Former Pastor Charged with Felony for Informing People About Their RightsBy Carey Wedler On November 24, Keith Wood, 39, handed out roughly 50 fliers on the sidewalk outside the Mecosta County Courthouse in West Michigan. The papers he passed out explained jury nullification, the process by which jurors may find a defendant innocent even if they clearly committed the offense. Such a decision is a declaration by the jury that the law itself is unjust. Wood, a former pastor, was arrested for spreading this juror information. The practice of nullification predates the formation of the United States and has played a powerful role in the countrys history. As Anti-Media previously explained: The practice was first used in America in 1735 to exonerate a man of libel charges after he printed unflattering statements about the Governor of New York (a British colony at the time). Though he had undoubtedly printed them, the jury found him not guilty and set the precedent that members of juries could judge the morality and legitimacy of laws. The United States first Chief Justice, John Jay, oncetold jurors, You have a right to take upon yourselves to judge [both the facts and law]. Jurors would seize this right to nullifyanti-sedition laws in the early 1800s that attempted to stifle free speech criticizing the newly formed United States government. Judges first begancracking down on the right to nullify in the late 1800s. By that time, jurors had already used nullification to challenge theFugitive Slave Act, which imposed heavy punishment on Northerners who aided escaped slaves from the South. Though judges came to discourage nullification, the practice went on to be useful in nullifying Prohibition-era laws. Judges and attorneys regularly fail to notify jurors of this vital right, so many citizens like Wood often attempt to spread information near courthouses. Its not illegal to fully inform jurors, its just that judges dont do it anymore, Wood said. To me, I just feel like the justice system would be much better off, and we the people would be much better off if jurors were fully informed again. Wood says that while he was handing out fliers on November 24, a magistrate, followed by other court officials, asked him three times to enter the courthouse to speak with the judge. He recounted that on the third encounter, officials threatened to call the local Big Rapids Police Department to arrest him, and as a result, he decided to speak with the judge. She [the courthouse official] wasnt being rough but she was kind of corralling me and she was touching my jacket, and so I asked her again, I said, Am I being detained? And she goes, No, said Wood, according to local Fox News affiliate Fox 17. Wood says he then met with District Judge Peter Jaklevic. Judge Jaklevic came out of his chambers, he looked at me, he looked down the hall, I didnt know who he was looking at, and then he looked back towards me and the deputy and he said, Arrest him for jury tampering, Wood claims. He was charged with the felony of jury tampering and a misdemeanor of attempting to influence jurors. The felony carries a five-year jail sentence and up to a $10,000 fine while the misdemeanor can amount to one-year sentence and $1,000 in fines. Woods bond was set at $150,000 a figure suspected murderers have incurred all for educating jurors on their right and duty to contribute to the judicial process. Though Wood was able to charge $15,000 to his credit card and was released from custody after paying that amount, he was shocked at the high cost of his freedom. When he [the judge] told me the bond, again I was speechless, he said. $150,000 bond for handing out a piece of paper on a public sidewalk? Speechless. Dave Kallman, Woods attorney, called the charges outrageous. While attempting to influence jurors on a specific case is not permitted, Kallman noted that Wood was not attempting to do so. Though Fox17 notes Wood was inspired by an upcoming trial, he did not target jurors on any specific case. Its free speech for goodness sake, Kallman said. The Judge directly ordered him to be arrested for jury tampering, for tampering with a jury that didnt exist, now wrap your head around that. Kirsten Tynan, Executive Director of the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA), whose fliers Wood was handing out before his arrest, explained further: What we do, and what Keith did, does not involve advocating for or against any trial in process. We just tell people what all their options are, including the option of jury nullification. What they do with that information or not is up to them. Kallman pointed out the broader issue of arresting people for educating citizens about their rights: Its just a blatant illegal improper use of government power to squelch a persons Constitutional rights of free speech, thats what this is. There has to be push-back, and judges and prosecutors and people need to know: you cannot squelch peoples free speech rights and get away with it. Unfortunately, courthouses and police departments around the country have been able to get away with it at least to some extent. In August, a Denver man was arrested and charged with multiple felonies for handing out fliers. A second man was also charged, and police tore down a tent several activists set up to hand out fliers. Tynan, who was involved in providing assistance to the activists, said both men have hearings in December, during which they will attempt to have their charges dropped. If the charges are not dismissed, they will face trial in January. Others have also been punished for handing out fliers, including one 78-year-old New York man. Though Julian P. Heicklens charges were eventually thrown out by a federal judge, that they were pressed at all denotes the current atmosphere against nullification. Even so, Tynan said legal precedence continually sides with those who distribute information: I definitely want people to understand that legal precedent backs up what we do. In the Heicklen case, the judge ruled it was not jury tampering. In the Luke Lamb case, a jury acquitted him of jury tampering. In Denver, a federal judgeissued an injunction against arrests for handing out our literature because it is not jury tampering. I expect to be adding more victories to our infographic on these kinds of cases when the [Denver] cases and the Wood case are resolved. In spite of this, courthouses and police continue to make arrests. Judge Jaklevics office declined to comment on Woods case, as did the Mecosta County Prosecutors office. Wood rejected a plea deal and plans to fight the charges. Tynan told Anti-Media that FIJA is currently seeking pro bonolegal assistance to file a motion for an injunction against further such arrests at the courthouse in Michigan, as well as at a courthouse in New Jersey, where officials have also threatened arrests. Though a felony charge of obstructing justice for educating the publics guardians of justice is a troubling indicator of modern American authoritarianism, Tynan expressed reason to be hopeful: Its a sign of how terrified judges and prosecutors are of the power of conscientious acquittal that the bond for these false charges was set far higher than many bonds for people accused of real crimes such as murder. $150,000 bond for handing out pieces of paper is outrageously abusive. She added: What government officials dont seem to understand, though, is that instead of quashing information about jurors rights, such malicious treatment of peaceful people, in the end serves to amplify the message and create FAR more fully informed jurors than would one dedicated volunteer handing out brochures at the courthouse. FIJA is currently developing a network of volunteer attorneys to help fight back against such abusive arrests and malicious prosecutions. Attorneys who wish to assist FIJA pro bono in fighting back against bullying by courthouse officials should contact Kirsten Tynan at aji@fija.org. This article (Former Pastor Charged with Felony for Informing People About Their Rights) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler andtheAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, emailedits@theantimedia.org. Excellent! Judges and police know this is wrong yet do it with impunity. Thats the part that is so jaw dropping to methey know they are the ones acting criminally for repressing rights in this way. I and 2 others were arrested for reading a redress of grievance. I was convicted by a jurynot a Trial By Jury. My jury instruction that they apply the law as given (a pattern jury instruction used by nearly every court and what makes it a jury trial) be specified as the supreme law of the land (the US constitution) was denied. So who is it that is actually tampering with our juries? These so-called courts use British Admiralty Law of the Sea. So, they are fraudulent anyway. the jewstice system does not equate to the justice system. The U.S. has the worst criminal prison system in the world w/out doubt. Its all about busting the lower classes. HINT: when they ask do understand say no they ask anything say you dont understand or you forgot (especially your straw man name) as in the case of the theater in congress concerning the bilary clintons at least Billboyah was stripped of his law degree and impeached by the house of course the senate didnt have the nads. And the deciding dissenting vote in the Senate was Orrin Hatch. FIRST BIG MISTAKEhe obeyed the judges demand that he speak with her. By entering her territory he gave consent to be subject to her decisions. Should have stayed on public propertyeven he had been arrestedhe would have had a clear cut case of his violation. NEVER respond to requests from judges or other authoritarians that take you from your protected position. I see you have made a friend of Becky Akers . I had to look for awhile to find you talking any where else. You did say bob let you say what you wanted. And you seemed to have calmed down some in the things you say since I havent been around to rile you up. Buck He who has learned to know the Divine Law and is willing to give up the carnal self in order to become the Son of God, shall find everlasting life; but he who thinks more of the desires and the pleasures of the flesh than of the Soul, shall find naught but death. 1 John 2:17 The foolish man is the man who believes only what he sees. There are few things about which the average American is so ignorant as the subject of law, and their rights under it. And the courts, judges, and lawyers prefer very much to keep it that way. Google All Rights Reserved,Without Prejudice, for more. 