It’s the anniversary of the brave jurors who, on September 5, 1670, refused to convict William Penn of unlawful assembly simply for preaching in the street.
“Cler. How say you? is William Penn Guilty, &c. or Not Guilty.
Foreman. Not Guilty.
Cler. How say you? is William Mead Guilty, &c. or Not Guilty?
Foreman. Not Guilty.
Cler. Then hearken to your Verdict; you say that William Penn is Not Guilty in manner and form as he stands indicted; you say that William Mead is Not Guilty in manner and form as he stands indicted, and so you say all?
Jury. Yes, we do so.
Observ. The Bench being unsatisfied with the Verdict, commanded that every person should distinctly answer to their names, and give in their Verdict, which they unanimously did in saying, Not Guilty, to the great satisfaction of the assembly.
Rec. I am sorry, gentlemen, you have followed your own judgments and opinions, rather than the good and wholesome advice which was given you; God keep my life out of your hands, but for this the Court fines you 40 marks a man; and imprisonment till paid. At which Penn stept up towards the bench, and said:
Penn. I demand my liberty, being freed by the Jury.
Mayor. No, you are in for your fines.
Penn. Fines, for what?
Mayor. For contempt of the Court.
Penn. I ask, if it be according to the fundamental laws of England, that any Englishman should be fined or amerced, but by the judgment of his peers or jury; since it expressly contradicts the 14th and 29th chapters of the Great Charter of England, which say, ‘No freeman ought to be amerced but by the oath of good and lawful men of the vicinage.
Rec. Take him away, take him away, take him out of the Court.
Penn. I can never urge the fundamental laws of England, but you cry, Take him away, take him away. But it is no wonder, since the Spanish Inquisition hath so great a place in the Recorder’s heart. God Almighty, who is just, will judge you all for these things.
Observ. They hauled the prisoners into the Bale-dock, and from thence sent them to Newgate, for non-payment of their fines; and so were their Jury. But the Jury were afterwards discharged upon an Habeas Corpus, returnable in the Common-Pleas, where their commitment was adjudged illegal.”
To help you celebrate, the Fully Informed Jury Association has put together a selection of quotes from the trial of WIlliam Penn and William Mead that Jury Rights Day commemorates:
https://www.facebook.com/761593393851327/posts/4652075808136380/?d=n