Editorial: DC Voting Rights v Federal Jury Service

by Bill Adler

A recent message on the Cleveland Park Listserv about Federal jury duty opened the door to the question of voting rights versus Federal jury service.

What do voting rights for District of Columbia residents have to do with Federal jury duty service? They could have a lot to do with Federal jury duty service. When we, District of Columbia residents, are called to serve on a Federal jury, we are tasked with deciding a case based on a laws made by people elected by
somebody else. When Congress votes on laws about copyright, drugs, gun trafficking, bribery, or campaign finance, Americans have an opportunity to talk their Representative and Senators to either advance or oppose that law. But we don't. If you are an American citizen living in the District of Columbia you
have no say in how our laws are made.

What can we do about that? If we can't influence laws before they are made, what about after they are passed? Can we have a say in the legislative process after the fact? Yes, we can. And we should. We should tell the judge who asks us if we can follow the law as jurors, "Because I do not have any say in how laws are made, because I have no voting representation in Congress, serving on a Federal jury is my only opportunity to affect the laws that govern me and that I have to judge others with."

I was just reading an article about the Stop Online Piracy Act, a controversial bill that I oppose. The article said that the bill's opponents should "call your congressperson on the phone." If this law passes the day may come when a Federal jury will be called upon to decide a case based on SOPA. If that happens, being
on a jury will be our only chance to have any input into that law.

Let me take a moment to talk about what I'm not proposing: I am not talking about District of Columbia jury duty service: The Council makes our laws and we are represented on the City Council. I am not talking about avoiding Federal jury duty service. In fact, judges should hear from us about how lack of
representation in Congress is unfair. I am not talking about jury nullification, which is when a jury acts in opposition to a judge's instructions. I'm talking about sending a message to Congress: If you want us to judge based on the laws you pass, give us the same rights as other Americans to have a say in how those
laws are made.

What about a fair trial? What happens to defendants when prospective jurors balk at serving? It certainly makes it harder to find a jury, but there can be no fair trial when a juror believes that the law or the process by which the law is made isn't fair in the first place. There can be no fair trial when the first and only time a citizen has a chance to express his views about a law is as a juror.

Imagine if every District resident who was called to Federal jury service expressed these views. Do you think that Congress would take notice? You bet they would. This is another path to voting rights, one that would be hard to ignore.

----

Bill Adler is the co-publisher of the Cleveland Park Listserv, www.cleveland-park.com.

Rally for Democracy in DC, June 25 from 11am - 1pm

Caged DC Boundary Stone Marker 

DC Vote is looking for a good turnout from all District citizens who want equal treatment when it comes to voting rights. Here's the organization's call to march:

Please come out and demand democracy at a White House Rally on Saturday, June 25 from 11 am to 1 pm at Lafayette Square Park at 16th and H Street, NW. The stakes are very high. A centerpiece of our democracy is local control. Yet Congress is considering changes that are counter to the will of the people in DC.

When President Obama traded away DC’s rights, hundreds protested and 41 people engaged in acts of civil disobedience. The Capitol Hill police arrested them. Since then, 20 more people have been arrested defending DC democracy.

Our protests are drawing the attention of people all around the country. More importantly, elected officials are starting to listen.

Let’s lift our voices together as we call on President Obama to stand with DC. Come with your family and friends for a historic rally at the White House.

Please RSVP at http://dcvote.org/events/event.cfm?eventID=591. Help us build momentum by forwarding this notice to others.

Are You My Rep? - Another Way to Tell Congress "No Taxation Without Representation"

Revolution Messaging, a social media firm in Washington, D.C., launched “Are you my Rep?” a Facebook page that encourages D.C. residents to call members of Congress and ask them to support voting rights for D.C. citizens.

The Facebook page, available at http://www.facebook.com/myrep, allows visitors to enter their phone number into a form field, generating a call-back.  The call connects participants to a random Congressional office, so they may ask if the Representative is willing to support D.C autonomy or voting rights.

Users of the page are encouraged to share feedback as well as share the page with their friends and co-workers. Over 600,000 Washington, D.C. residents find themselves without a voting representative in Federal government, making DC laws and budget issues vulnerable to Congressional oversight.

“It’s really ridiculous that Washington, D.C. residents have their own elected government, and yet Congress has the ability to overturn the laws agreed upon by DC citizens,” said Courtney Sieloff, Senior Strategist for Revolution Messaging.  “Like anyone living in the 50 states, I pay both local and Federal taxes, but because I choose to live in DC, there is no member of Congress that I can call when I’m upset about a particular issue.”

The Congressional budget battles once again makes residents of Washington, D.C. pawns in a giant chess game. This Facebook page provides an avenue to voice frustration with the outcome of the budget cuts. Revolution Messaging hopes this initiative sparks a conversation that will help DC residents to receive the representation that is standard for all other Americans.

Stand Up for DC: Monday Rally

Today there will be a demonstration for DC Voting rights. Congress has reasserted its power over us by telling the District's citizens how we can and cannot spend or own taxes, by imposing a rider on the budget compromise to bar the District of Columbia from paying for abortions for low-income women.

I just paid my District taxes. Congress has no business telling us what we can and cannot do with our own money.

Here are the details of Monday's demonstration. There's more information at http://www.dcvote.org .

--Bill Adler


What: It's Time to Stand Up for DC
Date: Monday, April 11, 2011
Location: 2nd and Constitution Avenue, NE
Time: 5:00 PM

As feared, Senator Harry Reid and President Barack Obama sacrificed the rights of DC residents to get a deal on the federal budget bill. We need to fight back before the deal is signed into law.

Demand democracy for DC by joining us this Monday at 5 PM outside of the Senate Hart Building, which is located at 2nd and Constitution Avenue, NE.

Are you tired of being treated like a second-class citizen?

The Senate and the House are drafting language for a federal budget bill that will likely include a permanent ban on DC spending its own local money for reproductive health care services for low-income women. It would also impose a voucher program and may ban syringe access programs that help stop the spread of HIV-AIDS.

Let's take to the streets outside of the Senate Hart Building on Monday at 5 pm.

Pledge to join us right now by emailing rsvp @ dcvote.org.

Deliver Your Trash to Speaker Boehner's House on Saturday

If there's no trash pickup in the District of Columbia because of a Federal Government shutdown, you're invited to bring your trash to Speaker Boehner's house on Saturday morning. Thousands of District residents have already said that they're attending.

Here are the details:

What: "If Boehner shuts down the government I am taking my trash to his house "
Where: Meet at the Capitol South Metro
When: Tomorrow at 9:30am
How: Bring trash or not

The event is being organized through Facebook, where you can sign up and find out more information.  Taxation without representation has got to stop.

District Residents Are Mere Political Pawns for the Republican House Majority

by Bill Adler

Earlier today I wrote about how the District of Columbia's citizens are being treated like pawns in the budget battle. And Republicans aren't even keeping it a secret that they regard us as second class citizens. No, make that third class.  For many in the Republican party, District residents exist to help achieve political goals.

Want proof? Here's what one Republican member of Congress from Texas, Blake Farenthold, told Talking Points Memo:  "As Republicans, we promised in the Pledge to America to cut $100 billion off of Obama's plan. If we're going to come back with less than that, we've got to come back with some policy riders to say look, I took less than $100 billion, but I've defunded Planned Parenthood or abortions in the District of Columbia."

If that gets you angry, it should.

Congress and DC Abortion Rights

Could the Tea Party Inadvertently Help DC Voting Rights?

Could the Tea Party's desire to repeal the 14th Amendment give a boost to DC voting rights?

Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution makes any baby born in the United States an American citizen. It was designed to ensure that former slaves were American citizens. Recently the 14th Amendment has become an issue with Republicans because it also makes babies born of illegal immigrants American citizens. The effort by the group, State Legislators for Legal Immigration, a coalition of state legislators seeks to negate the 14th Amendment by allowing states to deny birth certificates to children of illegal immigrants.  Many Tea Party members simply want the 14th Amendment repealed.