Dear Libertarian,
Fellow Freedom Fighters
The Libertarian Party believes real safety is much more valuable than the illusion of safety. Thus, while the president, Congress, and state legislatures have been trying to pass gun bans that leave victims disarmed against criminal violence, the Libertarian Party has been pushing to repeal the tragically failed "gun-free" school zone laws.
We have already aired more than 150 radio spots nationwide with the following ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aoqxJPhcJQ
This radio ad was recorded by radio broadcaster Dusty Rhoads, who volunteered his time and skill to fight for freedom. And all spots were paid for by targeted donations — not one penny was taken out of the general fund.
Because we purchase spots using competitive bidding, we pay the lowest rates possible. In fact, our average cost per spot is around $5! In other words, a $5 donation can be enough to get a radio ad!
We have a rare opportunity here. We can make America freer by repealing the tragically failed "gun-free" school zone laws. By going on the offensive, we also have a better chance of preventing more executive orders and legislative restrictions. Imagine if freedom fighters in 1912 had run an End the Fed campaign. Or a campaign to end marijuana prohibition in 1937.
Please donate whatever you can at www.lp.org/contribute, and write "For Radio Ad" in the comments section. Any money you donate will all be used to buy air time at maximally discounted rates — no commission, no overhead.
In Liberty,

Geoffrey Neale
Chair, National Libertarian Party
P.S. Please donate now to expand our radio campaign — and remember to write "For Radio Ad" in the comments section!

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Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

New Issue of The Free Kansan!

Hello everyone,
Sharon DuBois has become the Free Kansan Editor. The Free Kansan is the official Newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Kansas. I am sending this out to my mailing list to inform you that subscriptions to the Free Kansan are available by emailing FreeKansan@cox.net , and yes, subscribing to the Free Kansan is FREE!
Unfortunately the formatting and heading to the Free Kansan was lost when I copied the pdf document into this email. The pdf is attached and is formatted so that it can be printed out and shared with others, it even can be folded up, stamped and mailed to friends and relatives!
Thank you Sharon for taking on this important task and insuring that the LPKS is able to keep our members and supporters informed of our party's activities and events.
For Liberty,
Steven A. Rosile
Editor, LSOCK NEWS


FK2013-01 Page 1
Free Kansan

The Official Newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Kansas
www.lpks.org
First Quarter 2013
=============================================================================
LPKS to Publish Candidates’ Handbook
If you have been thinking about running for public office, help will be available soon. The LPKS Executive Committee will publish the "Libertarian Party of Kansas Candidates’ Handbook: Running for Public Office in Kansas on the Libertarian Ticket" early in 2013.
The handbook will contain information on what is expected of Libertarian candidates, both local and statewide, what’s involved in the LPKS Nominating Convention, and suggestions for running the best possible campaign.
Copies of the handbook will be available for downloading from the LPKS website, www.lpks.org, as soon as it has been published.
Things happen the day you decide you’re going to make them happen.
-- Pam Lontos
County Chairs to be Appointed
LPKS Chair Al Terwelp has announced he plans to encourage all District Coordinators to appoint an LP County Chair in every county in Kansas. This is part of an ongoing effort to make it easier for every Libertarian in Kansas to be actively involved in party activities.
Mr. Terwelp said he will ask the County Chairs to focus on organizing groups that meet monthly or more often to find and encourage Libertarians to run for office, as well as to work on other liberty-related projects.
Currently there are LP groups in Dickinson, Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Saline, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Sherman, and Wyandotte Counties.
"Kansas was fifth in the nation in percentage of votes for Governor Johnson," said Mr. Terwelp. "We even did well in counties where there is no local Libertarian organization. That tells me there is a strong interest in liberty all over the state. With an LP organization in every county working to provide a better choice in politics, our numbers will be even better next election" FK2013-01 Page 2
From the Editor
We’re back.
Those of you who have been hanging around the LPKS for a while will remember the Free Kansan. This newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Kansas was one of the primary sources of communication within the group for quite a while. It predates my involvement in the LP, and I’ve been a Libertarian for a decade. (Actually, I’ve been a Libertarian my entire adult life. I just didn’t know there was a real word for it until about 2002.)
In any case, after a considerable absence, here we are again.
I have to tell you all that I really enjoy doing this. I get to write articles telling everyone what I think, and anyone who’s ever been in the same room with me knows how enthusiastically I do that. In my role here as grammar Nazi I get to make corrections to articles other people send in. And I get to refer to myself as "we," which is really fun. It’s kind of like being the queen.
Having said that, I hope you understand that this is your newsletter. I hope all of you will use it and enjoy it. Please send letters to the editor, articles for publication, news of libertarian happenings – anything that will be of interest to liberty-minded people in Kansas.
Please forward the newsletter to others. Note, also, that the format lends itself to being mailed. You can print out a copy, fold it, tape it shut, add a stamp and an address, and mail it to a friend.
You can also print out copies, fold them, and leave them lying around in your place of business. Spread the word.
Keep in touch.
Queen, Grammar Nazi, Editor
Sharon DuBois
The Free Kansan is published four times per year by
the Libertarian Party of Kansas. All rights reserved.
Editor: Sharon DuBois
Readers are invited to send comments, ideas, letters to the editor, and additions to the mailing list to FreeKansan@cox.net.
Articles from the Free Kansan may be reprinted with proper attribution.
Libertarian Party of Kansas (LPKS) Information
www.lpks.org
For a list of officers and District Coordinators, go to
http://lpks.org/the-lpks/officers/
Local Meetings
The Libertarians of Northeast Kansas (LNEKs) meet on the last Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Celtic Fox, 118 SW 8th Ave., Topeka. Anyone interested in learning more about the Libertarian Party is welcome. Contact Sharon DuBois at liberty43@cox.net to be added to the email list.
The Libertarians of South Central Kansas (LSOCK) meet for supper and discussion every Tuesday at Mike’s Steakhouse located at 2131 S. Broadway in Wichita, Kansas, at 5:30 pm. If we have official business to conduct or a featured guest speaker, that will begin at 6:00 p.m. All who support personal responsibility and individual liberty are invited to attend.
To receive the LSOCK NEWS and LSOCK NEWS Alerts! via email, please contact Steve Rosile at sarasile@att.net.
The Saline County Libertarians meet informally the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month at McDonalds restaurant, corner of Broadway and Crawford, Salina, at 6:00 p.m. All interested persons, whether members of the Libertarian Party or not, are invited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Libertarian Party welcomes your support and involvement
Your contributions of time, energy, ideas, and, of course, money will help spread the ideas of fiscal responsibility and social tolerance.
Contributions are always needed to help with printing and mailing costs of this newsletter, as well as publicity, campaign and other expenses associated with running a political party.
Contributions to the LPKS are not tax-deductible. Of course, with the elimination of the income tax and the IRS, that will no longer be an issue.
Contributions can be mailed to
Libertarian Party of Kansas
Michael Dann, Treasurer
785 E. 1055 Road Baldwin City, KS 66006 FK2013-01 Page 3
From the Chair
In this issue of the resurrected Free Kansan, we are describing some of the significant recent accomplishments of the Libertarian Party of Kansas. It has been a long-term effort on the part of a large number of very dedicated Libertarians, each working on issues important to themselves.
But this is only the beginning. We want to increase our influence in the state and get more liberty-minded Kansans involved. We want to move Kansas in the direction of ‘Liberty for all.’
We need your help to do this.
First, some of our successes and things we are working on. Next, what you can do to help.
We have successfully helped Libertarians get elected to public office where they are impacting the political debate. Through their hard work, they are demonstrating to voters the success of Libertarianism’s practical approach to problems.
We are successfully advocating in favor of second amendment rights in a number of Kansas communities. Although this meets with resistance in some instances, our methodical perseverance is paying off.
We are sponsoring legislation designed to give all Kansans the same access to educational options currently available to only a very few families.
In the last election, we mobilized record numbers of Kansans to vote for the Johnson/Gray ticket for president and vice-president. Kansas was fifth in the nation in the percentage of Libertarian presidential votes, and just shy of 2nd nationally in total Libertarian U.S. Congressional votes (3 districts). We rose to an average of 6% in three party state races.
Here’s what we want to do going forward:
To have a greater influence on state policies and to get more Libertarians elected to public office, we need to do even more. That means we need to involve more Libertarians in the effort. We want to involve you, your like-minded friends and neighbors.
We will be encouraging every District Coordinator to appoint an LP Chair for each Kansas County. This will give us a contact for local issues as well as someone to coordinate events for candidates for state-wide office.
We will begin lobby efforts on behalf of issues important to Libertarians. However, we will be doing this differently from most organizations. Here’s where you come it.
The standard way to lobby is to hire a firm in Topeka. They wine and dine legislators in an effort to convince them to vote for or against some issue. We aren’t going to do it that way. We plan to utilize Libertarians across the state to contact their elected representatives when an issue we are concerned about comes up. We will email our supporters, outline both sides of the issue, explain the Libertarian position and why it is important. Then we will ask everyone concerned to personally contact their representative urging them toward the Libertarian position.
We’ll go even further than this. Typically on any issue there are only a handful of legislators who make the difference. Some will already support our position; some will be unalterably opposed to it. We will not waste your time asking you to contact either of these. We will only ask you to contact those whose vote is truly critical for success.
To be effective, we will be developing a list of all Libertarians and liberty-loving citizens in the state – where they live, their email address, and who are their elected representatives (Congress, State Senate, State House).
We promise we won’t abuse your trust in us by sharing your information with others or sending you too many emails. In fact, we even give you
(Continued on Page 6) FK2013-01 Page 4
LPKS to Offer Concealed Carry Handgun License Classes
By Michael Dann
As Libertarians, we recognize our constitutional right to bear firearms for any lawful personal reason, including self-defense. To help support freedom in Kansas, LPKS will be sponsoring KS Concealed Carry Handgun (CCH) licensing classes at a significantly reduced cost throughout the state during 2013.
These KS CCH courses meet the requirements of the Kansas Attorney General’s office for the Weapons Safety and Training portion of the licensing process. Course attendees are responsible for reviewing the ag.ks.gov web site concerning concealed carry prior to registering for a course, and for meeting all other requirements to receive a CCH license. Upon successful completion of the class, including the shooting requirements, qualified participants will receive the Certificate required to apply for the KS CCH License.
The first LPKS sponsored KS CCHL class will be held on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 from 10 am until 6 pm at The Bullet Hole located at 6201 Robinson Street in Overland Park, KS. The charge for the class will be only $60 for Bullet Hole members (about 50% off the normal course charge). This fee includes all class handouts, materials, and targets. Attendees are required to be Bullet Hole members.
The lead instructor for the sponsored LPKS classes will be Michael Dann. Mike is approved by the Kansas Attorney General as an instructor for the
Kansas Concealed Carry Licensing course, and is also an NRA Certified Instructor and Training Counselor in numerous shooting disciplines.
The successful candidate for a KS CCH License will need to pay a potential fingerprinting fee, a $32.50 separate charge for the Sheriff, and a $100 Application Fee for the KSAG. These charges are payable at the time of license application.
A CCH license applicant will also need a passport quality photo to apply. These additional fees and charges are not included in the CCH class charges.
Please contact Mike Dann at mikedann1@aol.com or at (785) 830-0854 for information on an upcoming course, or to request an application for the February class in Overland Park. If you would like to have a KS CCHL course offered in your area of the state, please contact Mike as well.
"It is indeed probable that more harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil."
-- Donald J. Boudreaux FK2013-01 Page 5
Kansas Farmers and Businesses Need Hemp
by Tresa McAlhaney
There is a movement underway at the federal and state levels to amend our laws to re-legalize hemp farming. Allowing hemp farming will expand the options our farmers have to ensure stability and profitability in their work. It will allow for economic growth as businesses and manufacturing equipment that have sat vacant and unused will again have a place in the marketplace.
Currently, state and federal laws allow for the sale and consumption of hemp products but do not allow us to grow our own. The United States leads the world in hemp product imports but does not produce it. Global sales top $500 million per year, with around $250 million in US sales alone. These numbers represent the hemp economy under prohibition. If US farmers were allowed to grow hemp, it would transform and revitalize the farming industry and our stagnant economy in a way no other no-cost move by the government could.
Feral hemp, or ditchweed, is a remnant of industrial hemp once grown on more than 400,000 acres by US Farmers. The hemp plant is particularly well suited to the growing conditions of Kansas soils, even in drought conditions. In fact, marijuana busts were easier for law enforcement officials to conduct this past growing season because hemp and cannabis plants were the only green things growing in fields amid parched traditional crops. As it grows, the hemp plant cleanses and nourishes the soil in which it was grown. If for nothing else, hemp could be used as a rotation crop in the off season to heal and regenerate our stressed crop lands. Farmers could also plant this crop at the edges of their fields, out of the range of irrigation equipment, and make use of land that otherwise would be considered a waste. Fields planted with hemp can produce up to four crops per year, and require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides than other crops. All parts of the plant can be used: to make food, biodiesel with a gel point below that of biodiesels currently on the market, plastic, composite building material, cloth and paper fiber, and 25,000 other products.
There were two riders, HR 1831, introduced by Ron Paul, and its sister senate bill, S 3501, set to go on the federal Farm Bill that was put off in the recent debt ceiling deal, following congress's vote to extend the existing one another year. Passing a measure at the federal level would have been the best way to set this movement into action, and still begs your support. In lieu of action in Washington, we will proceed with legislation at the state level this year. Information on the local hemp re-legalization movement, legislation, and education resources is available online at kansashempyes.org, or you can join the Facebook group, Kansans for Agricultural and Business Revival. FK2013-01 Page 6
District 1 News
The First District has just created a First District Congressional Party Committee of the Libertarian Party of Kansas which will hold money to be used for candidates in the First District. Mike Wilson is the Chair and Barry Albin is the Treasurer. The first funds came from a donation by the Committee to Elect Barry Albin County Commissioner. All funds will be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Governmental Ethics Commission. The Party Committee hopes to use this seed money to put on programs to raise money for campaigns in the First District.
District 2 News
Anje Moore-Kearney has been chosen to participate in the Leadership Greater Topeka program. According to the website of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the program, "Leadership Greater Topeka brings together a broad cross section of both acknowledged and aspiring leaders from every corner of the community for an annual community leadership training course. Leadership Greater Topeka alumni are challenged to apply their talents throughout the community in volunteer, appointed and elected positions."
Ms Moore-Kearney has been active in the Topeka-based Libertarians of Northeast Kansas for several months. She has focused her efforts primarily on efforts to revitalize the downtown Topeka area. She has been a strong proponent of ensuring that public funds are used only for infrastructure, with decorative enhancements being funded by private donations.
District 3 News
In the November election, Joel Balam, in a two-way race for the Kansas 3rd District congressional seat, won 31.5% of the vote. This was the best showing by a Libertarian for the U.S. House in the state party’s history (92,000+ votes).
Intaxication:
Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
-- Source Unknown
===============================================
(From the Chair, Continued from Page 3)
the option of how often you’d like to hear from us. We can email you on a fairly regular basis about Libertarian activities in Kansas, perhaps once a week, or only when there is a specific issue with which you can assist, or something of particular interest to you. After all, we’re Libertarians, too.
There you have it. The LP in Kansas is very active and making an impact on the political debate. We want you to be involved also. Please help us. If you know others who would like to join the effort, please ask them to become involved.
Send an email to FreeKansan@cox.net. Give us your name and address: street, city, COUNTY, and zip. Also, if you know it, include your elected representatives for Congress, State Senate, and State House. We can look it up, but you will save us a lot of time for other activities if you will provide that information yourself. Then, if there are issues of particular interest to you, please share that. We will try to put you in touch with others who share your interests. FK2013-01 Page 7
Libertarian Party of Kansas
Return Service Requested
========= COMING EVENTS =========
February 9
First LPKS sponsored KS CCHL class
The Bullet Hole, 6201 Robinson Street
Overland Park, KS.
February 26
Kansas Primary Election
April 2
Kansas General Election
April 20
LPKS State Convention

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LSOCK NEWS Alert!

Hello everyone,

I am forwarding this information from John Axtel and the Campaign For Liberty to inform you of their meeting on gun rights this Thursday.

For Liberty,

Steven A. Rosile

Editor, LSOCK NEWS

To all Liberty-Loving Folks,

Gun owners know that the 2nd Amendment is essential to a free and safe society.  How do we protect our rights, our families, and our communities in light of a federal government gone out of control?  What recourse do we have at the local and state government level?  How do we help others understand the benefits to society provided by a free and armed public?

Join Wichita Campaign for Liberty this Thursday, January 17, to learn how you can help create a safe, sane world that honors your 2nd Amendment rights!

Wichita Campaign For Liberty Presents

GUN RIGHTS - GET THE FACTS

Create a Safe, Sane World

That Honors Your 2^nd Amendment Rights

With Featured Speaker: Carl Enterkin

Wichita Marriott

9100 Corporate Hills Drive

7 pm, Thursday, January 17, 2013

Presentation To Include

Know Your Gun Rights

Responsible Gun Ownership

State Sovereignty

Your Recourse In Our Ever Changing Environment

Pay to Play Politics

Audit the Fed

Other Liberty Issues

“Assault is a type of behavior, not a type of hardware.” ~Alan Korwin

About Carl

US Air Force Veteran

37 Years In Law Enforcement

Wichita Police Department Pistol Team Member

Glock Certified Armorer

Colt Certified AR15/M16 Armorer

NRA Certification As Police Firearms Instructor

Friends University Criminal Justice Advisory Committee

Wichita Campaign For Liberty Steering Committee

WichitaCampaignForLiberty.Com - Facebook.com/WichitaC4L – Twitter.com/WichitaC4L

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Fully Informed Jury Story

Prosecution as Persecution: The Carol Asher Case

by William Norman Grigg

Recently by William Norman Grigg: Scratch a 'Liberal,' Find a Fascist: The Case of Barbara Boxer

"Hi, my name is Larry Wasden," explained the short, stocky man, flashing a politician's practiced smile and extending a hand. "I'm the Attorney General."
"Mr. Wasden, my name is Will Grigg," I replied, shaking his hand. "Several years ago you tried to put a 66-year-old retired nun named Carol Asher in prison for fourteen years because she acted as a conscientious juror. Have you ever apologized to her for that abuse of discretion?"
My ice-breaker caused Wasden's smile to evaporate, and it was quickly replaced with an expression of perplexed surprise.
"What – what abuse of discretion? What case are you talking about?" he stammered.
"Carol Asher is a retired nun from northern Idaho who was called to serve on a jury in a narcotics case," I explained. "She was one of several jurors who voted to acquit, and during the deliberations – made in the confidentiality of the jury room – she apparently made some comments about the fully-informed jury principle. This was seen as a violation of assurances that she would be bound by the judge's instructions. After the case was dismissed, one of the jurors reported her to the prosecutor – and your office filed felony perjury charges against her."
"Well, I don't remember any of the details of this matter," Wasden replied as he started to sidle away from me.
"Perhaps you should re-acquaint yourself with them," I suggested.
"I don't really see any reason to," he said, walking away while displaying a dismissive smirk.
The occasion that brought about this brief but telling conversation was a December 12 meeting held at the Portia Club in Payette, Idaho to discuss the state's open records and open meetings law. Wasden and several of his associates – people whose livelihood depends on official opacity, not public transparency – were present to teach us how to ask just the right questions in order to get the self-serving answers they were willing to provide.
Wasden was obviously caught off-guard by a polite but pointed question, and more than likely offended by it. After all, a meeting to discuss the open records law was hardly the proper forum at which to demand accountability from a public servant such as himself.
My only purpose in attending the meeting was to ask Wasden about the Asher case. I knew he would be in attendance, and intended to confront him about his misconduct – but since he was the one who approached me, I can't honestly be accused of ambushing him. Our conversation took place about five minutes before the meeting began, which meant that I was able to devote most of my evening to more productive pursuits.
Wasden was utterly mystified by the mention of the Carol Asher case, which was the source of considerable controversy in Idaho back in 2006. He honestly didn't remember who Carol Asher is, which is understandable. But he absolutely didn't care about what his office did to her, which is unforgivable.
"It's interesting that Mr. Wasden doesn't remember me or anything about my case, because he was certainly aware of it at the time," Asher told Pro Libertate. "And after the charge against me was dismissed I wrote him a long, polite letter letting him know that I held no rancor toward him, and explaining why I took the stand that I did. He never responded to my letter."
If I had inflicted needless misery on an innocent, law-abiding, 66-year-old woman, sleep would be a stranger to me until I had done everything possible to make amends. Beyond what I've learned from the public record and a very brief conversation I know nothing of Larry Wasden. The fact that he has forgotten everything about his attempt to imprison Asher for life suggests to me that his is the untroubled sleep known only to the most innocent of children, and the most incurable of sociopaths.
In late 2005, Asher was called to jury duty for the narcotics trial of William Edward Clark, a young man of Indian ancestry who lived in a northern Idaho village called White Bird. Clark was employed at a local restaurant. He also had a police record replete with petty charges of the kind that suggested he was the focus of frequent and largely unwarranted police attention.
One afternoon the previous March, Clark was given the keys to the company vehicle – an old pickup truck – and sent to Grangeville with a large load of aluminum cans to be recycled. He stopped at the Tolo Lake Mammoth Replica, locked the truck, and went to see the exhibit. A Grangeville City Police Officer drove by and spotted the truck.
At the time, Clark was the subject of a "fugitive warrant," but the available record in the Idaho Repository doesn't clearly state why. He was sentenced to probation on a misdemeanor battery charge, and then slapped with a statewide "failure to appear" bench warrant that appears to have been revoked in January. In any case, the officer recognized either Clark or the vehicle he was driving, executed a U-turn, and pulled in behind the truck.
When the officer approached Clark, he demanded the keys in order to search the truck. Clark quite properly refused to turn over the keys, pointing out that the pickup was, in effect, a company vehicle that didn't belong to him. The officer called for backup, and an Idaho County Sheriff's Deputy soon arrived. The two of them ganged up on Clark, seized the keys, and searched the truck.
On the dashboard of the truck the officers found a CD case containing a tiny ziplock bag in which was hidden .15 of a gram of meth, which had an estimated street value of about five dollars.
"No physical evidence or eyewitness testimony connected Clark to the drugs," Asher recalls of Clark's two-day trial. "The prosecution wasn't able to demonstrate that Clark was aware that it was in the vehicle. Since it was used by many other people, and the drugs were very carefully hidden, there was plenty of room for reasonable doubt. And since the search was clearly illegal, there wasn't really any reason for the arrest in the first place. But the court-appointed defense attorney just sat there like a stump and didn't raise the issue, and the trial judge wouldn't allow jurors to raise it, either."
In his smug assurance that the case was a slam-dunk, the Idaho County Prosecutor Kirk MacGregor didn't bother to prove it. After all, Clark was a socially marginal Indian kid with a bad reputation and a growing rap sheet; his accusers were two valiant defenders of the public weal; and besides, this was a drug case, which means that the defendant simply must be guilty of something.
What MacGregor didn't realize is that there was at least one member of the jury who intended to force the state to prove its case against the defendant.
Prior to the trial, Judge John Bradbury had informed the jurors that they would be able to submit questions directly to him.
"Each of us was given a notepad on which to write our questions, and several of them were given to Judge Bradbury," Asher relates. "All of them were read by the judge verbatim – except for the two I submitted, which he paraphrased and then dismissed."
During the testimony of the two police officers involved in the arrest, Asher asked the same question: "In your understanding of the law, Officer, was it lawful and proper to force a search of the defendant's pickup without first obtaining a warrant?"
"The first time I posed that question, rather than reading it aloud Bradbury simply said that a juror had asked about the legality of the search and he said that at some point prior to the trial it had been 'agreed' that the search was legal," Asher recalls. "The second time he said something to the effect of, 'There's a juror here who is still having trouble regarding the legality of the search. That matter is decided and must be left aside.'"
When the jury began its deliberations, Asher was amazed – and somewhat disgusted – by the eagerness displayed by the other jurors to offer an uncritical ratification of the prosecution's case.
"I listened to various initial comments from at least half of the jurors," she summarized in an affidavit filed prior to her own trial in 2006. "Rather than focusing on real evidence presented against him (or the lack of it), the young man was being criticized for everything from his casual dress to 'looking cocky' to his (supposed) cocky eye contact and confident smiles he frequently directed to members of the jury."
When it was Asher's turn to speak, she expressed "concern about what seemed to me a wrongful search on the part of the police. The jury foreman then reminded me that the judge had ruled out the matter of the search, and that we were not allowed to consider it."
Displaying the dutiful docility so commonplace among collectivist drones, the foreman insisted that the proper role of the jury was to act as an instrument of state power, rather than an impediment to it. Asher tried to remind her fellow jurors that their duty was to follow the law, rather than ratify the prosecution's case.
"I can't take my orders merely from a judge, but am bound by a higher authority to render fair and just judgment according to the dictates of my own conscience in trying to protect the rights of the accused," Asher explained.
"Well, then, it looks like you could be facing big trouble here," sneered the foreman. "You just could be charged with perjury."
After taking comments from the other jurors, the foreman called for a vote. Eight members of the panel voted guilty; Asher and three others voted to acquit. The hung jury resulted in a mistrial.
As soon as court was adjourned, the foreman – in violation of the confidentiality of jury deliberations – did his duty to the State by reporting Asher's comments to MacGregor. The vindictive functionary immediately contacted Wasden and demanded that the State of Idaho file a felony perjury charge against Asher. This was clearly an act of petty retaliation. It was also an actionable instance of malicious prosecution for which neither MacGregor nor Wasden has ever been held accountable.
There is no legal basis in the State of Idaho for the prosecution of a juror who ignores a judge's instructions regarding the law. Although the Idaho Code dictates that the court will "decide all questions of law which may arise in the course of the trial," it also states that the judge "can give no charge to the jury" – in other words, he cannot bind them to his interpretation of the law.
Idaho's official Guide for Jury Deliberations repeatedly and explicitly state that once the jury begins its deliberations, it has plenary authority to decide the case as it sees fit. The purpose of a judge's instructions, according to the guide, is to "tell you if there are special rules or a set process you should follow. Otherwise, you are free to conduct your deliberations in whatever way is helpful."
Some measure of the poverty of the state's case against Asher can be seen in the haste with which it was dismissed by Magistrate Judge Michael Griffin following a March 7, 2006 evidentiary hearing.
"I'm pretty sure that the charge was dismissed so quickly because they wanted the issue of fully-informed jurors to go away," Asher observes. "The courtroom was full the day of the evidentiary hearing, and I've been told that the court had received hundreds of phone calls from people who were really upset over what was being done to me. It seems clear that the people behind the prosecution simply wanted the matter to disappear and be forgotten."
Carol Asher was neither the first nor the only woman face a "perjury" charge for thwarting the punitive impulses of an ambitious prosecutor. Sitting next to her in the Grangeville courtroom on March 7, 2006 was Colorado attorney Paul Grant, who had represented Laura Kriho, another woman who had been maliciously prosecuted for exercising her authority as a fully informed juror in the 1996 narcotics trial of a 19-year-old girl charged with possession of methamphetamine.

Along with other potential jurors, Kirho was asked by the judge if there was "anything" in her past that "would interfere with your sitting as a fair and impartial juror." She didn't disclose that as a teenager she had received a deferred sentence on a minor drug charge, which was subsequently dismissed (but not removed from the record – nothing ever is). She also supported both drug de-criminalization and jury nullification.
During jury deliberations, Kriho annoyed the other panelists by casting doubt on the reliability of the chief prosecution witness – the arresting officer in the case. She also pointed out that the likely sentence seemed wildly disproportionate to the offense. One juror sent a note to District Judge Kenneth Barnhill demanding that Kriho be dismissed. This led to a mistrial – after which a juror contacted the judge to accuse Kriho of conspiring to hang the jury by not disclosing her beliefs.
Initially charged with felony perjury, Kriho was acquitted of that offense but found guilty of "contempt" and fined $1,200 by Gilpin County Judge Henry Nieto.
As Paul Grant pointed out, Kriho was the first American to be convicted of "the newly minted crime of failure to volunteer information during jury selection. No longer is it enough to honestly answer the questions you are asked; now you also have to answer the questions you were not asked, but that you 'knew' the judge wanted answered."
This was the supposed crime for which Larry Wasden wanted to imprison Carol Asher – and the struggle to beat back that spurious prosecution cost her thousands of dollars she didn't have.
"At the time, I was 66 years old, and although I've tried to take care of myself a 14-year sentence would probably have meant that I would have died in prison," Asher pointed out to me.
This isn't to say that Wasden is incapable of exercising discretion, and modulating his zeal for justice, as he pretends to understand it, on behalf of first-time offenders. About a year after he tried to arrange for Asher to finish her mortal days in prison, Wasden approved a ridiculously lenient sentence for Kevin Buttars, a former Montpelier, Idaho Police Officer who beat, choked, and sexually assaulted a man named Jared Finley.
Given that he was armed and committed his crime with the aid of several armed colleagues, his act qualified as aggravated battery under Idaho law, for which the prescribed penalty is up to fifteen years in prison. (By itself, the chokehold he inflicted on Finley constitutes "attempted strangulation," which is also punishable by a term of fifteen years.)
At the very least, Buttars was guilty of "unnecessary assault by a police officer," which for some reason is considered a misdemeanor in Idaho. The specified punishment for that crime is a year in jail and a $5000 fine. This is a lighter punishment than the typical Idaho resident would receive for driving with a suspended license.
Wasden signed off on a plea deal under which Buttars served two weeks in jail, paid a $500 fine and court costs, and spent a year on probation – time he put to productive use by filing a "wrongful termination" lawsuit against the City of Montpelier.
Lawrence Wasden was just as expansively accommodating toward a violent degenerate in a government-issued costume as he was perversely determined to imprison an elderly woman for the supposed crime of being a conscientious juror. He vindicates one of my oft-repeated maxims: People who don't despise prosecutors simply aren't paying attention.

December 28, 2012

William Norman Grigg [send him mail] publishes the Pro Libertate blog and hosts the Pro Libertate radio program.

Copyright © 2012 William Norman Grigg

Happy New Year Fellow Libertarians,
I’m still smiling when I think about the results from the 2012 Election.
The hard work and generous donations of our members, affiliate state parties, Libertarian candidates and campaign teams made it happen. Many thanks to every one of you who helped.
I smile even more when I see inquiries pouring in from Libertarians who want to explore the possibility of running for office in 2013 or 2014. We’ve received 370 inquiries since early November — more than double the number we received in either 2010 or 2008.
In order to support these candidates, and make room for more, we need to continue to grow the Libertarian Party. More members means more candidates, more volunteers, more donors, and stronger affiliate parties in each state.
We’re getting ready to send prospecting letters to allied groups in the liberty movement. To do this, we need funds for printing, mailing, and list rentals.
Based on past prospecting efforts, every $51 you donate up front will bring in one new LP member. However, during the next three years, that new member donates over $153 dollars to Libertarian Party — plus votes Libertarians and supports Libertarian candidates. A triple win. It’s an investment that pays off for liberty.
Plus, every 25 new Libertarian Party members generates one additional Libertarian candidate on the ballot during the next election cycle.
The more we grow, the bigger our Libertarian voice. The bigger our voice, the more influence we will have to stop the explosive growth of Big Government. To turn it around and advance our Libertarian solutions for lower taxes, less Big Government, less foreign meddling, and more freedom.
Will you please donate today?
If you can afford a large donation of $5,000, it will generate almost 100 new LP members. A $2,500 donation generates nearly 50 new members. A $1,000 donation will bring in almost 20 new members. If you can, would you please donate $5,000 or $2,500 or $1,000 today?
If donating $250 or $500 is more doable for you, won’t you please donate today and bring in new members?
If you can spare $150 or $100 or $50, would you please make a donation now? Any amount you donate will help us sign up more new members.
Please help us build on the momentum we created in 2012. Please donate today to grow the Libertarian Party – and advance liberty.
May the New Year bring you and your family good fortune, happiness and health.
With appreciation,

Carla Howell
Executive Director
National Libertarian Party

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Fiscal Cliffhanger: A Study in Government Fear Mongering
The Libertarian Party Says: Cut Federal Spending Now

An open letter to American voters from Geoffrey J. Neale, Chair, Libertarian National Committee

Dear Voter,

You’re being scammed. Conned. Deceived.

Big Government politicians are trying to whip you into a frenzy of fear over what they like to call the “fiscal cliff.”

But it’s just their latest episode of a cliffhanger drama. They’re using it to continue their reckless government overspending and stampede you into paying higher taxes.

Why are they combining massive tax increases with “reductions” in federal government spending — and giving it a scary name?

Tax increases and government spending reductions are polar opposites when it comes to their impact.

Tax hikes hurt you. They diminish your family’s wealth and hurt the economy.

Government spending cuts are good for your family. They transfer money out of the reckless, irresponsible, wasteful government sector that consumes wealth and into the productive, private sector that creates wealth.

By blending tax hikes with (alleged) government spending cuts, they try to convince you that they’re all part of one scary package. That both things are bad.

To add injury to insult, their phony “fiscal cliff” doesn’t include a dime of actual government spending cuts. Just pretend reductions in future spending.

Big Government politicians are using embezzlers’ accounting tricks to avoid removing waste and truly discretionary spending from today’s federal budget. They refuse to balance the budget now — the way you have to every month with your family budget.

They threaten us with insanely inflated tax increases — while demanding praise for any taxes that they don’t raise.

It’s as if a thief breaks into your house and threatens to take your new flat-screen TV, your car, all your precious jewelry, and your kids’ favorite electronic games — and then takes just the car and a few rings. He makes you feel relieved that you still have your TV, the kids’ games, and the rest of your jewelry.

On New Year’s Day, what did Big Government politicians actually vote for?

They voted to rip you off an average of $800 a year MORE — a 2 percent increase in your Social Security payroll tax. While they bragged that they were doing you a favor.

They raised a pile of other taxes as well, including taxes on estates, higher incomes, investment income, health care, and businesses.

These Democratic and Republican tax hikes will allow them to rake in a total of $514 billion in new revenue and will destroy millions of private sector jobs. While we have 8 percent unemployment.

While raising taxes, they refused to cut a dime from this year’s government spending. They didn’t even allow their phony future spending cuts to stand.

But they did slip into the deal loads of new federal spending, adding even more to this year’s $1.3 TRILLION deficit.

More government debt = higher taxes for you. Government debt devalues the dollars you earn and save. This hidden tax will gouge you just as surely as a direct tax would. Instead of taking it out of your paycheck, it will cost you in the form of higher prices you will pay for groceries, utilities and virtually everything you buy.

This is what you get when you vote for either Democrats or Republicans. Higher taxes. Higher government spending. More government debt. Higher prices. More unemployment.

It doesn’t matter which of the two you vote for. For all the posturing and gamesmanship, both Democrats and Republicans are peas of a pod. Birds of a feather. They are both addicted to Big Government.

Libertarians have the solution, and it’s simple. To immediately revive the American economy, we must dramatically cut total government spending now.

Every dollar transferred out of government coffers and back into the private sector creates business investment and jobs.

Libertarian candidates who ran for federal office in 2012 called for big spending cuts and balancing the budget now, including Gov. Gary Johnson for president. He proposed to immediately slash spending by at least $1.3 trillion in 2013 to balance the budget his first year in office.

American voters: Help us help you. Join the Libertarian Party today. Help us run bold Libertarian candidates who will eliminate wasteful and bloated Big Government programs now, dramatically reduce government spending now, stabilize the dollar, and cut your taxes.

If you want less government, lower government spending, and much lower taxes, please join the Libertarian Party today.

Yours in liberty,

Geoffrey J. Neale
Chair
Libertarian National Committee

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P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government, to do so in the most humane way possible, to greatly reduce taxes, and to slash high government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution.

   

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From Our Friend In Liberty, John Todd!

Calendar of Events for your consideration:

Tuesday, January 8, 2013; The Sedgwick County Area Legislative delegation will be taking public comments from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in the Jury Room of the Sedgwick County Courthouse, 525 N. Main, Wichita, Ks. (Please use the north entrance to the Courthouse).  This is your opportunity as a citizen to let the local legislators know your wishes on issues that will be considered during the 2013 legislative session.  In the past, each person wishing to talk has been limited to about 3 minutes depending on the number of people wishing to speak.  If you are part of a group with a common agenda, the conventional wisdom is that your presentation will be more effective if you limit your comments to issues that are different than those that have already been brought up by previous speakers. 

Thursday, January 10, 2013; The South Central Kansas Legislative Delegation will be taking testimony from local governmental units (i.e. City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, USD-259, etc.) and other organizations of influence (i.e. Chamber of Commerce, Wichita Independent Business Association, etc.) regarding their 2013 legislative agendas.  The meeting will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Wichita State University Hughes Metroplex (Suderman Room), located on the southeast corner of 29^th Street and Oliver.  The public is invited to attend this meeting; however, the public will not be able to formally address the legislative delegation.  This meeting provides an opportunity for citizens to learn about local governmental agendas, and issues that will be promoted and considered during the 2013 legislative session.  It also provides an opportunity for citizens to network with area legislators during meeting breaks and other locally elected officials as well as non-elected people that influence public policy. 

Monday, January 14, 2013; The Wichita Chapter of Americans for Prosperity Foundation—Kansas will be hosting a public forum from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Spangles Restaurant, 612 S. Broadway, Wichita, Kansas.  The topic, “GOOD INTENTIONS GONE WRONG” with John Stossel, featuring short DVD video presentations followed by group discussion.  Topics include, Job Creation Gone Wrong; Innovation: Private vs. Public; Collaboration Leads to Innovation, and the Mystery of Happiness:  Is Happiness Relative?  There is no cost to attend the meeting.  Guests may order food from the Spangles menu at their own cost if they desire to do so.  Please join us and bring guests with you.    

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John R. Todd
john@johntodd.net
1559 Payne
Wichita, Kansas 67203
(316) 312-7335 cell

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