No More Lives Ruined for Victimless Crimes

We’re informing New York City jurors and the NYC public of their historical right and sacred civic responsibility to nullify bad laws in the jury box during the entire month of January 2015.

We’re using big, impactful phone kiosk advertising as well as personalized street pamphleting to put the judges and prosecutors in NYC on notice that they can’t continue to railroad people into cages for victimless crimes. Their lucrative, life-destroying racket is coming to an end. Be a part of this historic effort.

In 2011, 86% of federal prisoners -- hundreds of thousands of mostly minority Americans -- were in a cage due to victimless crimes. It is the urgent call of our times to stop ruining good people’s lives over victimless crimes such as drug offenses. And we can do it using the rights we already have, in the more than 800-year-old institution of the jury box.

Be a part of the solution. Have an impact right now. Show the judges and prosecutors who’s in charge: us! Join our campaign to end victimless crime prosecution in NYC in 2015. Donate now.

The Judge and Prosecutor Don’t Want you to Know

The right to a trial by jury, the last nonviolent bulwark against government tyranny, is guaranteed by the 6th amendment to the US constitution and was first grudgingly conceded to, at great cost, in  the English Magna Carta of 1215.

Jurors have the inherent right and unquestionable power to judge not just the facts of a case but also the law the defendant is accused of violating. Jurors may vote to acquit a defendant if they consider that law to be unjust, or for any reason at all.

Jury nullification occurs when jurors vote to acquit even though they believe the defendant is guilty. Jury nullification played an important role in the founding principles of the United States, most notably involving William Penn in 1670 and John Peter Zenger in 1735. Jury nullification is an indisputable fact of American jurisprudence that is regularly, if quietly, practiced today.

But most jurors never knew this, or have forgotten. Judges and prosecutors fly into fits of rage when people mention jury nullification because it threatens their arbitrary power. They prohibit mentions of this right within courtrooms and are known to harass, cage and frame jury rights activists in order to stop the signal.

This January, we’re taking the signal to the heart of the beast at 500 Pearl St in New York City where the US federal southern district of New York operates.

Why not join the fun?

The Big Business of US "Justice"

US courts are big business. Every day, people shuffle in and out of these petty castles on victimless crime charges to be intimidated into plea deals, fined, chained, caged, put into debt with legal fees, their future potential cut short with a criminal record, consigned to private prisons at great expense to society and the taxpayers, exploited for hard labor by crony corporations for pennies per day and their lives ruined for nothing more than to render obeisance to the arbitrary and capricious edicts of the central government.

It can happen to any of us, for any reason, including these victimless crimes:

• drug offenses;
• traffic citations;
• feeding the homeless;
• gambling;
  
• unlicensed economic activity;
• prostitution;
• weapons charges; and
• undocumented immigration.

Your Impact

What will we accomplish together?

1. You will put the judges and prosecutors in NYC on notice that they can’t continue to railroad people into cages for victimless crimes. Their racket is coming to an end.
2. We will inform tens of thousands of members of the public in New York City about the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts of a given case. Not every juror will become a critical thinker overnight, but in federal criminal jury trials you only need one dissenter to save the day.
3. We will almost certainly influence some New York City victimless crime jury trials in 2015. Your monetary contribution and support of this campaign will free people, sooner or later.
4. You will give voice to the masses of innocent people marched through kangaroo courts nationwide accused of victimless crimes, stripped of their rights, impoverished, caged, chained, their lives and livelihoods ruined, their families suffering for no good reason. Not one more generation must endure this despicable travesty of justice.
   
5. This campaign is part of a nationwide effort, ongoing since 2010, to remind Americans of their jury rights in 2015 not just on the streets or in front of courthouses but online and everywhere people exchange ideas.

Success is not guaranteed, but failure is if we don't try.

The Plan

We can de facto end victimless crime prosecution in New York City through the following process:

1. Inform and inspire the public and jurors via outdoor advertising, pamphlets, indie media, follow-on publicity and other means;
   
2. A few courageous jurors vote to acquit;
3. People take notice. The media covers it;
4. The acquittals snowball;
   
5. Prosecutors' conviction rates decline as they lose formerly easy-win cases;
6. Fewer defendants take plea deals and opt for trial instead;
7. Court costs for the government increase while conviction rates decrease;
8. Prosecutors' egos are bruised as their precious conviction rates nosedive; and
   
9. Prosecutors abandon victimless crime prosecutions as not just a waste of their time and budgets but also as a threat to their careers.
   

The First Steps Start Right Now

We’re surrounding the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse at 500 Pearl St, NYC with phone kiosk outdoor advertising and jury rights activists armed with pamphlets.

We're putting up 6 of these phone kiosk ads from December 29th to, at least, January 25th, 2015. Here's a PDF of the ad. UPDATE: See photos of all 6 ads here.

The phone kiosks are marked in red. The juror entrance of the Moynihan courthouse is marked with blue.

This area is a major government center. We will likely reach both employees and visitors, including current and future victims of victimless crime prosecutions as well as their friends and family, to the following nearby institutions:

• NYC Police Department HQ (1 Police Plaza)
  
• 2nd District Court of Appeals
• New York County Clerk
• New York City Supreme Court
• US Justice Department Bureau of Prisons
• US District Court
• New York County District Attorney
• New York City Criminal Court
• IRS
• NYC Department of Education
• Manhattan Borough President
• Metropolitan Correctional Center
• The Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers
  

This will ensure a wide impact across federal, state and local governments. Here's a larger, more detailed map of the phone kiosk locations.

The Pamphlet

Here is an image of the pamphlet we'll distribute. Click here to download the PDF.

The pamphlet multiplies the impact of your donation by connecting recipients with an online educational campaign hosted at the website www.JRP.io. We'll also cultivate new activists, new donors and, most importantly, new critically-thinking jurors who will vote to acquit when their conscience tells them to.

The jury has...."unreviewable and irreversible power...to acquit in disregard of the instructions on the law given by the trial judge." - U.S. vs. DOUGHERTY (1972)

The Activists

Between 6 and 10 activists are expected on the first day of pamphleting, January 13, 2015. The activists are all unpaid volunteers so coverage depends on their availability.

Would you like to be an activist? Undergo a 30-minute training session then let us know your availability and commitment. Email me@georgedonnelly.com.

Want to fund an activist? See our stretch goals below. Or email me@georgedonnelly.com to become a special patron of our cause.

Where Will My Money Go?

Phone Kiosk Advertising (6 x 1 month)                          $3,792.85
Pamphlets (4,000 x 4x9 double-sided pamphlets)      $200.00

Subtotal $3,992.85

Minus $715.69 that Jim already raised privately.

TOTAL REQUEST $3,277.16

(Update: We actually bought 10,000 pamphlets for $352.45)

Prefer bitcoin? So do we! Send your contribution to the below address and an email to me@georgedonnelly.com (if you want to claim a perk).

1GtuV3W9daNdcpJ9pdHofoGTAp3HBj7A8c

We can also accept checks. Email me@georgedonnelly.com for the address.

We're also doing a coinfunder at: https://www.coinfunder.com/project/view/id/1688

Prefer changetip? https://www.changetip.com/tipme/georgedonnelly

Offline Funds Received

BTC: 6.2230784

USD: $200

For a total of approximately $4,302.27 as of January 10th. We're fighting now to double the impact of your donation by securing a second month for the ads.

N.B. Donors can request access to receipts and contracts any time via email to me@georgedonnelly.com.

Thank you!

What You Get - The Perks

$5 Public Credit: Get public credit for your role in this historic campaign at JuryRightsProject.com/NYC.

$25 Become an Expert/Activist: Receive an original, one-of-a-kind jury nullification bumper sticker and a comprehensive digital primer on jury rights, including Lysander Spooner’s Trial by Jury, pamphlets, videos and other learning materials. Includes the previous perk.

$50 Autographed Pamphlet: NYC Jury Rights activists will autograph a pamphlet and mail it to you as a token of our connection and solidarity. Also receive a paperback copy of Lysander Spooner's excellent treatise, "Trial by Jury." Includes all previous perks.

$100 Autographed Photo: NYC Jury Rights activists will send you an autographed photo of ourselves next to a phone kiosk ad as a sign of your pivotal role in the campaign. Also receive an original, one-of-a-kind jury rights t-shirt. Includes all previous perks.

$250 Rare, Autographed Book: Receive a rare, autographed hardback copy of Clay Conrad’s seminal work, Jury Nullification: The Evolution of A Doctrine. Includes all previous perks.

$500 Leadership Team: You will be named to the Jury Rights Project Advisory Board of Directors. Join the activists after the first day of pamphleting for dinner and drinks, all expenses paid. Join organizers Jim and George for a private, 15-minute conference call to discuss the future of the project. Includes all previous perks.

$1,000 Video Credit: NYC Jury Rights activists will record a video of ourselves next to a phone kiosk ad crediting you for your contribution. We’ll publish and distribute this video online and send you a copy. Includes all previous perks.

$5,000 Founder's Club: Order a basic but effective Jury Rights campaign for your area, including pamphleting, advertising and indie media. Includes all previous perks.

$10,000 Champion Club: Order a deluxe Jury Rights campaign for your area. Includes all previous perks.

"The jury has a right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy." -- John Jay (1st Chief Justice, U. S. Supreme Court, 1789).

Stretch Goals

For each additional $3,600 you donate beyond the initial goal of $3,277.16, we can purchase an additional month of kiosk ads.

In fact, we believe we can secure additional months of phone kiosk advertising at a reduced price. Your donation will go even further.

$5,000 - Q & A Session. Ask us your jury rights questions at an online hangout. Everyone is invited.

$6,877 - February Extension. We'll keep the phone kiosk ads up through February.

$7,500 - Force Multiplier. We'll write up a howto guide so you can learn from our successes and failures and replicate this campaign in your local area.

$8,377 - Constant Pamphleting. We'll pay a two-person activist team $75 per day per person to keep the pamphleting operation going for at least an additional 10 working days when volunteers are unavailable.

$11,977 - March Extension. We'll do March and we might be able to freshen the artwork to gain new attention.

With additional funds we can continue all year long, contract for billboards, transit posters, more pamphlets and more activists. We will take this as far as your funding permits us.

Past Successes

We've run or participated in similar campaigns in locations around the United States over the last four years, including in the Philadelphia area, in New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. These campaigns have educated countless citizens both online and on the streets with pamphlets, follow-on coverage, tens of thousands of Youtube views and much more.

On October 29, 2013, The Washington Post reported that D.C. prosecutors were so upset by some transit ads Jim ran that they were asking judges to ensure jurors were not influenced by them.

Jim Babb got follow-on media coverage from these transit ads, including this NPR piece and a Fox 5 interview (see video below).

Risks & Challenges

We will put whatever funds you send us to good use in furtherance of the goals of this campaign.

The primary risk is that our campaign will end for lack of funds before it can gain critical mass, gain follow-on media coverage and reach larger numbers of current and future jurors. You can help us with that.

It will be a challenge to keep unpaid volunteers on the streets distributing pamphlets to potential jurors and the general public, but we will do our best. You can help us with this, too.

Thanks for your support. Together, we are having a revolutionary impact for justice and liberty.

Your Support

Here are some examples of your support for this unique and impactful project. This campaign reached the #1 spot in the DarkNetMarkets subreddit, #3 in bitcoin, #1 in libertarian and #3 in ancap.

Media

Jim Babb was on Free Talk Live to talk about the campaign on December 23. Listen to the segment here. http://juryrightsproject.com/wp-content/uploads...

Jim and I had a 15-minute conversation about the importance of jury rights here:
http://youtu.be/QC8nm_LUHB4

Jim was on the Tom Woods show. Watch here:


We got some support at the Daily Paul.

Jim was on The Crypto Show on Jan 4. Listen here: http://juryrightsproject.com/wp-content/uploads/JimBabb-CryptoShow-010414.mp3

Jim and George were on Declare your Independence with Ernest Hancock on Jan 7. Listen here: http://juryrightsproject.com/wp-content/uploads/DYI-JRP-01062015.mp3

George was on The Crypto Show on Jan 8. Listen here: http://juryrightsproject.com/wp-content/uploads/George-CryptoShow-01072014.mp3

CopBlock published a guest post from George entitled, "Why We should all be Jury Rights Experts". It has been shared more than 1,600 times now.

The Examiner covered our efforts.

Other Ways You Can Help

1. Please use the Indiegogo share tools so that others can learn about their jury rights and join the campaign. Share this widely.
2. Tweet with hashtag #JuryRightsNYC2015.
   
3. Send me your feedback to me@georgedonnelly.com. I would love to hear from you.
4. Suggest stretch goals and perks.
5. Interview Jim Babb (jamesbabb@mac.com / 610-574-1222) for your blog, podcast or other media outlet, or ask your favorite podcaster or blogger to interview him. Send them this press release.
6. Lead the continuing campaign in New York City (or wherever you live) for the rest of 2015 and take it to new heights. Contact me@georgedonnelly.com to volunteer.
7. Educate yourself in jury rights at JuryRightsProject.com and FIJA.org and share this precious knowledge with others.
   

Check the updates tab above to watch our progress.

This effort is part of a nationwide educational campaign unrelated to any specific case or defendant.

Empower Manhattan jurors to judge the law as well as the facts. Send arrogant judges and prosecutors into fits of frustrated rage. Donate now.