BillLawrenceOnline

By a Jury of his Peers

By Bob Small

According to 1215 Magna Carta – Clause 39, “No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or disseised, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any other way ruined, nor will we go against him or send against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers”.

However, there is now a dissenting view Magna Carta and Trial by Jury.

In England, recently, there has been a significant backlog of cases, about 80,000 , with many trials being listed far into the future.

Potential problem areas include whether defendants are being judged by a “representative cross-section of society”, concentration of decisions in a single individual, and that “this may not significantly reduce delays”, rather than addressing “funding, staffing, and court capacity”.

There is a plan to scrap jury trials in England and Wales

Unless the expected prison sentence is more than five years, defendants would not be allowed to ask for a jury trial. Mike Evans, President of the Law Society of England and Wales, called the proposals “extreme”.

“This is a fundamental change to how our criminal justice system operates, and it goes too far,” he said.

There were 78,000 cases pending currently, as compared to 38,000 at the end of 2019.

Another possible negative effect, would be for women who were victims of violence.

Labor MP Natalie Fleet, said , “You know what’s worse than being raped? Facing years of waiting to see if people believe you.” Academic Kitty Lymperopoulou advocated for jury trials, saying “Conversely, the involvement of 12 randomly selected people brings a wider range of lived experiences, insights and perspectives .”

For a dissenting view there’s this Birmingham, England woman who says in a caveat, “Just because we have done something for hundreds of years is not reason enough alone to keep doing it.”

Because U.S. Constitution – Article III | Resources | Library of Congress, U.S. Constitution – Sixth Amendment | Library of Congress and U.S. Constitution – Seventh Amendment | Library of Congress all guarantee our rights to Jury trials, this seems safe here. Unless we fear Prince Shapiro changing this in Pennsylvania.

See also The Ox-Bow Incident

12 Angry Men (1957)

Both with the indefatigable Henry Fonda.

When Is Violence Implied?

By Bob Small

Eight students from Swarthmore College are facing charges, including expulsion, for distributing protest fliers that, at least, implied violence. Specifically, the 37 profile photos of the college’s Board of Managers, were shown under the “firearm scopes cross hairs”.

If this was a radical political group targeting conservatives, would we consider this differently?

Just asking.

On the fifth of March, at a time when the Board of Managers was at the Swarthmore Inn for its quarterly meeting, someone spray- painted “Board of Butchers”. Again, see above.

Meanwhile, at least one of these students discovered they had been filmed by security cameras. There has also been surveillance at Bryn Mawr, Haverford and who knows where else. (see article below)

Swarthmore has been increasing surveillance especially when students were found shaking an innocent camera. Who knows what other violence they were capable of!

Bryn Mawr has even hired Private Investigators! What Netflix series is that?

Meanwhile, at Haverford , it sounds like an honest-to-Delco brawl at Haviv Rettig Gur’s talk, “Roots, Return, and Reality: Jews, Israel, and the Myth of Settler Colonialism “. The WWE comes to Haverford!

From a quote from Swarthmore SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) For us, the Student Intifada shattered this facade with a sledgehammer. October 7^th, 2023 upended our world, and the ensuing movement and swift war of repression cemented our understanding of the university as an unsalveagably violent arm of the state.

There’s more, but that’s the main idea.

Let’s just conclude by maybe agreeing that both sides have “blood on their hands”.

Let’s also agree that violence won’t solve anything. It’s being tried and…..

Any protest now is only useful if it makes one feel better.

No mention in the Swarthmorean, Delco Times, or Town Talk.

Since the trial is in-college, the results will probably wait for Swarthmore SJP to send a notice.

Can Flip Philly Red succeed?

By Bob Small

During my time living and working in South Philadelphia, circa 1978-88, Republicans were as common as unicorns, and not as successful. So, when we first heard of a group called Flip Philly Red at the 2025 Bill of Rights Banquet, we put it on a list to look at later.

It turns out that Republicans are alive and well in Philadelphia. B

John McCauley, an Afro-Philadelphian representing FPR rose to confront the predominantly Democratic City Council of Philadelphia when it was considering a resolution in October urging both Pennsylvania senators to oppose ICE funding.

Eventually, his microphone was turned off which happens when one side doesn’t want to hear the other side. If they start to have Candidates (see below), then the Dems will have to listen.

Flip Philly Red was listed at a Philadelphia-based Keystone Town Hall and more appearances are expected.

This article describes McCauley as a “Trump-loving, America-first, registered Republican” speaking at City Hall as Philadelphia’s “intellectual mausoleum”.

Other major cities, like LA and NYC, are also building these movements, but Swarthmore, for instance, is not yet in any danger of being “flipped”, but grassroots agitators are working towards those goals.

See also:

Black Republican revolution brewing in Philadelphia?

Chicago Flips Red

Our Candidates – Chicago Flips Red