The  
  United States 
  Constitution 
  

          
        Jesus Christ 

The Bill of Rights

Declaration of
Independence

Rights Come From God!

JURY HANDBOOK


A Palladium of Liberty

 

LINCOLN said "Study the Constitution!"

"Let it be preached from the pulpit,
proclaimed in legislatures, and
enforced in courts of justice."

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RIGHTS COME FROM GOD, NOT THE STATE!

"You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe."
-John Adams, Second President of the United States


TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEC. I A HANDBOOK FOR JURORS

Jury Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

You are above the Law! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Jury Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Law of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Ten Commandments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Communist Manifesto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Give Up Rights? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Jury Tampering? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11


SEC. II GIVE ME LIBERTY ...

Patrick Henry Shocked . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Jury of Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Freedom for William Penn . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Jefferson's Warnings! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20


SEC. III ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

Index to the documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The Declaration of Independence . . . . . . . . . . . 26
(Original Title -- Page 26)

The Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

The Bill of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Page 1

SEC. 1 A HANDBOOK FOR JURORS

"...That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of Freedom..."
-Abraham Lincoln

JURY DUTY!

The purpose of this booklet is to revive, as Jefferson put it, "The Ancient Principles." It is not designed to promote lawlessness or a return to the jungle. The "Ancient Principles" refer to the Ten Commandments and the Common Law. The Common Law is, in simple terms, just plain common sense and has its roots in the Ten Commandments.

In 1776 we came out of BONDAGE with FAITH, UNDERSTANDING and COURAGE. Even against great odds, and with much bloodshed, we battled our way to achieve LIBERTY. LIBERTY is that delicate balance between the force of government and FREEWILL of man. LIBERTY brings FREEDOM of choice to work, to trade, to go and live where one wishes; it leads to ABUNDANCE. ABUNDANCE, if made an end to itself, will result in COMPLACENCY which leads to APATHY. APATHY is the "let George do it" philosophy. This always brings DEPENDENCY. For a period of time, dependents are often not aware they are dependent. They delude themselves by thinking that they are still free -- "We never had it so good." -- "We can still vote, can't we?" Eventually abundance diminishes and DEPENDENCY becomes known by its true nature: BONDAGE!!!

There are few ways out of bondage. Bloodshed and war often result, but our founding fathers learned of a better way. Realizing that a CREATOR is always above and greater than that which He creates, they established a three vote system by which an informed citizenry can control those acting in the name of the government. To be a good master you must always remember the true "pecking order" or chain of command in this nation:

1. GOD created man . . .
2. Man (that's you) created the Constitution . . .
3. Constitution created government . . .
4. Government created corporations . .
etc.

The base of power was to remain in WE THE PEOPLE but unfortunately, it was lost to those leaders acting in the name of the government, such as politicians, bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, etc.

As a result America began to function like a democracy instead of a REPUBLIC. A democracy is dangerous because it is a one-vote system as opposed to a Republic, which is a three-vote system: Three votes to check tyranny, not just one. American citizens have not been informed of their other two votes.

Our first vote is at the polls on election day when we pick those who are to represent us in the seats of government. But what can be done if those elected officials just don't perform as promised or expected? Well, the second two votes are the most effective means by which the common people of any nation on earth have even had in controlling those appointed to serve them in government.

The second vote comes when you serve on a Grand Jury. Before anyone can be brought to trial for a capital or infamous crime by those acting in the name of the government, permission must be obtained from people serving on the Grand Jury! The Minneapolis Star and Tribune in March 27, 1987, edition noted a purpose of the grand Jury in this way:

"A Grand Jury's purpose is to protect the public from an overzealous prosecutor."

The third is the most powerful vote: this is when you are acting as a jury member during a courtroom trial. At this point, "the buck stops" with you!It is in this setting that each JUROR has MORE POWER than the President, all of Congress, and all of the judges combined! Congress can legislate (make law), the President or some other bureaucrat can make an order or issue regulations, and judges may instruct or make a decision, but no JUROR can ever be punished for voting "Not Guilty!" Any juror can, with impunity, choose to disregard the instructions of any judge or attorney in rendering his vote. If only one JUROR should vote "Not Guilty" for any reason, there is no conviction and no punishment at the end of the trial. Thus, those acting in the name of government must come before the common man to get permission to enforce law.

YOU ARE ABOVE THE LAW!

As a JUROR in a trial setting, when it comes to your individual vote of innocent or guilty, you are truly answerable to GOD ALMIGHTY. The First Amendment to the Constitution was born out of this great concept. However, judges of today refuse to inform JURORS of their RIGHTS. The Minneapolis Star and Tribune in a news paper article appearing in its November 30, 1984 edition, entitled: "What Judges Don't Tell Juries" stated:

"At the time of adoption of the Constitution, the jury's role as a defense against political oppression was unquestioned in American jurisprudence. This nation survived until the 1850's, when prosecutions under the Fugitive Slave Act were largely unsuccessful because juries refused to convict"

"Then judges began to erode the institution of free juries, leading to the absurd compromise that is the current state of the law. While our courts uniformly state juries have the power to return a verdict of not guilty whatever the facts, they routinely tell jurors the opposite."

"Further, the courts will not allow the defendants or their counsel to inform the jurors of their true power. A lawyer who made . . . Hamilton's argument would face professional discipline and charges of contempt of court."

"By what logic should juries have the power to acquit a defendant but no right to know about that power? The court decisions that have suppressed the notion of jury nullification cannot resolve this paradox."

"More than logic has suffered. As originally conceived, juries were to be made a safety valve way to soften the bureaucratic rigidity of the judicial system by introducing the common sense of the community. If they are to function effectively as the `conscience of the community," jurors must be told that they have the power and the right to say no to a prosecution in order to achieve a greater good. To cut jurors off from this information is to undermine one of our most important institutions."

"Perhaps the community should educate itself. Then citizens called for jury duty could teach the judges a needed lesson in civics."


This booklet is designed to bring to your attention one important way our nation's founders provided to insure that you, (not the growing army of politicians, judges, lawyers, and bureaucrats) rule this nation. it will focus on the rule of power you possess as a JUROR, how you got it, why you have it, and remind you of the basis on which you must decide not only the facts placed in evidence but also the validity or applicability of every law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or instruction given by any man seated as a judge or attorney when you serve as a JUROR.

One JUROR can stop tyranny with a "NOT GUILTILY VOTE!" He can nullify bad law in any case, by "HANGING THE JURY!"

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do!"
-Everett Hale


The only power the judge has over the JURY is their ignorance!

JURY RIGHTS

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

"The jury has the right to determine both the law and the facts."
-Samuel Chase, U.S. supreme Court Justice, 1796,Signor of the unanimous Declaration

"The jury has the power to bring a verdict in the teeth of both law and fact."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. supreme Court Justice, 1902

"The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause which is to be decided."
-Harlan F. Stone, 12th Chief Justice U.S. supreme Court, 1941

"The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge..."
-U.S. vs.Dougherty, 473F 2nd 1113, 1139. (1972)


LAW OF THE LAND

The general misconception is that any statute passed by legislators bearing bearing the appearance of law constitutes the law of the land. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and any statute, to be valid, must be in agreement. It is impossible for a law which violates the Constitution to be valid. This is succinctly stated as follows:


"All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void." Marbury vs. Madison, 5 US (2 Cranch) 137, 174, 176, (1803)


"When rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them."
Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 US 436 p. 491.


"An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed." Norton vs. Shelby County 118 US 425 p. 442


"The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void, and ineffective for any purpose; since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment, and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it.

"No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it." 16 Am Jur 2nd, Sec 177 late 2d, Sec 256


A SUMMARY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

The TEN COMMANDMENTS represent GOD'S GOVERNMENT OVER MAN! GOD commands us for our own good to give up wrongs and not rights! HIS system always results in LIBERTY and FREEDOM! The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are built on this foundation, which provides for punitive justice. It is not until one damages another persons property that he can be punished. The Marxist system leads to bondage and GOD'S system leads to LIBERTY! Read very carefully:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not murder.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
10. Thou shalt not covet.

Directly above the Chief Justice's chair is a tablet signifying the TEN COMMANDMENTS. When the Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress looks up, his eyes look into the face of Moses.

"The Bible is the Book upon which this Republic rests."
-Andrew Jackson, Seventh
President of the United States


"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts of the Bible."
-Noah Webster


A SUMMARY OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

The Communist Manifesto represents a misguided philosophy, which teaches the citizens to give up their RIGHTS for the sake of the "common good," but it always ends in a police state. This is called preventive justice. Control is the key concept. Read carefully:

1. Abolition of private property.
2. Heavy progressive income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights on inheritance.
4. Confiscation of property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Central bank.
6. Government control of Communications & Transportation.
7. Government ownership of factories and agriculture.
8. Government control of labor.
9. Corporate farms, regional planning.
10. Government control of education.


GIVE UP RIGHTS FOR THE "COMMON GOOD"?


Where people fear the government you have tyranny; where the government fears the people, you have liberty.


Politicians, bureaucrats and especially judges would have you believe that too much freedom will result in chaos. Therefore, we should gladly give up some of our RIGHTS for the good of the community. In other words, people acting in the name of the government, say we need more laws and more JURORS to enforce these laws -- even if we have to give up some RIGHTS in the process. They believe the more laws we have, the more control, thus a better society. This theory may sound good on paper, and apparently many of our leaders think this way, as evidenced by the thousands of new laws that are added to the books each year in this country. But, no matter how cleverly this Marxist argument is made, the hard fact is that whenever you give up a RIGHT you lose a "FREE CHOICE"!

This adds another control. Control's real name is BONDAGE! The logical conclusion would be, if giving up some RIGHTS produces a better society, then by giving up all RIGHTS we could produce a perfect society. We could chain everybody to a tree, for lack of TRUST. This may prevent crime, but it would destroy PRIVACY, which is the heartbeat of FREEDOM! It would also destroy TRUST which is the foundation for DIGNITY. Rather than giving up RIGHTS, we should be giving up wrongs! The opposite of control is not chaos. More laws do not make less criminals! We must give up wrongs, not rights, for a better society! William Pitt of the British House of Commons once proclaimed,

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."



INALIENABLE, [UNALIENABLE] OR NATURAL RIGHTS!

NATURAL RIGHTS ARE THOSE RIGHTS such as LIFE (from conception), LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS eg. FREEDOM of RELIGION, SPEECH, LEARNING, TRAVEL, SELF-DEFENSE, ETC. Hence laws and statutes which violate NATURAL RIGHTS, though they may have the color of law, are not law but impostors! The U.S. Constitution was written to protect these NATURAL RIGHTS from being tampered with by legislators. * Further, our forefathers also wisely knew that the U.S. Constitution would be utterly worthless to restrain government legislators unless it was clearly understood that the people had the right to compel the government to keep within the Constitutional limits.

In a jury trial the real judges are the JURORS! Surprisingly, judges are actually just referees bound by the Constitution!

*Lysander Spooner wrote as follows:

"Government is established for the protection of the weak against the strong. This is the principal, if not the sole motive for the establishment of all legitimate government. It is only the weaker party that loses their liberties, when a government becomes oppressive. The stronger party, in all governments are free by virtue of their superior strength. They never oppress themselves. Legislation is the work of the stronger party; and if, in addition to the sole power of legislation, they have the sole power of determining what legislation shall be enforced, they have all power in their hands, and the weaker party are the subjects of an absolute government. Unless the weaker party have veto, they have no power whatever in the government . . . no liberties . . . The trial by jury is the only institution that gives the weaker party any veto upon the power of the stronger. Consequently it is the only institution that gives them any effective voice in the government, or any guaranty against oppression.
ESSAY on the TRIAL by Jury

JURY TAMPERING?

A JURY'S Rights, Powers and Duties:

The Charge to the JURY in the First JURY Trial before the supreme* Court of the U.S. Illustrates the TRUE POWER OF THE JURY. In the February term of 1794, the supreme Court conducted a JURY trial and said ". . . it is presumed, that the juries are the best judges of facts; it is, on the other hand, presumed that the courts are the best judges of law. But still both objects are within our power of decision."

"You have a right to take upon yourselves to judge of both, and to determine the law as well as the fact in controversy."
-(State of Georgia vs.
Brailsford, et al, 3 Dall. 1)

"The JURY has an unreviewable and unreversible power . . . to acquit in disregard of the instructions on the law given by the trial judge . . ." (emphasis added)
-U.S. vs. Dougherty, 473 F 2nd 1113, 1139 (1972)

Hence, JURY disregard of the limited and generally conviction-oriented evidence presented for its consideration, and JURY disregard for what the trial judge wants them to believe is the controlling law in particular case (sometimes referred to as "JURY lawlessness")* is not something to be scrupulously avoided, but rather encouraged. Witness the following quotation from the eminent legal authority above-mentioned:
"Jury lawlessness is the greatest corrective of law in its actual administration. The will of the state at large imposed on a reluctant community, the will of a majority imposed on a vigorous and determined minority, find the same obstacle in the local JURY that formerly confronted kings and ministers." (emphasis added) (Dougherty cited above, note 32 at 1130)

*Supreme is not capitalized in the Constitution, however Behavior is.

*Jury lawlessness means willingness to nullify bad law.


The Right of the JURY to be Told of Its Power

Almost every JURY in the land is falsely instructed by the judge when it is told it must accept as the law that which is given to them by the court, and that the JURY can decide only the facts of the case. This is to destroy the purpose of a Common Law JURY, and to permit the imposition of tyranny upon a people.


"There is nothing more terrifying than ignorance in action."
-Goethe (engraved on a plaque at the Naval War College)


"To embarrass justice by a multiplicity of laws, or to hazard it by confidence in judges, are the opposite rocks on which all civil instructions have been wrecked."
-Johnson (engraved in Minnesota State Capitol Outside the Supreme Court Chambers)


". . . The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
-II Corinthians 3:6


"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."
-Thomas Jefferson


The JURY'S options are by no means limited to the choices presented to it in the courtroom. "The jury gets its understanding as to the arrangements in the legal system from more than one voice. There is the formal communication from the `judge." There is informal communication from the total culture -- literature; current comment, conversation; and, of course, history and tradition." (Dougherty cited above, at 1135)


LAWS, FACTS AND EVIDENCE!

Without the power to decide what facts, law and evidence are applicable, JURIES cannot be a protection to the accused. If people acting in the name of government are permitted by JURORS to dictate any law whatever, they can also unfairly dictate what evidence is admissible or inadmissible and thereby prevent the WHOLE TRUTH from being considered. Thus if government can manipulate and control both the law and the evidence, the issue of fact becomes virtually irrelevant. In reality, true JUSTICE would be denied leaving us with a trial by government and not a trial by JURY!

HOW DOES TYRANNY BEGIN?
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY LAWS?

Heroes are men of glory who are so honored because of some heroic deed. People often out of gratitude yield allegiance to them. Honor and allegiance are nice words for power! Power and allegiance can only be held rightfully by trust as a result of continued character.

When people acting in the name of government violate ethics, they break trust with "WE THE PEOPLE." The natural result is for "WE THE PEOPLE" to pull back power (honor and allegiance).

The loss of power creates fear for those losing the power. Fearing loss of power, people acting in the name of government often seek to regain or at least hold their power. Hence, to legitimize their quest for control, laws and force are often instituted.

Unchecked power is the foundation of tyranny. It is the JUROR'S duty to use the JURY ROOM as a vehicle to stem the tide of oppression and tyranny: To prevent bloodshed by peacefully removing power from those who have abused it. The JURY is the primary vehicle for peaceful restoration of LIBERTY, POWER AND HONOR TO "WE THE PEOPLE!"

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

Your vote of NOT Guilty must be respected by all members of the JURY -- it is the RIGHT and DUTY of a JUROR to Never, Never, Never yield his or her sacred vote -- for you are not there as a fool, merely to agree with the majority, but as an officer of the court and a qualified judge in your own right. Regardless of the pressures or abuse that may be heaped on you by any other members of the JURY with whom you may be in good conscience to disagree, you can await the reading of the verdict secure in the knowledge you have voted your own conscience and convictions -- and not those of someone else.

YOU ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP!

By what logic do we send our youth to battle tyranny on foreign soil, while we refuse to do so in our courts? Did you know that many of the planks of the "Communist Manifesto" are now represented by law in the U.S.? How is it possible for Americans to denounce communism and practice it simultaneously.

The JURY judges the Spirit, Motive and Intent of both law and the Accused, whereas the prosecutor only represents the letter of the law.

Therein lies the opportunity for the accomplishment of "LIBERTY and JUSTICE for ALL." If you, and numerous other JURORS throughout the State and nation begin and continue to bring in verdicts of NOT GUILTY in such cases where man-made statute is defective or oppressive, these statutes will become as ineffective as if they had never been written.

"If we love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
-Samuel Adams



SEC. II    GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!

PATRICK HENRY SHOCKED!

Young Christian attorney Patrick Henry saw why a JURY of PEERS is so vital to FREEDOM! It was March 1775 when he rode into the small town of Culpeper, Va. He was totally shocked by what he saw! There, in the middle of the town square was a minister tied to a whipping post, his back laid bare and bloody with the bones of his ribs showing. He had been scourged like JESUS, with whips laced with metal.

Patrick henry is quoted as saying: "When they stopped beating him, I could see the bones of his rib cage. I turned to someone and asked what the man had done to deserve a beating such as this."

SCOURGED FOR NOT TAKING A LICENSE!

The reply given him was that the man being scourged was a minister who refused to take a license. He was one of twelve who were locked in jail because they refused to take a license. A license often becomes an arbitrary control by the government that makes a crime out of what ordinarily would not be a crime. IT TURNS A RIGHT INTO A PRIVILEGE!

Three days later they scourged him to death.

This was the incident which sparked Christian attorney Patrick Henry to write the famous words which later would become the rallying cry of the Revolution. "What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!" Later he made this part of his famous speech at St. John's Episcopal Church in Williamsburg, Va.


JURY OF PEERS

Our forefathers felt that in order to have JUSTICE, it is obvious that a JURY of "PEERS" must be people who actually know the defendant. How else would they be able to judge motive and intent?

"PEERS" of the defendant, like RIGHTS of the JURY have also been severely tarnished. Originally, it meant people of "equals in station and
rank," (Black's 1910), "free-holders of a neighborhood," (Bouvier's 1886), or "A companion; a fellow; an associate. (Webster's 1828).

WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO SIT ON A JURY?

Patrick Henry, along with others, was deeply concerned as to who has a right to sit on a JURY. Listen to our forefathers wisdom on the subject of "PEERS."

MR. HENRY

"By the bill of rights of England, a subject has a right to a trial by his peers. What is meant by peers? Those who reside near him, his neighbors, and who are well acquainted with his character and situation in life." Patrick Henry (Elliot, "The Debates in Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, 3:579)

Patrick Henry also knew that originally the JURY of PEERS was designed as a protection for Neighbors from outside governmental oppression. Henry states the following, "Why do we love this trial by jury? Because it prevents that hand of oppression from cutting you off .... This gives me comfort -- that, as long as I have existence, my neighbors will protect me."
(Elliot, 3:545, 546).

MR. HOLMES

Mr. Holmes, from Massachusetts, argued strenuously that for JUSTICE to prevail, the case must be heard in the vicinity where the fact was committed by a JURY of PEERS. " . . . a jury of peers would, from their local situation, have an opportunity to form a judgement of the CHARACTER of the person charged with the crime, and also to judge of the CREDIBILITY of the witnesses." (Elliot, 2:110).


The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!
-Abraham Lincoln


MR. WILSON

Mr. Wilson, signer of "The unanimous Declaration," who also later became a supreme Court Justice, stressed the importance of the JURORS knowing personally both the defendant and the witnesses. "Where jurors can be acquainted with the characters of the parties and the witnesses -- where the whole cause can be brought within their knowledge and view -- I know no mode of investigation equal to that by a trial by jury: they hear every thing that is alleged; they not only hear the words, but they see and mark the features of the countenance; they can judge of weight due to such testimony; and moreover, it is a cheap and expeditious manner of distributing justice. There is another advantage annexed to the trial by jury; the jurors may indeed return a mistaken or ill-founded verdict" but their errors cannot be systematical." (Elliot, 2:516)



FREEDOM FOR WILLIAM PENN

"Those people who are not governed by GOD will be ruled by
tyrants."
-William Penn

Edward Bushnell and three fellow JURORS learned this lesson well. They refused to bow to the court. They believed in the absolute power of the JURY, though their eight companions cowered to the court. The four JURORS spent nine weeks of torture in prison, often without food and water, soaked with urine, smeared with feces, barely able to stand, and even threatened with fines, yet they would not give in to the judge. Edward Bushnell said, "My liberty is not for sale," though he had great wealth and commanded an international shipping enterprise. These "bumble heads", so the court thought, proved the power of the people was stronger than any power of government. They emerged total victors.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT

The year was 1670, and the case Bushnell sat on was that of William Penn, who was on trial for violation of a "Conventicle Act." This was an elaborate Act which made the Church of England the only legal church. The Act was struck down by their not guilty vote. Freedom of Religion was established and became part of the English Bill of Rights and later it became the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In addition, the Right to peaceful assembly was founded, Freedom of Speech, and also habeas corpus. The first such writ of habeas corpus ever issued by the Court of Common Pleas was issued to free Edward Bushnell. Later this trial gave birth to the concept of Freedom of the press.

Had Bushnell and his colleagues yielded to the guilty verdict sought by the judge and prosecutor, William Penn most likely would have been executed as he clearly broke the law.

HE BROKE THE LAW!

There would have been no Liberty Bell, no Independence Hall, no city of Philadelphia, and no state called Pennsylvania, for young William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, and leader of the Quakers, was on trial for his life. His alleged crime was preaching and teaching a different view of the Bible than that of the Church of England. This appears innocent today, but then, one could be executed for such actions. He believed in freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly. He had broken to government's law, but he had injured no one. The four heroic JURORS knew that only when actual injury to someone's person or property take place is there a real crime. No law is broken when no injury can be shown. Thus there can be no loss or termination of rights unless actual damage is proven. Many imposter laws were repealed as a result of this.

IT IS ALMOST UNFAIR!

The trial made such an impact the every colony but one established the jury as the first liberty to maintain all other liberties. It was felt that the liberties of people could never be wholly lost as long as the jury remained strong and independent, and that unjust laws and statutes could not stand when confronted by conscientious JURORS. JURORS today face an avalanche of imposter laws. JURORS not only still have the power and the RIGHT, but also the DUTY, to nullify bad laws by voting "not guilty." At first glance it appears that it is almost unfair, the power JURORS have over government, but necessary when considering the historical track record of oppression that governments have wielded over private citizens.



JEFFERSON'S WARNINGS!

In 1789 Thomas Jefferson warned that the judiciary if given too much power might ruin our REPUBLIC, and destroy our RIGHTS!

"The new Constitution has secured these [individual rights] in the Executive and legislative departments: but not in the Judiciary. It should have established trials by the people themselves, that is to say, by jury."

The Judiciary of the United States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric." (1820)

". . . the Federal Judiciary; an irresponsible body (for impeachment is scarcely a scarecrow), working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little to-day and a little to-morrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one.

. . . when all government . . . in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated. (1821)

"The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what are not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action, but for the legislative and executive also in their spheres, would make the judiciary a despotic branch.

". . . judges should be withdrawn from the bench whose erroneous biases are leading us to dissolution. It may, indeed, injure them in fame or fortune; but it saves the Republic. . ."


SEC. III   INDEX TO THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

GENERAL INDEX TO:
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION

I. Need to dissolve certain political relationships.

II. Need to assume powers which God entitles man.

III. Declaring separation from an unjust government.

IV. Self-evident truths elaborated.

A. All men are created equal.

B. God our Creator gives to each unalienable Rights

1. Life, Liberty, Happiness, property, safety, respect, privacy,
etc.

C. The purpose of government is to protect the weak from the strong.

1. Fact: The Revolution was not out of rebellion by the colonies, but rather England rebelled against God's Law by repeated injuries of usurpation and tyranny. The young colonies were forced to defend themselves against England's tyranny.

a. eg. Bad laws, bad courts, police state (swarms of soldiers), taxes without consent, deprived of trial by jury, deporting people for trial, England declared the colonies out of their protection, rights of individuals plundered.

b. The colonies repeatedly petitioned England, but only received repeated injury.

c. England was warned from time to time.

d. England was deaf to the voice of justice.

V. The colonies appealed to God the Supreme Judge of the world.

VI. The colonies right to be free and independent.

VII. Under the protection of God they pledged their lives, fortunes and honor.


GENERAL INDEX TO:
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Preamble: The people hold the power: "We the People . . . in order to form a more perfect union, . . . and secure the blessing of liberty . . ."

ARTICLE I.

SECTION.

1. Legislative powers.

2. House of representatives; qualifications of members; appointment of representatives and direct taxes; census; first appointment; vacancies; officers of the house; impeachments.

3. Senate, classification of senators; qualifications of; vice president to preside; other officers; trial of impeachments.

4. Election of members of congress; time assembling of congress.

5. Powers of each house; punishment for disorderly Behaviour; journal;
adjournments.

6. Compensation and privileges; disabilities of members.

7. Revenue bills; passage and approval of bills; orders and resolutions.

8. General powers of congress; borrowing money; regulating commerce; naturalization and bankruptcy; money; weights and measures; counterfeiting; post offices; patents and copyrights; inferior courts; piracies and felonies; war; marque and reprisal; armies; navy; land and naval forces; calling the militia; District of Columbia; to enact laws necessary to enforce the Constitution.

9. Limitations of congress; migration; writ; of habeas corpus; bills of attainder and ex post facto laws prohibited; direct taxes; exports not to be taxed; interstate shipping; drawing money from the treasury; financial statements to be published; titles of nobility and favors from foreign powers prohibited.

10. Limitations of the individual states; no treaties; letters of marque and reprisal; no coining of money; bills of credit; not allowed to make any Thing but gold and silver Coin for payment of debts; no bills of attainder; ex post facto Law or law impairing the obligation of contracts; no title of nobility; state imposts and duties; further restrictions on state powers.

ARTICLE II.

SECTION

1. Executive powers; electors; qualifications, vacancy, compensation and Oath of the president.

2. Powers and duties of the president; making of treaties; powers of appointments.

3. Other powers and duties.

4. All government officers are liable to impeachment.

ARTICLE III.

SECTION

1. Judicial powers; all judges must have good Behaviour to stay in office; compensation not to be diminished.

2. Jurisdiction of federal courts and supreme court; trials for crime by jury except impeachment.

3. Treason defined; trial for and punishment.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION

1. Message to the states; each state is to give full faith and credit to public acts and records of other states.

2. Citizens of each state shall be entitled; fleeing from justice.

3. Admission of new states; power of congress over territories.

4. Republican form of government guaranteed to every state; protection from invasion or domestic violence.


ARTICLE V.

SECTION

1. Amending the Constitution.

ARTICLE VI.

SECTION

1. National obligations; Public debt; Constitution to be the supreme Law of the land; Constitutional Oath of office; no religious test required.

ARTICLE VII.

SECTION

1. Ratification of the Constitution; George Washington signs Twelfhindi, the highest ranking Saxon government, eg. He was equal of 1200 King Georges, or you as a juror are equal to 1200 presidents, congressmen or judges, local, federal or of the supreme Court.


GENERAL INDEX TO: THE BILL OF RIGHTS

and Amendments

PREAMBLE: Limiting the federal government: An expressed desire to prevent abuse of federal powers!


ARTICLES -- COMMON LAW

I. Religious freedom, both to an establishment as well as the free exercise thereof; freedom of speech, press; right of petition.

II. Right to bear arms.

III. Quartering of soldiers.

IV. The right to privacy and security against unreasonable search and seizures; search warrants.

V. Grand Jury, double jeopardy, no one must witness against himself, no loss of life, liberty or property without due process.

VI. Speedy and public trials, impartial jury; nature and cause, right to confront; compulsory witnesses, assistance of Counsel -- note, does not say attorney.

VII. Right to trial by jury according to the rules of common law -- Ten Commandments are the foundation of Common Law.

VIII. Excessive bail, fines, punishment etc. prohibited.

IX. Rights beyond Bill of Rights belong to the people.

X. Undelegated powers belong to the people unless given by the people to the states.

Articles I-X were proposed Sept. 25, 1789, ratified Dec. 15, 1791.


AMENDMENTS -- EQUITY LAW

XI. Restriction of judicial powers, proposed Mar. 5, 1794, adopted Jan. 8, 1798.

XII. Manner of electing the president and vice president, proposed Dec. 12, 1803, adopted Sept. 25, 1904.

XIII. Slavery and involuntary servitude prohibited, took effect* Dec. 18, 1865.

XIV. Citizenship and status defined, privilege of 2nd, 3rd, or whatever status of citizenship one selects for oneself, as opposed to Freeholder with full sovereign rights; apportionment of representatives; who is prohibited from holding office; public debt. Caution: There is serious doubt as to the legality of this amendment because of the manner of ratification which was highly suspect. At least 10 States were held by force of arms until the proper authorities agreed to vote for this amendment. An excellent overview of this was written by the Utah Supreme Court -- 439 Pacific Reporter 2d Series pp 266-276, and for a more detailed account of how the 14th amendment was forced upon the Nation see articles in 11 S.C. L. Q. 484 and 28 Tul. L. Rev. 22., took effect July 28, 1868.

XV. Non Freeholders given right to vote, took effect Mar. 30, 1870.

XVI. Income tax, took effect Feb. 25, 1913, possibly only four states ratified it properly.

XVII. Direct elections of senators; electors; vacancies in the senate, took effect May 31, 1913. This moved us from a complex Republic to a simple Republic much like the style of government of the Soviet Union. State rights were lost and we were plunged headlong into a democracy of which our forefathers warned was the vilest form of government because it always ends in oppression.

XVIII. Prohibition of liquor traffic, took effect Jan. 29, 1920.

XIX. Voting for women, took effect Aug. 27, 1920.

XX. Terms of the president, vice president, senators and representatives; date of assembling of congress, vacancies of the president, power of congress in presidential succession, took effect Feb. 6, 1933.

XXI. Eighteenth Article repealed; took effect Dec. 5, 1933.

XXII. Limits of the presidential term, took effect mar. 1, 1951.

XXIII. Electors for the District of Columbia, took effect April 3, 1961.

XXIV. Failure to pay any tax does not deny one the right to vote, took effect Feb. 4, 1964.

XXV. Filling the office of the president or vice president during a vacancy, took effect Feb. 23, 1967.

XXVI. Right to vote at 18, took effect July 5, 1971.

* Took effect is used as there is a great deal of suspicion as to the nature of these amendments (common law vs equity), also whether the last 16 amendments are legal, how many were ratified correctly, do they create a federal constitution in opposition to the original, etc. For further studies a good place to begin is with the article by the Utah Supreme Court on the 14th amendment, 439 Pacific Reporter 2d Series, pp 266-276, and Senate Doc. 240.


In Congress, July 4, 1776.


The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature"s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

SIGNERS OF THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION

According to the Authenticated List printed by Order of Congress of January 18, 1877
JOHN HANCOCK.


New Hampshire JOSIAH BARTLETT WILLIAM WHIPPLE MATTHEW THORNTON

Massachusetts-Bay SAMUEL ADAMS JOHN ADAMS ROBERT TREAT PAINE ELBRIDGE GERRY

Rhode Island STEPHEN HOPKINS WILLIAM ELLERY

Connecticut ROGER SHERMAN SAMUEL HUNTINGTON WILLIAM WILLIAMS OLIVER WOLCOTT

Georgia BUTTON GWINNETT LYMAN HALL GEO. WALTON

Maryland SAMUEL CHASE WILLIAM PACA THOMAS STONE CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLLTON

Virginia GEORGE WYTHE RICHARD HENRY LEE THOMAS JEFFERSON BENJAMIN HARRISON THOMAS NELSON, JR. FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE CARTER BRAXTON.

New York WILLIAM FLOYD PHILIP LIVINGSTON FRANCIS LEWIS LEWIS MORRIS

Pennsylvania ROBERT MORRIS BENJAMIN RUSH BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JOHN MORTON GEORGE CLYMER JAMES SMITH GEORGE TAYLOR JAMES WILSON GEORGE ROSS

Delaware CAESAR RODNEY GEORGE READ THOMAS M'KEAN

North Carolina WILLIAM HOOPER JOSEPH HEWES JOHN PENN

South Carolina EDWARD RUTLEDGE THOMAS HEYWARD, JR. THOMAS LYNCH, JR. ARTHUR MIDDLETON

New Jersey RICHARD STOCKTON JOHN WITHERSPOON FRANCIS HOPKINS JOHN HART ABRAHAM CLARK

YOUR TURN!

You -- as a juror -- armed merely with the knowledge of what a COMMON LAW JURY really is and what your common law rights, powers and duties really are, can do more to re-establish "liberty and justice for all" in this State and ultimately throughout all of the United States than all out Senators and Representatives put together. Why? Because even without the concurrence of any of your fellow jurors in a criminal trial, you, with your single vote of "NOT GUILTY" can nullify every rule or "law" that is not in accordance with the principles of natural, God-given, Common, or Constitutional Law. It is precisely this power of nullification that makes the trial by JURY one of our most important RIGHTS. It can protect and preserve all of the citizen's other RIGHTS.


The CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Preamble

The BILL OF RIGHTS

As provided in the FIRST TEN AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Effective December 15, 1791

Preamble to the bill of rights of the Constitution of the United States of America

Conventions of a number of States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will but ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED...the following articles be ... part of the said Constitution;

NOTE: THIS PREAMBLE IS NOT OFFICIALLY A PART OF THE CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION

AMENDMENT I (1791)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

AMENDMENT II (1791)

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

AMENDMENT III (1791)

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

AMENDMENT IV (1791)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

AMENDMENT V (1791)

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

AMENDMENT VI (1791)

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

AMENDMENT VII (1791)

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

AMENDMENT VIII (1791)

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

AMENDMENT IX (1791)

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

AMENDMENT X (1791)

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

AMENDMENT XI (1795)

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

AMENDMENT XII (1804)

The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; - The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; - The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of the Electors appointed; and if no person have such a majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two- thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. -] The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

AMENDMENT XIII (1865)

SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XIV (1868)

SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

SECTION 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

SECTION 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or Judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability

SECTION 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

SECTION 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

AMENDMENT XV (1870)

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XVI (1913)

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

AMENDMENT XVII (1913)

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provide, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

AMENDMENT XVIII (1919)

SECTION 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

SECTION 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

SECTION 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XIX (1920)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XX (1933)

SECTION 1. The terms of the President and Vice-President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of senators and Representatives at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

SECTION 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice-President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice-President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice-President elect shall have qualified, declaring who then shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualified.

SECTION 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice-President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

SECTION 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

SECTION 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

AMENDMENT XXI (1933)

SECTION 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

SECTION 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XXII (1951)

SECTION 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

SECTION 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

AMENDMENT XXIII (1961)

SECTION 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice-President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice-President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XXIV (1964)

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice-President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XXV (1967)

SECTION 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice-President shall become President.

SECTION 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice- President, the President shall nominate a Vice-President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

SECTION 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice-President as acting President.

SECTION 4. Whenever the Vice-President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice-President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice-President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon, Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after the receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice-President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

AMENDMENT XXVI (1971)

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are (18) eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.