Liberty Quotes

"My own view rests on the premise that nullification can and should serve an important function in the criminal process ... The doctrine permits the jury to bear on the criminal process a sense of fairness and particularized justice ... The drafters of legal rules cannot anticipate and take account of every case where a defendant’s conduct is “unlawful” but not blameworthy, any more than they can draw a bold line to mark the boundary between an accident and negligence. It is the jury -- as spokesmen for the community’s sense of values -- that must explore that subtle and elusive boundary. ... I do not see any reason to assume that jurors will make rampantly abusive use of their power. Trust in the jury is, after all, one of the cornerstones of our entire criminal jurisprudence, and if that trust is without foundation we must reexamine a great deal more than just the nullification doctrine." -Chief Judge David L. Bazelon U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit Source: U.S. v. Dougherty, 473 F. 2d 1113, 1141-42 (dissent) (1972)
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/David.Bazelon.Quote.D76F

"Under the constitution, there was never meant to be a federal police force. Even an FBI limited only to investigations was not accepted until this century. Yet today, fueled by the federal government’s misdirected war on drugs, radical environmentalism, and the aggressive behavior of the nanny state, we have witnessed the massive buildup of a virtual army of armed regulators prowling the States where they have no legal authority. The sacrifice of individual responsibility and the concept of local government by the majority of American citizens has permitted the army of bureaucrats to thrive." -Dr. Ron Paul (1935-) American physician, US Congressman (R-TX), US Presidential candidate Source: Is Federal Police Force Constitutional?, THE LIBERTY POLE, October, 1997
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Ron.Paul.Quote.CE3D