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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Latest News
I arrived at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan at 11:45 am on Monday, November 9, 2009. The weather was perfect: warm and sunny. I stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the courthouse.
I started to pass out the FIJA pamphlet entitled "A Primer for Prospective Jurors" along with my handout (see below). A freelance reporter from Free Talk Live was present. At 11:48, I was approached by two federal marshals, who identified themselves as Musumeci and Sullivan. They would not give first names and said that they had no badge numbers. They informed me that I had to leave. I demurred. They said that they would have to report me and left.
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Selected Blogs
Juries were instituted in England to act as protection from arbitrary decisions of the King. Originally, the judges in England instructed the juries that they must uphold the law. However the jury has the authority to vote anything between guilty and not guilty (i.e. guilty in part). The jurors cannot be questioned about their decision or how it was reached. Nor can they be overruled. In criminal cases, only the Defendant can appeal. The state cannot file an appeal.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum. Two men in England, William Penn and William Mead, openly practiced their Quaker religion. This was a violation of law in England, where the only allowed religion was the Church of England. (Remember why the Puritans came to America on the Mayflower) They were tried as criminals in an English Court. The judge INSTRUCTED the jurors to find Penn and Mead guilty. However the jury returned with a not guilty verdict. At this point the Judge locked the jurors up for three weeks with orders to change their verdict. The jury refused. Finally a higher court ordered the jurors released.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Student Rights
This past year the NJ Libertarian Party has utilized the services of a student Press Secretary. While this job does not pay, Rutgers recognizes this internship for college credits. Many other opportunities exist for freedom minded students.
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a unique organization that assists undergraduate and graduate students worldwide with an interest in individual liberty.They currently have three internship programs and two scholarships.
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The Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow Program includes a summer internship working on state or federal policy at one of more than 70 policy organizations plus two career workshops and weekly policy lectures.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
NJ Herald mentions the NJLP's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project.
When the “no loitering” signs went up, the late-night parties at the Culver Lake causeway stopped.
Rabble-rousers took heed and residents living near the causeway said they were no longer awakened in the middle of the night to the sounds of screaming party-goers. The shards of broken beer bottles and other remnants from the weekend parties also went away.
As useful as it may have been, Frankford’s loitering ordinance is not allowed to hang around the township’s law books. Last month, the township had to repeal the ordinance due to an oversight by the 2007 Township Committee that such laws were deemed unenforceable after a state Supreme Court ruling 27 years ago.
John Paff, chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project, has been working for three years to get municipalities to take the outdated laws off their books.
So far he has succeeded in getting 14 municipalities to remove the ordinances, including Andover Township and Newton.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
The Courier Post recently picked up on an issue uncovered by the NJ Libertarian Party Open Government Taskforce.
LAWNSIDE — The borough and a local police officer have settled a discrimination suit for $350,000, court papers show.
Carmen Chapman, who became Lawnside's first female police officer in 2002, alleged in her federal suit that she was harassed by a superior and that she faced "irrational and arbitrary" discipline. Chapman also contended she was treated differently than other officers, notably after sustaining a disabling knee injury.
Carmen's complaint and the settlement were posted online by the Jersey Libertarian Party's Open Government Advocacy Project.
John Paff, a representative of the project, said the settlement requires both Chapman and the borough to refrain from disclosing the agreement's terms.
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Latest News
I arrived at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan at 11:45 am on Monday, November 2, 2009. The weather was sunny, but a little cooler than the two precious weeks. I stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the courthouse. I did not have my JURY INFO sign, because I did not have the time to replace the one that was seized the previous week.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Candidates and Elections
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Latest News
Updated: Video added below.
I arrived at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan at 11:45 am on Monday, October 26, 2009. The weather was perfect: about 60°F and sunny. I stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the courthouse.
I started to pass out the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) pamphlet entitled “A Primer for Prospective Jurors” along with my handout (see below). Immediately the three Department of Homeland Security Officers of last week approached me and told me that I could not pass out that material. I informed them that I could. They said that I could not and that I had quoted the wrong law in my e-mail distribution of last week. They had checked the FBI records to find my identity and accessed my web page. They said that if I distributed the FIJA pamphlets, I would be put under arrest.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Candidates and Elections
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- Written by: pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over the years, I have heard all kinds of excuses on why government regulation is needed. These excuses are as follows:
Government regulation is needed to protect consumers and other individuals from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous companies and other entities.
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
- Category: Latest News
I arrived at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan at 11:45 am on Monday, October 19, 2009. The weather was perfect: about 50°F and sunny. I stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the courthouse.
I started to pass out the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) pamphlet entitled "A Primer for Prospective Jurors" along with my handout (see below). Within a few minutes a Homeland Security police officer approached me, accepted a pamphlet, informed me that I cannot distribute literature on federal property without a permit, and asked me to leave. I disagreed with him and said that I would not leave. He left momentarily, but soon returned with another officer, and we repeated the conversation.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party today suggested that, in the future, the announcement date every year for Nobel Prizes be moved to April 1.
"Unlike the gullible people who listened to The War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 and thought Martians really were attacking the United States, when I heard this morning that Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, I changed the channel in disbelief. But, the same thing was being said in multiple places," Libertarian National Committee Chairman William Redpath said.
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- Written by: Wes Benedict
- Category: Selected Blogs
I am disappointed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Barack Obama. That prize should go to individuals who end wars and make peace, not those who make war.
President Obama has utterly failed to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has increased American military involvement in Afghanistan, and appears ready to escalate that war even further.
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- Written by: Ken Kaplan
- Category: Candidates and Elections
The Hall Institute recently asked several questions of the NJ gubernatorial candidates. The dialog between the Hall Institute and Ken Kaplan follows.
Hall Institute:
Perhaps, the most daunting long-term economic challenge confronting New Jersey is the fiscal condition of the state's public pension system. Given today's economic and political climate, what steps would you take to meet the state's growing pension obligations?
Ken Kaplan Responds:
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
Movie review was reviewed here. Upcoming showings are listed here.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
Andover Township (Sussex County) has become the fourteenth municipality to repeal its loitering ordinance at the request of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Pre-empted Ordinance Repeal Project. See LP Of Central NJ Loitering Page for more information
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- Written by: pugmaster
- Category: Selected Blogs
When it comes to dependency, there are healthy and unhealthy forms. A healthy form is depending on food and water to sustain one’s life or a dependency on medication to help and cure illness and disease. There is the dependency on electricity to keep the lights on in one’s home. There is also the dependency on transportation to get us where we want to go and back. Unhealthy dependency encompasses an addiction to drugs and alcohol to cope with life and it includes an adult man or woman depending on parents to provide for them. Other forms include depending on shelter not for the purpose of keeping one safe from nature’s elements, but to isolate oneself from the world outside.