INFORMED CITIZENS
Initiatives for the 2009 Legislative Session

 NOTE: This is an evolving process. These initiative will amended and added to based on input from Citizens of Texas and as the 2009 regular session of our Legislature progresses. Write to info@informed.org with your comments on these and your suggestions for revisions to the Laws that govern our the government on our Land to protect and serve the people of Texas.

Our overall OBJECTIVE this session is to make progress towards

Restoring THE RULE OF LAW on our Land of Texas

by daily, full time, contact with Legislators and their Staff.

The safety of the public is threatened whenever government (AKA "THE STATE") is free to imprison a private citizen of the State with impunity. Therefore; we have resolved to make the first two on this list top priority. What we are talking about here is the god-given rights of the Individual opposed by the godless communist that believe the STATE owns every citizen and all property of each citizen. The communist religion they subscribe to is based on the belief a citizen of the STATE  is only free to have property until the STATE, by and through its many actors, decides they want to take it, damage it, destroy it, impound or imprison it wrongfully, without providing any compensation to the victim.

1. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT; to correct error made in 1956 with the addition of §51-c of Article 3 to our Texas Constitution.

A.       The language “under such regulations and limitations as the Legislature may deem expedient” was not a part of the amendment presented to the Voters in the election in which this amendment was adopted. Therefore, it must be eliminated.

B.        The word “may”will be changed to “shall”. The Legislature “shall” provide for immediate aid and expedient compensation to any individual who has been imprisoned by the State, or any government entity operating under the jurisdiction of the State of Texas, on accusation the individual committed a penal or civil offense for which it was later revealed the person is not guilty.  

2. LIBERTY ACT. Liberty is an inherent and inalienable Right of the Individual member of the public. Therefore INFORMED CITIZENS has resolved to change The Act to Provide Compensation for Wrongful Imprisonment to bring it into compliance with the spirit and intent, as well as the plain language, of our Texas Constitution. We advocate compliance with Article 1, our Texas Bill of Rights, established by the blood sacrifice of the Founders of Texas in 1836, and with §51-c of Article 3 of our Texas Constitution, as passed by the voters in 1956. The statute must be revised to read:

A.       The presumption of innocence is restored upon relief from a conviction. Actual Innocence is presumed upon reversal with relief from conviction from any review of a conviction, including relief obtained by direct appeal.

B.        Reversal with Remand for retrial of the criminal case is not relief from a conviction. Reversal with Rendering is relief from a conviction. The law, applicable at the time of the original criminal accusation, is also relevant and material to the finding of actual innocence. The right to protection from ex post facto criminal law is to be preserved as inviolate. The Law, well as the facts, is material to any consideration of whether or not the innocence of the petitioner is actual.

C.       Funds are to be made available from whatever source for immediate payment upon administrative approval of an application or upon Final Judgment from the civil trial court finding actual innocence.   

3. OVERFLOW SYSTEM to clear the court dockets. JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED. We want to see the Establishment of an Overflow System for the Judicial Department of our State government. The structure of this system is to be developed. But its need is apparent.

A.       The Right to a speedy trial is essential to the preservation of Liberty and the establishment of Justice. Both the accuser believed by the State to be a victim, and the accused, are deprived of liberty and justice by delay of resolution or trial for the violation of a law providing penal penalties. Both the plaintiff and the defendant in courts with jurisdiction over non-criminal cases are deprived of Liberty and the establishment of Justice by delay of resolution or trial of the matter before the judicial department of our State of Texas.

B.        The Office of Court Administration is to monitor the docket of every Trial Court and every Appellate Court of our State. The Office of Court Administration is to create Overflow Courts. The Office of Court Administration is given authority, and funding, for appointing qualified persons to operate the Overflow Court System. Causes assigned to the court with original jurisdiction, that have not been resolved within six (6) months, or such other time period established by the Legislature, are to be sent to an Overflow Court for examination into the cause for the delay. Cases sent to the Overflow Court are to be reviewed to look for cause to impose sanctions on the parties and their counsel for violations of the Rules of Court and Law governing the Conduct of Attorneys. Administrators of the Overflow Court system may impose fines for violations for abuse of process. Cases sent to the Overflow Court are to be examined to determine what the Administrator of the Courts in that District, and the Judicial Official to which the cause has been assigned, and the Staff of the Judicial Official, might do to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system of justice under their control or influence.

C.       Cases not resolved within one year from filing are to again be reviewed and the Overflow Court Administration may then assign an appoint an Ancillary Judge to the Court of original jurisdiction to act as Presiding Judge over the causes assigned to them by the Judge elected to the Court.

D.       A similar system is to be developed and administered by the Office of Court Administration to the Courts of Appeals for the State of Texas. A target of disposing of all causes before a Court of Appeals within one year of filing of the appeal, or petition, is the goal of the Overflow Court System.  

4. PROFESSIONALISM ACT: The current system of regulating licensed professionals known as Attorneys who the public of Texas has trusted to practice their profession in the courts established at public expense is not working. The profession has fallen into disrepute and, with it, the reputation of our Judicial Department of government for our land known as Texas. The system of justice established to function on the land known as Texas no longer benefits the people of Texas and, as a result, the reputation of government on our land of Texas has been tarnished both at home, among our fellow Americans, and around the world. To correct this, the laws governing the conduct of Court Officials must be enforced. It is in the self-interest, and of benefit to, all members of that class of professionals, the lawyers who are licensed as an Attorney, if they have a good faith intent to preserve the blessing of liberty and establish justice as intended by the establishment of law on this land, to support this act. The details of the act, for achieving its stated purpose, is yet to be developed.

The Proposed bill will provide that Abuse of Process is actionable against any licensed lawyer (Attorney or Law firm), by any person abused an Attorney who brings a frivolous claim, asserts, or controverts an issue with a frivolous argument. Frivolous will be stipulated in the law as a question of fact for determination by jury as the trier of fact.

5. LIBERTY RESOLUTION: The Legislature resolves to reduce the incarceration rate in Texas to below a rate of 500 for every 100,000 people populating the land known as Texas within 10 years.

A.       Absent an invasion by a State foreign to the United States, or violent insurrection against the government entity known as THE STATE OF TEXAS, the incarceration rate of the population of people living on the Land of Texas will thereafter be capped by Amendment to our Texas Constitution to never exceed 500 per 100,000 people populating the land known as Texas.

B.        The first step towards this reduction in the imprisonment population (includes prison inmates and those jailed by any government entity operating on this land under the jurisdiction of THE STATE OF TEXAS) is to segregate the imprisoned who are not citizens, born or naturalized, as a Citizen of the United States, from the imprisoned who are Citizens. The Attorney General shall do all within his authority to have the Federal Government assume jurisdiction over the imprisoned aliens and the costs to the taxpayers of our State for processing the causes in which aliens are involved in the Judicial Department of government for our land of Texas.