The People’s Grand Jury

By Daniel Clements April 2, 2009

When I started my radio show ‘BACK to BASIC’ in October of 2007 I was looking for a political answer in my life, I just did know what the question was. For the next one and a half years I was searching for that question, and today I found that question. The question is how can I, one individual stop a tyrannical government from destroying our nation? I knew the answer to this question was out there and it always seemed to be just out of reach.

Last night while listening to Andrea Shea King’s radio show on blog talk radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/HeadingRight/ASKShow I heard an interview she was doing with a gentleman named Carl Swenson. Carl Swenson heads up a group called rise up for America and can be found on the web at http://www.riseupforamerica.com/ On March 28 a grand jury in the city of Stockbridge Georgia returned an indictment against Barak Hussein Obama Regarding the matter of his American citizenship. The indictment that the grand jury handed up against Barak Hussein Obama has been delivered to the proper authorities in the state of Georgia.

The answer to my question is found in the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment reads ‘No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of war or public Danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence To be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, Liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.’ The long sought for answer to my question is the Grand Jury system.

The Grand Jury is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government. It is a system that has been leftover from British common law and is still in force today through the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Leo Donofrio wrote an article called ‘The Federal Grand Jury is the fourth branch of government.’ It can be found at http://www.cusc.org/editorial/3563.htm. I urge you to go read Mr. Leo Donofrio’s article and pay particular attention to the historical and legal references that are quoted in the article. In 1946 the Federal rules of Criminal Procedure Was adopted to simplify law procedure in the criminal law. Nowhere in rule six or seven have pronouncements been eliminated. Only in note Four were pronouncements addressed and then they were deemed only to be obsolete.
Two justices of the United States Supreme Court, Justice Powell in 1972, And Justice Antonin Scalia in 1992, Stated that the Grand Jury was rooted in centuries of Anglo-American history. Nowhere have I found any modification to the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. There have been no new amendments Added to the United States Constitution that would modify the Fifth Amendment. Congress cannot pass a bill, and the president cannot sign said Bill into law to change the United States Constitution. In order to do away with the Grand Jury there would by necessity need to be a new amendment added to the constitution to change the Fifth Amendment. Also according to Mr. Leo Donofrio’s Article Grand Juries can be convened by We the People without a prosecutor or permission from a sitting judge. The only thing that is necessary for a grand jury to be legal is that it be sworn in by a sitting judge. It is my understanding that a Grand Jury can be seated on a State and Federal level.

I can understand why politicians would want to do away with The People’s Grand Jury. Nowhere is there any provision in election law to recall a politician once they are elected. And the way the two party systems are set up today it is almost impossible to unseat an incumbent politician, even when the politician is operating outside of the constraints of the United States Constitution. I do not recommend that the People’s Grand Jury be used to overturn elections, but when politicians become tyrannical and operate as if they are above the law; the people need to take a course of action in order to protect this great country from tyrants and would be dictators. We as citizens of the United States of America have not only a right but a duty to seat a People’s Grand jury to root out evil in our government and the bureaucracies it controls.

I have been considering this course of action with some fear and trepidation because I know how easily a People’s Grand Jury can be used for partisan political purposes. But let me be the first to warn anyone who would try to abuse the People’s Grand Jury system for their own personal ends, you will be found out and laid bare before the court of public opinion by myself and other members of the new mainstream media. The United States Constitution is the basis on which all of our laws are based and must be considered in all of the People’s Grand Jury considerations. By using the United States Constitution as our standard for judgment we can be reasonably assured that the People’s Grand Juries will be just and equitable to all citizens Involved.

In a way I am glad that President Obama Has fought the inquiry into his American citizenship. I believe this has awakened a sleeping giant in the American people, called the rule of law. What the founding fathers tried to accomplish with the establishment of state governments, and the state’s establishing the Federal government, was a level playing field for all citizens, both natural and naturalized to live on. In a Constitutional Republic all men and women are equal, from the poorest of the poor, to the richest of the rich, from the least political among us, to the holder of the highest political office in America.

But if we are to be a nation that believes in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness we need to be able to hold one another accountable before the law. No one is above the law and no one should be able to break the supreme law of the land, the United States constitution. Those to whom we give consent to govern over us should remember that they are citizens just like everyone else in America. And when our politicians no longer feel that they are accountable to We the People, our only recourse is to hold them accountable before the law through the People’s Grand Jury system. Sometimes we can’t wait for elections, because too much damage can be done by the politicians, and People’s memories are way to short.

I urge you to please listen to Andrea Shea King’s show and read the articles I have cited above and make your own determination about the people’s grand juries. Time is running out for this great Republic that we call America, we need to act quickly in order to save our constitution, our country, and perhaps even our own lives.

Dan Clements is a member of the Constitution Party and the host of BACK TO BASIC a Christian/political internet talk show. You can listen to Dan live from 10am-12 noon EST. M-F at www.blogtalkradio.com/dan-clements and www.constitutionalwarrior.com
Copyright © 2009 by constitutionalwarrior.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is granted, provided full credit is given

Contract law is the basis for a civilized society!

By Dan Clements 03/16/2009

Wikipedia tells us “A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do, or refrain from doing, an act which is enforceable in a court of law. It is a binding legal agreement. [1] That is to say, a contract is an exchange of promises for the breach of which the law will provide a remedy.”
How are a contract and the law that enforces it the basis for a civilized society? Using the Wikipedia definition of a contract, we exchange promises with each other, groups, or business. When we fail to live up to those contracts there are only two remedies that we can use. One remedy is we enforce the contract through force that we employ ourselves, or we can go to court and use the force of law and it’s penalties to enforce the contract. If we enforce the contract ourselves, two things happen, 1; the outcome is not guaranteed, and 2; the society doesn’t benefit from the outcome by making the outcome common law that would apply to the society as a whole.
Contracts can come in two main forms, verbal and written. Verbal contracts can be enforced by law, but the burden of proof can sometimes come down to a he said, she said situation unless there are witness to the verbal contract. Written contacts are more binding and easier to prove what both parties promised to do. Sometimes wording in written contracts make a huge impact on the performance of the contract. That’s why written contracts should be carefully worded not to only follow the letter of the promises in the contract, but also the spirit of the promises in entering the contracts.
Let me be real clear here, if you are entering a contract with the idea that if things go wrong with my performance of the contract, I can just go and get an attorney and get out of that contract, you are not acting in good faith from the start of the contract process! Now I realize that sometimes life happens, and sometimes unforeseen things happen that neither we nor anybody could foresee or control. When the aforementioned happens, we should go to the person in who we have entered the contract with and see if the contract can be reworked or relief can be had. But it should always start with the parties that are involved, and then if a satisfactory outcome can not be reach, then and only then should the matter come before the law for adjudication.
These principles can’t be applied to the current economic crisis because people on both sides of the contract process were not acting in good faith and could foresee the outcome of their choices, but refused to live in reality!
What is happening today is too many people make promises with the intent that if things go bad; they are going to break their promise and walk away from their obligations found in the contract that they entered. People who do this are not acting as good moral agents, and when this happens, society breaks down and everything comes to a screeching halt!
Politicians enter into a contract with those they govern. Publicly traded companies have a fiduciary contract with their share holders, not only to make them money, but to be good stewards of their investments. Marriage is a contract, and a lot of folks don’t live up to their obligations in the marriage. People enter into real-estate and mortgage contracts with certain expectations. The borrower says they have sufficient means and ability to service a mortgage, and the lender has the stability to be able to lend the money to the borrower. You name the contract, and both parties are expected to live up the agreements stated in the contract.
I’m a New Testament Christian and I have a verbal contract with God, which is sealed in the blood of Jesus through baptism. God has made promises to me in his word, and has expectations of me in order to receive his promises. If I fail to live up to my end of the contract with God, I should have no expectations of God delivering on his promises to me.
James Madison said in Federalist papers #51 “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” Men are not angels and that is why we need contracts and the Law in order for our society to exist. If men and women could be trusted to keep their word, then verbal contracts would be all sufficient. However since we are not angels and people break their promises; we need to hold each other accountable before the law and each other!


Dan Clements is a member of the Constitution Party and the host of BACK TO BASIC a Christian/political internet talk show. You can listen to Dan live from 10am-12 noon EST. M-F at www.blogtalkradio.com/dan-clements and www.constitutionalwarrior.com
Copyright © 2009 by constitutionalwarrior.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is granted, provided full credit is given