On the record
Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all defence whatsoever against oppression.
Said by
Lysander Spooner
Source
gutenberg.orgLysander Spooner: “Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all…”
Editor's note · Context
Spooner claims that denying a jury's right to protect individuals from unjust laws denies them all defense against oppression.
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More from Lysander Spooner
But there is no reason why a judge should have the power of punishing, for contempt, any more than for any other offence.
It was simply, that they would neither convict the innocent, nor acquit the guilty.
They cannot claim or expect that the whole people shall practise the folly of taking on trust their pretended superior knowledge, and of committing blindly into their hands all their own interests, liberties, and rights, to be disposed of…
It is also sheer impudence, on their part, to assume that their commands are at all necessary to teach other men what is, and what is not, justice.