Jury Nullification Activist Jailed 145 Days for Distributing Infoselfnews Post Mark E. Schmidter is an activist for jury rights whose story we covered one year ago. He was originally facing a year in jail after being found guilty of two felonies: External Criminal Contempt of Court, and jury tampering, for distributing information outside the Orange County Courthouse in Florida. We noted that Schmidter was not guilty of any actual law, but rather rules written by the acting judge. These rules that Schmidter is in violation of are for demonstrating outside of a free speech zone determined by Judge Perry. Schmidter, who was first arrested in June 2011, has maintained his innocence and that the judges orders he violated were a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Furthermore, the very rule he was found to be in violation of has been overturned. Judge Belvin Perry issued Administrative Order # 2011 03 which states that if anyone hands out information, talks or hold a sign outside the courthouse, they would be held in contempt of court and jury tampering. Here is Schmidter being interviewed before his court appearance in June, 2011: Although violating these orders is a misdemeanor offense, Schmidter was charged and convicted of two felony counts. Because of the felony charges, and suspecting that he couldnt get fair treatment from the judge who wrote the Administrative Orders, Schmidter requested a trial by peers and for Judge Perry to recuse himself from the case. He was denied on both requests. Schmidter has referred to Judge Perry as the lawmaker, prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner. After serving four days in jail, Schmidter was released on bail and appealed his case. As WFTVOrlando reported: To learn about the essential importance of Jury Nullification, please view the Laymans Guide to Jury Nullification below. It should be clear why judges wouldnt want this information distributed; they prefer judicial tyranny, as opposed to juries who vote with their conscience as part of upholding Americas legal tradition. Other sources: Read other articles by selfnews Post Here 