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Jury activist arrested for exercising First Amendment rights
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On Monday, October 26, for the second straight week, Julian Heicklen arrived at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan to pass out pamphlets to prospective jurors.
The pamphlet, from the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) entitled “A Primer for Prospective Jurors” informs jurors of their right to judge the law and its application as well as the facts in a case, regardless of the judge's instructions to the contrary.
A week earlier he was confronted by Homeland Security and two federal marshals who told him that he could not distribute literature on federal property without a permit.
Heicklen, who describes himself as "a non-violent civil rights activist for over 60 years" was ready with his response.
"I stated that I had a permit, and removed my pocket US Constitution from my pocket. They informed me that they had the same document. I told them to read Amendment I."
Eventually, after refusing to identify himself or move along as ordered, he was placed under arrest. At that point, Heicklen did what he usually does; he fell to the ground and remained limp and silent.
After being handcuffed and searched for his identity (he never carries any) he was transported to Saint Vincent Hospital by ambulance.
Eventually, a psychiatrist interviewed him and, as Heicklen reports it, "He decided that I was a harmless nut and released me."
After recovering most of his property – the police had confiscated his JURY INFO sign – Heicklen signed the hospital release papers as "Ayn Rand" and went home.
Julian Heicklen (center) during a series of Marijuana Smokeouts in
April through June, 1998, supported by the Centre County Libertarian
Party and Smart on Crime, a citizen's lobby to reduce the prison
population. (photo courtesy of Julian Heicklen website)
His second trip to the Manhattan courthouse on Monday, October 26, was a near repeat of the previous Monday.
Once again he went limp and silent while he was arrested, handcuffed, and transported by ambulance, this time to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital.
Heicklen again describes his experience: "I did not talk to any of the personnel, including the psychiatrist. They left me alone for a while. The police left. After awhile the psychiatrist returned and read a copy of my flyer. His comment was that this was a free speech case and he agreed with me. He ordered that I be discharged."
A Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University, Julian Heicklen has a deep resume of "Justice Reform Activities." His activism, from the early 1960s to the present, as recounted on his website, includes work with the Congress of Racial Equality, Committee of Concerned Scientists, Amnesty International, Million Marijuana Marches, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Heicklen is also active in the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania.
Heicklen expressed his current civil rights concerns in an email to the Libertarian News Examiner.
"My intent for passing out FIJA literature is to stop the judges from lying to the juries. However, since I was removed by the Department of Homeland Security Police, the issue of more importance to me is the First Amendment issue of free speech. We cannot let the government prevent us from exercising our Constitutional rights on Federal land or any other public place. This we must fight without letup."
Heicklen vows to return to the same Manhattan courthouse on Monday, November 2.
The full account of his first two trips to Manhattan can be read on the New Jersey Libertarian Party website.
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