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Trial by jury + Right to counsel = the heart and soul of our criminal justice system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, when the authorities charge a person with a crime, we are often prone to make quick judgments ..... our first thought is always “GUILTY” ... that’s just sort of the way we are wired ....
On the other hand ... our Founding Fathers, recognizing the dangers of the unbridled power of the King, created a system of justice that is designed to protect the innocent.
In that spirit, our system of justice deliberately makes it difficult and demanding for the State to convict a person of a crime. And that first check ‘n balance is one’s constitutional right to a trial by jury.
And that is why we are gathered in this courtroom today, because no criminal wrongdoing ever occurred. .... because the Buck stops with you, the jury ...."
Others help, of course.
Thank god we have them. Many said they were not necessary. But, boy, they were necessary.
The 4th Amendment is the second most important.
The 2nd is the least important.
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2nd. The Right To Bare Arms.
Followed closely by the 19th.
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Nominate and approve in the same way, but with regional residency/education requirements.
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...repealing the 17th Amendment, and forcing the States to select (with recall rights) Senators (either by the State Legislature or the Governor of each state, as determined by the state legislature).
We need to stop this nonsensical belief that pure democracy is better than the Federal Constitutional Republic the Founding Fathers gave us. Democracy is like whiskey...a very good thing, until you drink too much of it.
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