigation into warrantless wiretapping is completed...

His amendment failed on a vote of 42-56

The bill tries to address concerns about the warrantless wiretapping program by requiring inspectors general inside the government to conduct a yearlong investigation into the program

The new surveillance bill also sets new rules for government eavesdropping...

Some of them would tighten the reins on current government surveillance activities, and others loosen them compared with a law passed 30 years ago

For example, it would require the government to get FISA court approval before it eavesdrops on an American overseas...

Currently, the attorney general approves that category of electronic surveillance on his own

But the bill also would allow the government to obtain broad, yearlong intercept orders from the FISA court that target foreign groups and people, raising the prospect that communications with innocent Americans would be swept up...

The court would approve how the government chooses the targets, and how the intercepted American communications are to be protected

The original FISA law required the government to get wiretapping warrants for each individual targeted from inside the United States, on the rationale that most communications inside the U.S. would involve Americans whose civil liberties must be protected. But technology has changed..
Purely foreign communications increasingly pass through US wires and sit on American computer servers, and the law required court orders be obtained to access those as well

The bill would give the government a week to conduct a wiretap in an emergency before it must apply for a court order...

The original law only allowed three days

The bill restates that the FISA law is the only means by which wiretapping for intelligence purposes can be conducted inside the United States...

This is meant to prevent a repeat of warrantless wiretapping by future administrations

The bill is very much a political compromise reached against a deadline: Yearlong wiretapping orders authorized by Congress last year will begin to expire in August...

Without a new bill, the government would go back to old FISA rules, requiring multiple new orders and potential delays to continue those intercepts, something most of Congress did not want to see happen, particularly in an election year

....

===================================





Common Man News

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: A-Bomb
From: The Man Common

News for the common man because the elite already know!
Please pass it on


Subscribe to The Man Common's Blog Here


Subscribe To RSS Feed Here7/09/2008

"A People’s History of American Empire" A Howard Zinn Video

A Work Force Betrayed, Watching Greed Murder the Economy

Barack Obama’s Whitewashed History of U. S. Foreign Policy

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It!

It’s the Oil, stupid! by Noam Chomsky

Why Cheney Won’t Take Down Iran

Senate Approves Telecom Immunity and Expands Govt Surveillance Powers

Judge to Justice Department: Guantanamo is top priority

Chicago families face mounting economic hardship

G8 summit marked by impotence and division

Rove Officially Refuses to Testify ... Will the House Follow Through on Threats to Arrest?

Billionaires Are Gouging Your Grandparents

Bush’s Secret Army of Snoops and Snitches

Cold-Filtered Economics

A Loss of Transatlantic Harmony

EPA dropped wetlands cases after Supreme Court ruling

War Powers Resolution of 1973 Declared Obsolete By 2 Former Sect. of State

Cheney Aides Altered CDC Testimony, Agency Official Says

Previous Editions Here




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RE: A couple cool vids, must see!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Awakening Project
Date: Jul 9, 2008 6:43 PM


Benjamin Fulford







Ralph Ring




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Have it Bush's way or the HIGH way

RE: WARNING: ILLEGAL PLANT MAY BE BENEFICIAL

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: jerm: rant in j-minor
Date: Jul 10, 2008 12:41 AM


Photobucket

It's NOT prescribed by your Doctor

-therefore you could be arrested

and do hard time

for tampering with this illicit substance.....

that grows naturally in the earth......

What you do to yourself

in your own privacy

without a prescription

may land you in prison.




(and you thought I was talkin about pot.

haha)

You've been warned.



http://blogs. discovermagazine. com/80beats/2008/07/02/psychedelic-mushrooms-can-boost-mental-health-researchers-say/


http://www. sciam. com/article. cfm?id=long-trip-magic-mushrooms

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thanx: Pep's






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RE: Heil Der Führer Barack Obama

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: SafetyJoe [Ron Paul 2008]
Date: Jul 10, 2008 12:44 AM


Heil Der Führer Barack Obama

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Bøøndøck (s)AiN†
Date: Jul 9, 2008 11:11 PM


Ole Rev. Manning cracks me up...

He does have a point though...





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RE: News is covering the dangers of Gardasil - Finally

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: SafetyJoe [Ron Paul 2008]
Date: Jul 10, 2008 5:42 AM


News is covering the dangers of Gardasil - Finally

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Say No To Vaccines!
Date: Jul 10, 2008 5:38 AM







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