-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ======================================= NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org ======================================= For release: March 2, 2000 ======================================= For additional information: George Getz, Press Secretary Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================= Mom faces jail sentence in battle over breast-feeding versus jury duty WASHINGTON, DC -- An Idaho mother may be thrown into jail because she thinks that breast-feeding her daughter is more important than jury duty -- and she's 100% correct to think that, says the Libertarian Party. "This is a case of a hungry child versus a power-hungry government that doesn't care about families," charged Steve Dasbach, Libertarian Party national director. "Sadly, the government may win, and one small child may temporarily lose her mother because of an unfair, inflexible mandatory jury duty system. "Courts are supposed to produce justice -- but no justice can come from a system that has the power to toss a mother into a jail cell because she wants to nourish her daughter." On March 13, Siri Wright of Boise, Idaho will face contempt of court charges at the Ada County Courthouse. Her crime: Refusing to predict for a jury commissioner when she will stop breast-feeding her two-year-old daughter. Supporters say Wright may have been targeted because of her unusual child-rearing method -- "ecological breast-feeding" -- which allows children to wean themselves during a process that can take two to three years. Wright had first been called for jury duty in 1998, and was given a one-year postponement because she was breast-feeding. Called back in mid-1999, she said she could not predict when her daughter would wean herself. Despite the fact that Idaho law specifically excuses breast-feeding mothers from jury duty, the Jury Commissioner ordered her to report for jury duty on December 9 -- in effect, ordering Wright to stop breast-feeding. If convicted of contempt, Wright faces three days in jail and a $100 fine. And, more importantly, she would be separated from her daughter and son for the first time in their lives. The case is a stark reminder that while politicians talk about "helping families," the actual effect of government policies is frequently the exact opposite, said Dasbach. "Mothers, not judges, should decide when to breast-feed their children," he said. "Any legal system that considers mandatory jury duty more important than dedicated mother duty -- and would literally rip a nursing child out of the arms of her loving mother -- is a system that is the very definition of family-unfriendly." How would Libertarians solve the conflict between nursing mothers and the public need for juries? End mandatory jury duty, suggested Dasbach. "Compulsory jury duty rests on the assumption that your first obligation is to serve the state, not to serve yourself and your family," he said. "Jury duty is important, but it shouldn't override a mother's right to feed her child." Besides, said Dasbach, there's a simple way to ensure an adequate jury pool without trampling anyone's rights: Make jury service voluntary. "As long as there are people willing to act as jurors for the small payment the courts offer, the state has no reason to force unwilling people to serve," he said. "And if that isn't adequate, why not have paid professional juries, staffed by people who want to do the job -- instead of people who are forced to do it? Either solution is better than forcing unwilling parents into jury duty against their will. "As the case of Siri Wright makes clear, it's the government that really needs to be weaned -- from the notion that civic duty is more important than family duty." -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBOMAxs9CSe1KnQG7RAQELJwQAgE1i3Di5PHL8VTOwxnfew+PGwSxuGfdT JIt9jR9fOueHIKfcxbMRScgF8Ve7BWXK4HDPYTf8XnoeBQ/Kz2pfNLCJ8um4Itm+ 2grsfYyUp3mNlDsf/YgLxvtboJlplvowcxHl94+ppNTQTBgOqT15EPJOmeQaNV6S ghbzBXTAiPw= =os4N -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 For subscription changes, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with just the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Or use the WWW form at: http://www.lp.org/lp-announce-form.html <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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