Letters to the Editor

HB 332

For too long judges and lawyers have held sway over what generically passes for “justice” in our union, in many states, and on down to the local level. Appeals thrive on judges and prosecutors (and some defendant attorneys) perversions of what passes for “trial by jury”. I have sent the following to the Montana House Judiciary Committee, hopefully it will reach the floor of the House:

Dear Chairman and members, Montana House Judiciary Committee:

Please pass to the full House HB 332, the Fully Informed Jury bill before you. The jury is the bulwark against ALL tyranny and despotism, without which our system of justice would be controlled and regulated by appointed bias and/or incomplete review or even acceptance into evidence of the facts.

Whether or not it is a capital case or petty larceny, the citizen (and visitors to our shores) have a right to expect that a “jury of their peers” decides both the law and the facts in cases brought against them by a powerful government. When government is arrayed on one side, and a mere person on the other, there is no greater defense of individual Constitutional rights than a jury, exercising its time-honored responsibilties!

As it already is, a judge may “give the law” to the jury and tell them they MUST apply it, with silence about their right to nullify. This is especially onerous when the law does not apply in a specific set of circumstances, such as in the absence of intent, or the “heat” of the moment in self-defense using a weapon where that particular weapon may be prohibited.

As it is already, judges sit in judgement of which “facts” are entered into “evidence”, further cutting into the jury’s OBLIGATORY duty to “judge of the facts” in a specific case. That is an unconscionable over-reaching of judges’ authority to “manage” his or her court room, enforce its decorum and its function, and otherwise “regulate” a trial. By extending him or her self into the heart of the purpose of guaranteed jury trials by disallowing facts to be heard, and then compounding it with silence or purposeful instruction to a jury about “its duty” only serve to undermine the whole purpose of a jury. If a judge can decide what facts enter into evidence, and then that the law “must” be applied regardless of intent or circumstances, what is the purpose of a jury?!

Please, for the sake of ALL future and potential defendants, no matter the nature of their alleged crime, mandate that judges inform juries of the time-honored common law POWER to judge both the law and the facts.

As I stated, judges already bias many cases.

It is time for that to stop.

For Montana, the time is now.

The duty is yours to make certain that it stops.

Please PASS 332 TO THE FULL HOUSE.

Thank you. I remain, sincerely,

by Jim Greaves,

Thompson Falls

For the record:

To paraphrase Hamlet “The former Chairman doth protest too much methinks”. There is no point reviewing the past and no point in questioning motives that led to the former  Chairman of Sanders County Republican Central Committee and his supporters to resign and/or vote to disband the SCRCC. The SCRCC was reorganized by the Republicans in the County who were properly elected to Precinct Committee positions. We have a new slate of interim officers who were duly elected and are holding meetings. We have contacted in writing and/or engaged in conversation with the State Chairman of the Republican Party, Will Deschamps, The Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party, Bowen Greenwood, and the Attorney for the Montana Republican Party, Jim Brown. They are aware that we are planning to hold a convention for Sanders County Republicans. Officers will be elected at that time and SCRCC  will send delegates to the state convention.

I have been honored to serve as interim chairman of the SCRCC. We are fortunate in having knowledgeable, hard-working , fair-minded leadership in  the interim officers and the elected Precinct officials. We have had the help of three leading Republicans from neighboring Republican Central committee’s.

 It is important to recognize that this is bigger than any one person. Our country is in real peril. We are spending ourselves and our children into poverty, our debt is unsustainable, no one will tackle the entitlement issue, and foreign policy is in shambles. Instead of real private sector jobs such as, developing our natural resources and unleashing our free-market economy,the current administration looks towards high-speed trains and windmills. We know that health care can be reformed, but not by the massive takeover of the entire health care system by the federal government.

We will have an announcement shortly as to the time and place for our Sanders County Republican Party convention and invite all interested in having a say and in saving this country to attend.

by Breck Howard

Governor, We need you now…

Once again we are reminded of a phrase that no doubt originated with the Republican controlled Legislature of the 1990’s…”Thank God they only meet every (2) years.”

The Republican majority in 2011 is confused.  They think that they were elected for their Ideology.

The fact is that they were elected because they were the only Other choice in a two-party system.

The Democrat Party at the National level was not delivering on Change and more importantly was not fixing the Economy and pulling America out of the “Great Recession”. 

Montana voters were feeling the pain.

To be blunt, the voters would have elected a well-trained monkey, If it were dressed appropriately and running as any party other than a Democrat.

Now, rather than creating Jobs as they were elected to do, Republicans are once again working against the interests of the people of Montana.  In a blatant defiance of the will of the voters, Republicans are pushing HB161, to repeal the Montana Marijuana Initiative.  HB309 attacks Montana’s established stream access laws after wealthy landowners lost the Mitchell Slough access case. HB334 works to weaken Montana’s workers compensation system by decreasing the fund and its ability to meet current and future obligations.  Again, in defiance of Montana voters, HB404 and HB418 are efforts to remove Legislative term limits.  The House has bills in play to “back transactions of state business with gold & silver coin”; reminiscent of the current debacle of attempted Union Busting in Wisconsin - HB197 to change state employee retirement plans, and HB310  “ to clarify initiatives language”. And don’t laugh, there is even SB112 to enshrine spear hunting for big game.  I did not know that you cannot sit in a tree and jump out on a bear with a pointy stick!, if that’s how you get your kicks.  In 2011, there is no shortage of Legislative efforts that should be relegated to the round file.

Governor Schweitzer, we  the people need you to represent the interests of Montanan’s by standing ready to and by exercising your Veto power on these and other frivolous efforts of the Republican lead 2011 Legislature.

Montana should remain a beacon of Democracy for America and not become a poster child for Fascist leaning ideology.

by Glenn Ferrenn