Tuesday, September 27, 2011

FLORIDA JAIL FOR JUDGES






FLORIDA JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY INITIATIVE LAW
"J.A.I.L."
A Proposed Amendment to the Florida Constitution


Home - J.A.I.L. Initiative - Petition Form - About J.A.I.L. - Another County - News


The J.A.I.L. initiative is a movement that first emerged in California on the heels of judicial scandals that saw many judges and lawyers indicted for corrupt practices.  Popular sentiment to implement measures for judicial reform had been building for decades.  It culminated with the drafting of a legislative proposal by Ronald Branson, Member of California's 38th Assembly District Republican Central Committee, who also proposed that similar legislation be adopted for every state and the District of Columbia.


The J.A.I.L. proposal would create special grand juries to investigate complaints against judges.  These grand juries would have the power to discipline judges by levying fines, removing them from the bench and, where appropriate, subjecting them to criminal proceedings before special trial juries.  Under present law, the judiciary is entirely self-regulated, and this has led, in many instances, to intolerable abuses of judicial discretion. These have involved conflict of interest, denial of due process, withholding of evidence, and other violations of individuals' constitutional rights, including arbitrary and unjustified fines, sanctions, seizure of property, and detention.


United under the banner of JAIL4Judges is a broad coalition of citizens from all backgrounds, professions, and political persuasions who are dedicated to the mission of reforming the judiciary.  By means of petition, voters in Florida can compel the state legislature to place the J.A.I.L. proposal on the ballot for voter approval.  Thus, the gathering of signatures for the J.A.I.L. ballot initiative defines the next course of action for Florida citizens who are determined to work for judicial reform.

Only 48,869 signatures are needed to petition the Florida Supreme Court to rule on placing the constitutional amendment on the ballot, whereas with approx 650,000 signatures, the Supreme Court can be bypassed and the Florida legislature forced to submit the J.A.I.L. proposal for voter approval.
 
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. What is Jail4judges?
Our state representatives create bills or initiatives to be presented to the legislature and senate to make laws. If these bills or initiatives are voted on and passed they then have to be signed by the governor of the state, which makes the law official.   Sometimes referred to as Judicial Accountability and Integrity Legislation, Jail4judges is a Bill or Initiative called the Judicial Accountability Initiative Law.
2. What does the J.A.I.L. do?
The Judicial Accountability Initiative Law would remove a judge from the bench with three complaints from citizens within 30 days regarding violations of the law. The judge would then have to appear before a special grand jury. J.A.I.L. cannot be used against anyone else other than a judge. Click here to read the J.A.I.L. Initiative.
3. What can I do to help get  J.A.I.L. going?
Once you visit www.floridajail4judges.org website you can click "Petition" and print out a Petition form. On the petition form you sign your name, address, city, state along with your voter I.D. number OR your date of birth. Place your signature on the bottom and mail your Petition to the address on the bottom left hand corner of the page, which is  
Nancy Grant, Chairperson
Florida J.A.I.L. 4 Judges
P.O.Box 305
Arcadia, FL 34265
.
4. What can I do to become involved in JAIL4judges?
The state of Florida has 67 counties. Each county needs what we call a "County Rep". If you would like to become a County Rep for your county contact Nancy Grant, her contact information is on the website. 
5. What happens if I become a County Rep of my county for JAIL4judges?
If you decide to become a County Rep of your county, your contact information may be placed on the page of your county. Click "Another County" on the website and the state of Florida will come up. As you click your county, your contact information will appear. The listing of your contact info is NOT mandatory. 
If you do NOT wish to be listed on the website, your contact info will be retained for our mailing list, for you to receive various emails, website updates, announcements, etc. from Florida's JAIL4Judges. The contact list is called "Friends of J4J". As a "Friend", your contact info will NOT be exchanged, rented, leased, or sold in any way. (a prudent choice for lawyers and judges, and anyone else with sensitive jobs).
6. What do I do as a County Rep for my county for JAIL4judges?
As a County Rep for your county you simply become the contact person for all those residing in your county who sign the JAIL4judges petitions. The residents in your county would mail the Petitions to you. You would hold on to these Petitions until you collect at least 100 of them. 
Every County Rep (with exception to Friends of J4J) must collect a minimum of 100 signed petitions BEFORE sending them in. This will help with postage costs, by sending them in batches of 100. Every time 100 signed petitions are collected, tell Nancy the number collected, then send them in.
We will keep a tally of the total number of signed petitions collected from each county. 
7. What do I do with the Petitions once I have 100 of them?
The Petitions are to be turned in to your local SOE, Supervisor oElections in your county. Your SOE then will verify each petition that it is signed by a registered voter. The SOE after that will forward a letter to the Tallahassee, Division of Elections, stating how many verified petitions were received. Once the Division of Elections has the letter from your local SOE the number of verified Petitions will be added to the roster. Please contact Nancy Grant for the address of your county SOE.
8. Where can I collect Petitions if I want to do more than just sign mine?
You can set up booths at festivals, city and county meetings. You can go door to door at businesses because the JAIL4judges Petitions are not considered soliciting since you will not be collecting money. If you find someone who volunteers to donate while your collecting Petitions they are allowed to donate by check or money orders. We do not encourage cash donations.
Our PayPal donations account has been temporarily suspended.:
9. Why are we collecting petitions instead of our state representatives taking up this issue for us?
There are many senators and state representatives that are attorneys. Realtors and bankers make up another large part of the remaining. JAIL4judges if passed into law will have a positive change on the corruption flowing from our Real Estate Brokers, Banks, and courts involving the taking of children, homes, property and over all lives. We believe JAIL4Judges is the ONLY ANSWER to our current economic problems. JAIL4judges has been presented to our elected officials, but so far, none have come forward to promote Judicial Accountability and Integrity Legislation. NOT EVEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES.
10. Can I contact my state representative about the JAIL4judges bill?
Yes, by all means do so. We encourage you to do so in writing and we would like to be informed of any response.
          You may also go to the following link to find your state Rep:
          http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=FL

          To find which congressional district you live in, just look on your voter's registration card. 
          Then go to this link.
11. How many Petitions do we need to collect to get JAIL4judges on the ballot?
Only 48,869 signatures are needed to petition the Florida Supreme Court to rule on placing the constitutional amendment on the ballot. BUT, due to our belief that the Florida Supreme Court is completely untrustworthy, whereas with approx 650,000 signatures, the Supreme Court can be bypassed and the Florida legislature forced to submit the J.A.I.L. proposal for voter approval. This number is divided up into districts. To find out what district your county is in, contact the Rep of your county for JAIL4judges. If there isn't a county rep, contact Nancy Grant.
12. What if we don't get them all in by [the next election year]? 
The JAIL4judges political action committee is on-going, so petitions collected this year can be used in the following election year.
13. Can I contact other groups or websites about JAIl4judges?
Yes
 

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