Fully Informed Jury Association

The Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) is a United States nonprofit jury-education and advocacy organization centered on the role and authority of citizens serving on criminal juries. Its principal message is that jurors should understand not only the facts of a case and the wording of a statute, but also the constitutional structure surrounding jury trials and the power of a jury to refuse to convict when conscience, justice, or opposition to an allegedly unjust law requires an acquittal. This position is commonly described as jury nullification. FIJA was formed in 1989 by Montana businessman Larry Dodge and Don Doig. The organization grew out of discussions at the National Libertarian Party convention in Philadelphia that year. It was incorporated in Montana as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Its stated activities have included public education, commentary on jury-related cases, and assistance to defendants and activists developing strategies based on the claimed authority of juries. The group presents its work as an effort to preserve citizen control over the application of criminal law and to remind jurors that an acquittal generally cannot be overturned because of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy. The organization's educational materials explain the constitutional basis of criminal jury trials, including Article III, Section 2 and the Sixth Amendment's jury-trial guarantees. FIJA also emphasizes the practical consequences of an acquittal under the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause. Its advocacy is controversial because American courts generally allow jurors to acquit but do not uniformly permit defense lawyers or activists to instruct jurors openly about nullification. FIJA has therefore operated at the intersection of free speech, courtroom administration, criminal procedure, and libertarian political activism. A major component of FIJA's outreach has been the distribution of pamphlets and other educational material to prospective jurors near courthouses. Activists have demonstrated outside courthouses and circulated literature in numerous jurisdictions. The organization has argued that generic educational materials do not amount to jury tampering because they do not address a particular defendant or proceeding. Courts and prosecutors have sometimes taken a different view, especially when activists communicated directly with jurors or potential jurors during an active case. These disputes produced arrests, contempt proceedings, jury dismissals, and constitutional litigation. FIJA has also pursued legislative and community-based education. It lobbied state legislatures for laws explicitly recognizing a defendant's ability to inform jurors about nullification. New Hampshire enacted such a measure on June 18, 2012, allowing defense attorneys to inform juries about jury nullification. The organization has additionally proposed abolishing the juror's oath and created programs such as Challenge for Churches, which offers seminars framed around conscience and justice, and Lunch Break for Liberty, which encourages supporters to distribute FIJA literature during their lunch breaks. The organization has attracted support from libertarian activists and criticism from prosecutors, law-enforcement professionals, legal scholars, and some former participants. Critics argue that encouraging jurors to disregard enacted law can undermine the rule of law, produce inconsistent outcomes, and interfere with the impartial administration of justice. Internal disagreements have also concerned whether FIJA should focus almost exclusively on nullification or devote more attention to the jury institution generally. Clay Conrad, author of a book on jury nullification, left the organization in 2008 after arguing that its emphasis had become too narrow. FIJA's activities and public profile are consequently best understood as part of the broader American debate over constitutional checks on criminal prosecution, citizen participation in adjudication, and the limits of courtroom speech.

The Fully Informed Jury Association was established in 1989 by Larry Dodge, a Montana businessman, and Don Doig. The idea emerged from discussions at the National Libertarian Party convention in Philadelphia concerning the need for a dedicated organization to educate citizens about jury authority. FIJA was incorporated in Montana as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. From its beginning, FIJA made jury nullification the center of its public education program. The organization argues that jurors are not merely fact-finders who mechanically apply statutes. In its view, juries retain the ability to acquit when enforcement of a law would produce an unjust result, when the law itself is objectionable, or when the prosecution represents an improper application of legislative authority. FIJA connects this position to the constitutional role of criminal juries, the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury, and the protection against double jeopardy that generally prevents the government from retrying an acquitted defendant. FIJA's activities have included publishing and distributing pamphlets, commenting on cases involving jurors and criminal defendants, and advising supporters about strategies for presenting the concept of jury authority. Its activists have handed out generic literature near courthouses and demonstrated outside judicial buildings in many parts of the United States. The organization has maintained that these activities are protected speech and are not jury tampering when the materials do not refer to a particular case. Courts have nevertheless imposed restrictions on speech in courthouse settings and have prosecuted some activists when communications appeared connected to active proceedings. The organization's litigation history illustrates this tension. In 2000, Douglas Bruce distributed FIJA material during jury selection for a Colorado sexual-assault trial, leading the judge to dismiss Bruce and many potential jurors who had received the leaflets. In 2001, Jerry Begly was removed from a jury pool after passing out copies of the Citizens Rule Book and was charged with contempt; the judge later dropped the charges. In Alaska, FIJA advocate Frank W. Turney faced charges involving alleged contact with a juror during a firearm case. The resulting appellate proceedings allowed the indictment to proceed, and his later federal habeas petition was denied. Julian Heicklen became one of the best-known FIJA activists after repeated arrests and fines connected with pamphlet distribution outside the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. His May 2010 arrest and jury-tampering indictment generated national discussion about whether the government could criminalize general advocacy of nullification at a courthouse. On April 19, 2012, Judge Kimba Wood dismissed the indictment as legally deficient. Other FIJA-related incidents included a 1994 acquittal in Pennsylvania involving distribution of the organization's literature, a 1996 arrest at a Nevada courthouse, and a 1995 prosecution connected with pamphlets placed near a federal courthouse while the distributor's son faced drug charges. FIJA has also sought institutional and legislative change. It lobbied state legislatures to recognize the ability of defense counsel to discuss jury nullification with jurors. New Hampshire passed a law on June 18, 2012, explicitly permitting that form of defense advocacy. FIJA proposed abolishing the juror's oath and developed community outreach programs, including Challenge for Churches seminars on justice and conscience and Lunch Break for Liberty, which encouraged supporters to distribute literature during lunch breaks. The organization has faced sustained criticism. Prosecutors and law-enforcement professionals argue that jury nullification can allow jurors to disregard enacted law and produce arbitrary outcomes. Legal commentators have described FIJA's program as a potential threat to the rule of law. Internal debate became especially visible in 2008, when Clay Conrad left FIJA. Conrad said the association had become too focused on nullification and was neglecting broader threats to the jury as an institution, while executive director Iloilo M. Jones characterized the departure as arising from Conrad's disappointment that the organization had not shifted toward attorney-focused work. FIJA has also been associated with libertarian activists including Mike Fellows; Robert Anton Wilson served as a board member. Its continuing identity is that of a specialized American civic-education group advocating an expansive conception of juror independence.

• 2012

  New Hampshire law recognizes jury-nullification advocacy

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  New Hampshire enacted legislation allowing defense attorneys to inform juries about jury nullification.

• 2012

  Heicklen indictment dismissed

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Judge Kimba Wood dismissed the jury-tampering indictment against Julian Heicklen as legally deficient.

• 2010

  Julian Heicklen arrest

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Heicklen was arrested after distributing FIJA pamphlets outside a New York federal courthouse.

• 2008

  Clay Conrad departs

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Clay Conrad left FIJA after criticizing its concentration on nullification over broader jury-system education.

• 2001

  Jerry Begly contempt case

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Jerry Begly was removed from a jury pool after distributing jury-rights booklets; the contempt charge was later dropped.

• 2000

  Colorado jury-selection incident

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Douglas Bruce distributed FIJA leaflets during jury selection, leading to his dismissal and the removal of numerous potential jurors who received them.

• 1994

  Pennsylvania literature-distribution case

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  A man was acquitted of obstruction-related charges arising from distributing FIJA literature at a Perry County courthouse.

• 1989

  Organization founded

  [1]Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Larry Dodge and Don Doig formed FIJA after discussions at the National Libertarian Party convention in Philadelphia.

A libertarian-oriented civic education and advocacy organization that presents juries as an independent constitutional check on unjust laws and improper government prosecution.

• Educational publications · 1989

  Jury-rights literature

  FIJA's pamphlets and related publications explain the constitutional role of jurors, the concept of jury nullification, and the organization's view that jurors may acquit when applying a law would violate conscience or justice. Activists have distributed these materials to members of the public and prospective jurors, often outside courthouses.

• Seminars

  Challenge for Churches

  A FIJA program presenting seminars for church communities around the theme of serving justice through conscience. It extends the organization's jury-education message beyond legal specialists and into community and religious settings.

• Public outreach

  Lunch Break for Liberty

  An outreach initiative encouraging supporters to use their lunch breaks to distribute FIJA pamphlets and raise public awareness of jury authority and nullification.

• Courthouse jury-education outreach

  United States

  FIJA activists demonstrated outside courthouses and distributed generic jury-rights literature to prospective jurors and members of the public. The campaign framed pamphlet distribution as protected civic education rather than communication about a specific trial.

  Outcome. The activity generated repeated arrests, jury dismissals, and litigation over jury tampering, trespass, and the permissible time, place, and manner of courthouse speech.

  Source
• State legislative advocacy for jury-nullification disclosure

  United States

  FIJA lobbied state legislatures to make the claimed power of juries to nullify openly acknowledged and to permit defense attorneys to discuss it with jurors.

  Outcome. New Hampshire passed a law on June 18, 2012, allowing defense attorneys to inform juries about jury nullification.

  Source

• 2012

  Support explicit legal recognition of nullification advocacyStrategy

  Background

  FIJA argued that defendants and their attorneys should be able to explain jury nullification to jurors rather than leaving the doctrine unspoken.

  Action taken

  The organization lobbied for statutory changes and supported public debate over the ability of defense counsel to present the nullification concept.

  Aftermath

  New Hampshire enacted legislation allowing defense attorneys to inform juries about jury nullification, while the issue remained contested in other jurisdictions.

  Source

• 1989

  Make jury nullification the central advocacy issueStrategy

  Background

  FIJA was created to educate citizens about their authority as jurors and to challenge the idea that juries must always convict when the factual elements of an offense appear proven.

  Action taken

  The organization built its public education, case commentary, literature, and legislative advocacy around jury independence and the possibility of acquittal based on conscience or opposition to an unjust law.

  Aftermath

  This focus gave FIJA a distinct libertarian identity but also attracted criticism that it encouraged jurors to disregard enacted law and narrowed the organization's attention to nullification.

  Source

1. 1Fully Informed Jury Associationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fully Informed Jury Association official websitefija.org