Owen

Ron Owen

----- Original Message -----

From: "Ron Owen" b3969976@spiderweb.com.au

Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 12:12 AM

Subject: Thank You All

To all our treasured Friends

A huge "Thank you", from the Owen Family in Gympie, for all your support in
this historic Trial. (The longest in Gympie's Legal History.)
It started four weeks ago, after years of committals, Pre-Trials and the
winning of the first Jury Trial, with a few days of preparation, it was set
down for three weeks. The Jury was selected and the Prosecutor spent two
days opening his case before we could even ask a question and begin to
return incoming fire. Many years ago a close friend of mine, a very
proficient lawyer said, "that winning cases is 99% preparation".
Today at 2.30 pm, into the forth week the Jury returned a verdict, it had
gone out at Lunchtime Monday and been locked up for the night. The Foreman
was taken through the counts one at a time, each one was worth Ten Years of
incarceration. As each charge was read out the Foreman answered " Not
Guilty" and the Jury said "and so say we all". Each time their was a little
sigh from the gallery. When the Jury Foreman got up to thirty some thing,
the Judge said, "Lets shorten this a bit, is their any charges of "Guilty"?
"No your Honour". Well how do you find the accused for the rest of the
charges? (Up to Fifty Six)
"Not Guilty" and the Jury said "and so say we" and the there was a loud
cheer from the gallery and everyone started shaking hands and ladies kissing
etc. It was to much for me, tears were streaming down my face, just raw
emotion.
If it was not for Frank Martin, Barrister they would have taken me away in
cuffs. He was brilliant and put in 99 % preparation and the extra brilliance
when ever it was needed.

Our friends, who without them, we would never have ever been able to keep up
the supply, of evidence, exhibits, information, computers, data projectors,
sandwiches, fruit salads, moral and support necessary to win. We had many
anxious exciting times, the last two morning, I packed my wash bag,
toothbrush etc. and a couple of thick history books, and as I drove away
from the house thinking I may never return.
I should not have worried because the State cannot beat people like Frank
Martin, and they sure never stood a chance against the team of stalwarts
that stood with us, that combined with the community spirit of Gympie was an
unbeatable combination.
" Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats we (he) did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words
.....................................................................
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the good man teach his son,
....................................
From this day to the ending of the world
But we in it shall be remembered,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
Henry V by Bill Shakespere
______________________________________________

The advantages of going through this experience are at first difficult to
perceive, but here is a few to start with.
1. You find out who your real friends are.
2. It is a great learning curve, not just on the law but on human
interaction.
3. Your fortunate, not many people have exciting lives, most are humdrum and
boring.
4. Not many people these days have the good fortune to get a Jury Trial, I
have had two, in two years.
5. Learning to keep your temper to yourself, whilst living on a few hours
sleep every night.
6. When your in the dock it teaches humbleness.
7. When you contemplate leaving home and spending years in prison, it makes
you magnify on a immense scale all those millions of little and huge things
in your home /work life which you appreciate so much, but take for granted.
8. You know that your family love you and they are made of steel, with
hearts of gold.
9. It is character building.
10. You know now, never to speak to a policeman because anything you might
say in your defence, is classed as self serving (in -admissable, irrelevent)
and any thing you say that they can mis-interpret to incriminate you will be
used in evidence against you. So its, Name rank and serial number and
address, or maybe "can I call my lawyer", nothing else.

Innocence, is not enough, the court system is weighted so heavily against
the accused that every day many innocent people plead guilty as they cannot
afford a defence or they are miss-advised. Everything is against them. The
justice system is little better than when the accused had to "put their
hands in boiling water without scalds" before they were judged innocent. So
when you hear that someone is before the court, do not judge, even if they
admit it.
Thank you all again
Ron, Andi, Meggie.

29 October 2003

Media Release. From Ron Owen

For an Further Information phone 07 54 825070

Is the Justice System a Tool of Oppression.

Rights. A Trial by Jury

Wrongs. That Legislation is enacted on a production line basis, where the parliamentary draftsmen who write the legislation have less idea about the subject as asking John Farnham to write the Brandenburg Concerto. Politicians consult with interested Groups and tell them that to "Cop it Sweet " or they will make it worse. The Legislation is not even read by the politicians, a first and second reading is only ceremonial, they are never read and the politicians vote not on the interests of their constituents but on the instructions of their party. When Judges and Police admit that the Weapons Act 1990 is in-comprehensible, contradictory, and "the worst example of Parliamentary drafting", amendments just increase its size multiplying its problems and insuring oppression.

Wrongs: Legislation should protect the weak against the strong, instead it leaves them defenceless, to be preyed upon by villains (home invasions, protection rackets, defenceless shopkeepers, Ring 000 and Die) and harassed by a million bureaucratic paper nightmares. Make a mistake, make an incorrect payment, forget a renewal, and you are the hunted game, sport for a police force.

Wrongs: That Police can find "Rubber Stamp" Justices of the Peace who do not have to read or understand any grounds for charges. That the DPP can keep producing indictments "Ex Officio" to fit the charge, when in court they are shown to be defective, they go away and produce another lot. The Grand Jury used to be a system to review indictments before defendant are financial broken by the system, it was done away with by politicians who are supposed to protect us. Even when the defendant wins no compensation is returned by the State for immense legal costs. Defendants are forced to plead guilty, attempting to obtain some mercy, as they have no hope of affording a defence. The Police use this to up their conviction ratio.

Wrongs : That you can be taken of the street and summarily convicted by a Magistrate for two years without the protection of a Jury of your peers. That "Person other than offenders liable to penalties". That all of your licences will be revoked, lose millions of dollars invested in a business, if a policemen states that he has information that you have associated with a criminal. If you appeal, the Policeman faces a five year penalty if he reveals his source of information, you are not allowed in the appeal court while Policeman is giving information, nor is your Lawyer. The transcript is unavailable to the appellant the media are not allowed in the appeal court. The process to appeal this appeal decision by Judicial Review Act 1992 has been revoked.

Wrongs :The ambiguity of legislation, which is so incomprehensible, that a strict interpretation, by one person turns black into white for another. For example, ask a lawyer how many holes are in a garden hose, he says, "two", ask an engineer he says "one". This example was one of many that came to light in this court case.

Options :The Ordinary Individual has to do his duty and take a greater part in the Justice System. You may want to;
1. Leave it to the Politicians, most who are lawyers anyway,
2. Lock yourself away on an un-inhabited Island,
3. Go mad trying to comply with everything.
4. One of your family members is locked away for mis-interpretation of a Regulation.

Laws
Politicians and the Legal Profession have no doubt in the power of parliament to legislate black into white, but fail to recognise that they are subjects to the Natural Laws or ‘Rule of Law', themselves. They do not have the power to change the laws of Motion or Gravity nor do they have the power to use the Justice System as a tool of oppression.

Ron Owen