1. Rights belong to individuals, not groups; they derive from our nature and can neither be granted nor taken away by government.
2. All peaceful, voluntary economic and social associations are permitted; consent is the basis of the social and economic order.
3. Justly acquired property is privately owned by individuals and voluntary groups, and this ownership cannot be arbitrarily voided by governments.
4. Government may not redistribute private wealth or grant special privileges to any individual or group.
5. Individuals are responsible for their own actions; government cannot and should not protect us from ourselves.
6. Government may not claim the monopoly over a people's money and governments must never engage in official counterfeiting, even in the name of macroeconomic stability.
7. Aggressive wars, even when called preventative, and even when they pertain only to trade relations, are forbidden.
8. Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.
9. All forms of involuntary servitude are prohibited, not only slavery but also conscription, forced association, and forced welfare distribution.
10. Government must obey the law that it expects other people to obey and thereby must never use force to mold behavior, manipulate social outcomes, manage the economy, or tell other countries how to behave.
1 Comments in Response to THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF A FREE SOCIETY - by Ron Paul
Concerning:
8. Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.
The authors of the Declaration of Independence refer to "consent of the governed". Those authors at that time were petitioning a Sovereign King. In the Declaration of Rights the Louisiana State Constitution, it is stated . . .
All government, of right, originates with the people, is founded on their will alone, and is instituted to protect the rights of the individual and for the good of the whole.
This is the first sentence in the Lousiana State Declaration of Rights.
Note that the DoI's "consent of the governed" has become "will of the people".
In Federalist Paper 78, Hamilton argues that the courts are a referee between the legislature and the people. The courts are to assure that the legislature does not substitute its will for that of the people.
Of course, if the legislature is not supposed to substitute its will for that of the people, neither is the court itself.
In the supremacy clause, the Constitution itself, legislation and treaties are the supreme law of the land. (Justice Marshall reads the Constitution this way in Marbury v Madison.) Court rulings are not on that list, somewhat affirming Hamilton's stated position in FP 78.
The Jury checks both the judicial and the legislative branch. A jury verdict (should, in theory) affirm or reject the application of a particular law in a particular case.
It is the last opportunity of the people to express their will in the arch of due process, which begins with legislation passed in pursuance of the constitution and ends (potentially) in the imposition of the legislatively prescribed penalty.
In Portugal (according to The Best of Imus, 12/30/2011), all drug use has been decriminalized. The rate of drug abuse has not changed in that country. But the attendant violence and corruption has been diminished greatly.
An article here on freedomsphoenix.com had the headline "Jury Refuses to Convict Anybody on Drug Use". Jury members have to live on the streets with the drive by shootings and other crimes. Jury members do not receive briefcases full of cash to look the other way. In acting to promote their own welfare, they point the way to promote the general welfare.