§2384. Seditious conspiracy If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
Jury service is a way for U.S. citizens to participate in the judicial process.
Juror Selection
Each district court randomly selects citizens’ names from lists of registered voters and people with drivers licenses who live in that district. The people randomly selected complete a questionnaire to help determine if they are qualified to serve on a jury. Those qualified are randomly chosen to be summoned to appear for jury duty. This selection process helps to make sure that jurors represent a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age, or political affiliation.
Jury Pool to Jury Box
Being summoned for jury service does not guarantee that a person will actually serve on a jury. When a jury is needed for a trial, the group of qualified jurors is taken to the courtroom where the trial will take place. The judge and the attorneys then ask the potential jurors questions to determine their suitability to serve on the jury, a process called voir dire. The purpose of voir dire is to exclude from the jury people who may not be able to decide the case fairly. Members of the panel who know any person involved in the case, who have information about the case, or who may have strong prejudices about the people or issues involved in the case, typically will be excused by the judge. The attorneys also may exclude a certain number of jurors without giving a reason.
Types of Cases Heard by Juries
There are two types of judicial proceedings in the federal courts that use juries.
Criminal trial: An individual is accused of committing a crime that is considered against society as a whole. Twelve people, and alternates, make up a criminal jury. A unanimous decision must be reached before a defendant is found “guilty.” The government must prove the crime was committed “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Guilty pleas and plea negotiations reduce the need for juries in criminal cases.
Civil trial: Litigants seek remedies for private wrongs that don’t necessarily have a broader social impact. At least six people make up a civil jury. The jury must come to a unanimous decision unless specified otherwise. The standard of proof is a “preponderance of the evidence,” or “more true than not.”
Settlement negotiations reduce the need for juries in civil cases.
Working Together: Judge and Jury
The judge determines the appropriate law that should be applied to the case and the jury finds the facts in the case based on what is presented to them during the proceedings.
At the end of a trial, the judge instructs the jury on the applicable law. While the jury must obey the judge’s instructions as to the law, the jury alone is responsible for determining the facts of the case.
Federal crime in the United StatesJump to navigationJump to searchIn the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is an act that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation. Prosecution happens at both the federal and the state levels (based on the Dual sovereignty doctrine) and so a "federal crime" is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law and not under state criminal law under which most of the crimes committed in the United States are prosecuted.
That includes many acts for which, if they did not occur on U.S. federal property or on Indian reservations or were not specifically penalized, would either not be crimes or fall under state or local law. Some crimes are listed in Title 18 of the United States Code (the federal criminal and penal code), but others fall under other titles. For instance, tax evasion... ---More---
A top official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been assisting in preparations for the Inauguration next week, attended President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6.
At that rally, Trump urged his followers to “fight” and march to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, where hundreds broke into the Capitol building in a riot that left five people dead.
The official, Chris Grisafe, told staff this week that he attended the rally to show his support for the outgoing president, and has claimed that he did not move with the crowd from the rally area near the White House to the Capitol grounds.
Grisafe’s attendance at the Jan. 6 rally alarmed some FEMA staff, according to one person familiar with the matter, and several employees reported it to the DHS Inspector General and the FBI.
Grisafe currently serves as one of FEMA’s top political appointees in the role of associate administrator for resilience, where he helps “oversee and manage FEMA’s national preparedness, mitigation, insurance, continuity and grant programs,” according to his official biography. The Coast Guard veteran was part of the response efforts for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita and served at the Pentagon in a variety of advisory roles before joining FEMA last August.
A FEMA spokesperson said in a statement that Grisafe “was on personal leave on January 6. FEMA does not comment on how employees choose to spend their personal time.” The spokesperson noted that Grisafe “was not present at the Inauguration security briefing with the vice president” that took place on Thursday, but did not elaborate on whether he has been involved more generally in FEMA’s efforts to “promote an enhanced preparedness posture” for the Inauguration.
The DHS OIG did not return a request for comment. The FBI declined to comment.FEMA announced in a press release on Thursday that it has been “fully engaged” and “actively coordinating with our state, local and federal partners in support of the 59th Presidential Inauguration,” and “has provided planning, training and exercise support to our federal, state and local partners” leading up to the Inauguration.
Lawmakers have been pressing federal agencies to investigate whether anyone in their ranks took part in the Jan. 6 riot. In a statement to POLITICO, House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson didn’t reference Grisafe but said any Trump official who may have participated in “the attack on the Capitol” should be barred from any aspect of Inauguration security. “Not only should they resign, but law enforcement must also be alerted,” Thompson said.
