FIJA
REPORT OF DECEMBER 12, 2010
On Monday through Friday, December 6–10, James
Cox and I distributed Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA)
literature in five southern Florida cities. Mostly we
distributed the American Jury Institute pamphlet entitled “Your
Jury Rights: True or False.”
Monday,
December 6, 2010
James and I appeared at the county courthouse in
Orlando at about 9:45 am. It was a cold and sunny day. We
were joined by other activists who helped distribute literature.
There was heavy pedestrian traffic at the courthouse. We stopped
at 11:00 am for a lunch break, but returned at 12:25 to distribute
pamphlets well into the afternoon.
Altogether 10 other activists joined James and me to
pass out literature and take photographs and videos. There were
no confrontational interactions with enforcement personnel. We
distributed about 1100 pamphlets.
Tuesday,
December 7, 2010
James and I arrived at the federal district
courthouse in Tampa at about 11:00 am. The weather was cool and
sunny. Immediately two federal marshals informed us that we could
not photograph a federal courthouse and demanded that we move from the
public sidewalk in front of the courthouse. We refused.
They returned to the courthouse to confer with their superiors, but did
not return.
There was almost no traffic at the federal
courthouse, so we went to the nearby county courthouse at 11:16
am. At about noon we broke for lunch, but returned to the county
courthouse at 12:25 pm. There was heavy pedestrian traffic at the
county courthouse, so we distributed literature until 4:00 pm.
Three other activists and a service dog participated in the
distributions. There were no confrontational interactions with security
personnel. We distributed about 1000 pamphlets altogether that
day, mainly at the county courthouse.
Wednesday,
December 8, 2010
James and I arrived at the main federal district
courthouse in Miami at 9:08 am. Again it was cool and
sunny. Immediately guards approached us and wanted to know what I
was writing. I was writing the arrival time. James was
taking pictures. The guards tried to drive us off the federal
property, but we refused to leave. We insisted that we had the
right to be there, so they backed off, but remained near us.
There was not much pedestrian traffic at the federal
court, so at 10:00 am we went to Miami-Dade College, which was just
down the street. Here there were a lot of students, many of whom
were interested. By 11:00 am, we had distributed about 400
pamphlets, so we went to lunch. After lunch, we continued to
distribute flyers. During the day two students were particularly
interested in our activities, talked to us and were interested in
starting some activity with groups of which they were members.
After lucnch we continued the distribution. at
1:05 pm, officers P. Djeda and S. D. Ovalee insisted that I leave the
the universsity property. Of course, I would not comply with this
and was preparing for an arrest. However, I did not want my
notes, flyers and JURY INFO sign to be seized. (We still had two
more days of planned distributions.) I called James on my cell
phone to come immediately to take my tote bag with my precious goodies.
Thepolcie called the Dean of Administration who tole them to drive me
off or arrest me Then James appeared and started arguing with the
police officers. They stated that the Dean of Administration
approved of my removal. James demanded the telephone number of
the dean, whom he called. The Dean was not there, but he talked
with the assistant dean, Judy Schmelzer. After some argument, she
agreed thatr we coduld stay and do whatever we wanted. Jamesd
relayed this information to the police who doubete its vsdracity.
they moved off a bit and called the dean’s office and were
notified that we could do anything that we wanted. they returned
and told us this and then left us alone. We had just blown our
second chance to be arrested.
At this time we were joined by Carlos Miller, a
prominant activist in the Miami area, who also has a propensity for
being arrested. We continued to distribute literature, while
Carlos videotaped us. After awhile, Carlos wanted to return to
the federal courthouse, so we returned. the federal courthouse in
Miami is extensive and includes several buildings. On the way
over, Carlos took pictures and I distributed literature at a distance
from each other. the federal police started bugging both Carlos
and me and wanted us to leave federal property. Finally after
more arguments, they reluctantly backed down when James and I were
arguing with them and explaining the recent action by the U. S.
attorney in the bile case to dismiss charges for photographing on
federal property.
Meanwhile, Carlos had run into the net block onto
the main courtyard of the federal district court and was taking close
up pictures of the guards. as they backed away, Carlos would
chase them. they were about to place Carlos under arrest when
James appeared and mentioned the bile case where the U. S. attorney had
agreed that we could photograph on federal property and had distributed
a notice to all federal court just a few weeks earlier. Then the
guards called headquarters. almost immediately two police cars
roared onto the scene and three officers emerged. the boss
officer shooed the court guards away. He had seen the memo and
agreed that we had the right to photograph on federal property.
That day James and Carlos each had an opportunity to
be arrested, and I had two opportunities for an arrest. All four
times, James talked them out of it. Very disappointing. I guess
that I will have to return to Manhattan, NY, to get arrested.
Wednesday evening, James and I attended a meeting of
the Libertarian Party of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale. Both
James and I spoke. James spoke about our days activity in
Miami. I spoke about the general collapse of our country and my
many experiences with the federal police at federal district
courthouses.
Thursday,
December 9, 2010
James and I arrived at the federal district
courthouse in Fort Lauderdale at 9:15 am. It was and overcast and
slightly rainy day. We distributed FIJA pamphlets. We were not
hassled by the court guards, unlike my previous visit to this
courthouse.
At 11:15 am, we went to lunch. After lunch we
went to Florida Atlantic and Broward County colleges to distribute
literature to the students. Then we proceeded to the county
courthouse which was extremely busy. Fortunately two other FIJA
activists joined us. During the day we distributed about 1000
pamphlets before we quit at 2:15 pm, because of the weather.
Friday,
December 10, 2010
James and I arrived at the federal district
courthouse at 9:10 am. It was a sunny day. There was not much
traffic. Officer Martinez tried unsuccessfully to stop James from
photographing, but she gave up and left us alone. We left for lunch at
10:43 am. At 11:05 we started distributing pamphlets at the
county court house. There was not much traffic, and we were tired
from the week’s activities, so we quit at 12:34 pm.
Summary
As of the end of the week, I have distributed FIJA
pamphlets at 23 federal district courthouses and 4 county
courthouses. I have been arrested 13 times at 3 of the federal
courthouses, but not at all at the other courthouses. We are
making progress, but my batting average is slipping.