President's Message — July-August 2024

Mark A. Easter

In this month in which we celebrate our independence, and given the times in which we live, taking a moment to review the actions, orders, and rulings that our founding leaders were declaring independence from, and revolting against, is probably not a bad idea. Included in the Declaration of Independence is a 27-point rant of gripes against the King, Parliament, and Great Britain, extending far beyond the oft-cited "taxation without representation." Some of the more compelling of these charges were:

• the King, or his governors, simply refusing to pass beneficial laws for no good reason;
• the King dissolving or suspending legislative bodies simply for passing (or refusing to rescind) resolutions that the King disagreed with. Assemblies in Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and North Carolina, were all dissolved in this fashion;
• the King "endeavored to prevent the population of these States." The King was trying to prevent or hinder the immigration of German families to the Colonies;
• At the same time, the King was "transporting large Armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny." The King may have been restricting German immigration, but meanwhile he was, perhaps hypocritically, hiring German soldiers to wage war against the Colonies;
• The King had "made American judges dependent on his Will alone" — both in terms of length of office and salary;
• The King and Parliament's Stamp Act resulted in more taxes, but also more stamp distributors, tax officers, and tax courts, which Jefferson characterized as "swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance."
• The signers were also outraged at the abuse and presence of the military, including "standing armies without the Consent of our legislatures," the military assuming control and making itself "superior to the Civil Power," the "quartering [of] large bodies of armed troops among us," and "for protecting them, by a mock trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit against the Inhabitants of the States." "Quartering" seems like such a foreign concept 250 years later, but it was a big deal in colonial times. The practice was so thoroughly done away with that not only was quartering prohibited by the Third Amendment in the Bill of Rights; the Third Amendment has never been the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
• Colonists were also being transported "beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses." The offending bill, which was apparently vigorously opposed in Parliament, stated:

"In that case, it shall and may be lawful for the governor, or lieutenant-governor, to direct, with the advice and consent of the council, that the inquisition, indictment, or appeal, shall be tried in some other of his Majesty's colonies, or Great Britain."

• The signers also complained that the King and Parliament had taken "away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments." This basically referred to the governor having the power to remove and appoint judges, and appoint sheriffs, who chose jurors—thus undermining any right to trial by jury.
• The King's governors were also "suspending our own legislators, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever." The governors of Virginia, Georgia, and South Carolina all dissolved Colonial Assemblies and claimed the right to make proclamations stand in the place of statute law.
• "He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us." This was known as The Prohibitory Act, and in John Adams' mind, it made declaring independence a fait accompli: "It throws thirteen colonies out of the royal protection, levels all distinctions, and makes us independent in spite of our supplications and entreaties…It may be fortunate that the act of independency should come from the British Parliament rather than the American Congress."
• Perhaps most egregious, Parliament passed an act in December of 1775, which directed that Colonists be forced to attack other Colonists—that crews captured on American vessels be required "to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands."

This is not all of the grievances, but it provides a sense of the breadth and severity of British tyranny. Sooooo….since we now enjoy independence from these things, let's not only celebrate, but also take care to educate, and stand up for: /

• the right, privilege, and duty to vote
• representative government
• the separation of powers
• an independent judiciary
• the right to trial by jury, and the right, privilege and duty to serve as juror
• the peaceful transfer of power
• and perhaps most of all….the RULE OF LAW AND NOT MAN…

Mark A. Easter is the president of the RCBA, a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLC, and has been residing and practicing law in Riverside since 1989.