Minutes of the Annual Meeting

Minutes of the Sixth Annual General Membership Meeting
on January 11, 1997 at the North Side Library, Des Moines

The following persons were elected by unanimous consent, on Saturday, January 11, 1997, as Officials of the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA), Iowa Chapter:

Dell Lawrence, Chair	Carl Olsen, Secretary
Tim Hird, Treasurer	John Hartog, News Letter Ed
Tim Hird, Membership Co-Chair	John Hartog, Membership Co-Chair
Carl Olsen, Iowa Coordinator	Bill Allred, Jr., Finance Chair
Dell Lawrence, Public Affairs Chair	John Hartog, Legislative Liaison

State Representative Ed Fallon, who represents House District 70 in Des Moines, addressed the meeting on the need to gain broad public support for fully informed juries. He suggested that we reach out to minority groups, since minority groups are finding themselves disproportionately under the supervision and control of the criminal justice system. Rep. Fallon reminded us that some of the strongest opposition to fully informed juries comes from attorneys. He was heavily criticized by attorney legislators in the Iowa House of Representatives after co-sponsoring the FIJA bill. After Rep. Fallon spoke, the suggestion was made that we seek support from criminal defense attorneys, because they would seem to be likely allies.

John Hartog, founder of the Iowa Chapter of the Fully Informed Jury Association (Iowa FIJA), addressed the meeting on the need to find an answer to the question that judges are frequently asking jurors these days, "Are you a member of the Fully Informed Jury Association?" No vote was taken, but the general consensus seemed to be, "Tell the truth." Don't lie or tell the judge, "It's none of your business." If enough jurors are thrown out of court, it may cause public resentment toward the judiciary. A record number of people voted to remove judges at the last election, indicating a growing dissatisfaction with the judicial system. John also mentioned ways that members and friends of FIJA can help lobby. John mentioned a book, the Legislative Directory, published by the Iowa Bankers Association, 418 6th Avenue, Suite 430, Des Moines, IA 50309-2438, tel. 515-286-4300, fax. 515-280-4140, which can be purchased for $10.

Dell Lawrence, an engineer for Rockwell International and newly elected chair of the Iowa FIJA, addressed the meeting on the need for activism of all varieties. Dell regularly hands out FIJA information at his local courthouse in Linn County. He also writes frequent letters to the editors of Iowa newspapers, and has an impressive collection of published articles. Dell recommended attending legislative breakfasts or other events where citizens can meet with their elected representatives and discuss fully informed juries. He suggested writing letters to legislators in the same style as a letter to the editor, and then sending a copy to the newspapers for publication. Dell reminded everyone to consider that newspapers often have limits on the lengths of letters they will publish. He said that letter writers should not try to talk about everything they know about fully informed juries. Just stay with one well-defined aspect.

Carl Olsen, an employee with the Iowa Department of Transportation and newly elected Secretary of Iowa FIJA, spoke briefly about the January 6 U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. vs. Watts, 95-1906. The justices noted that an acquittal "does not prove that the defendant is innocent; it merely proves the existence of a reasonable doubt as to his guilt." "We therefore hold that a jury's verdict of acquittal does not prevent the sentencing court from considering conduct underlying the acquitted charge, so long as that conduct has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence," the January 6 decision said.

Tim Hird, an employee with Midwest Power and newly elected Treasurer of Iowa FIJA, spoke briefly about our outstanding debt to Nite-Owl Printing. It was unanimously agreed to pay the debt immediately. It also was suggested that we not allow money to be spent that does not exist in the treasury, but there was an objection and the matter was not put to a vote. (Editor's note: Interestingly, the By-Laws already prohibit us from spending money we don't have in the treasury - however, this author is not sure that the By-Laws have ever been officially adopted - the copy provided to this author was not signed). (Mike Broughton will provide a signed copy.)

John Harvey, with Iowa VOCAL, suggested that juries should be required in juvenile court, rather than letting judges decide whether children should be removed from parents. Lynn Schulte, former state representative and lead sponsor for the FIJA bill during the 1995-1996 legislative session, offered the opinion that juries in juvenile court would be a tough issue and could dilute the work being done on introducing the FIJA bill. The matter was not put to a vote.

Dell Lawrence suggested that juror pay should be raised. In fact, he recently wrote a letter to the editor in the subject, which was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette and the Des Moines Register. Dell suggested that this was another way to get the name of the Fully Informed Jury Association into the media. Lynn Schulte agreed that this might be a popular issue with the public and could lend support to FIJA. The matter was not put to a vote.

Frank Brown, retired John Deere employee and past chair of Iowa FIJA, asked whether our membership dues of $25 per year are too high. Carl Olsen suggested that an alternate, "low income" membership of $15 be offered. An objection was made to the designation of "low income." It was then suggested that the alternate membership be designated as an "associate membership." Frank Brown asked, "What would be the difference between an 'associate member' and a 'member?'" It was agreed that the only difference would be in the designation "associate." Associate members would have the same rights as regular members. A vote was taken and the alternate membership designation of "associate member" at $15 per year was approved as an option for those who cannot afford the $25 membership dues.

Next meeting and adjournment. The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for sometime during the month of May (notices will be mailed when the date is finalized) and the meeting was adjourned.