how the Magna Carta stiLL shapes our rights
Diversity Committee
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three weeks demanding that King John come out. No one had ever demanded anything from the King. The King was sovereign. But in June 1215, King John( who was illiterate) came out of the castle, and was forced to place his seal on the Magna Carta( Latin for Great Charter) that the noblemen presented to him in order to gain his own freedom from his effective imprisonment by the noblemen and to maintain his sovereignty. King John could neither read the doctrine, nor sign his name. However, his Royal Seal made the doctrine law. The Magna Carta became the law of the land on June 15, 1215. It was officially sealed in Runnymede, England, by the River
Thames. The Magna Carta is a human rights document, and it is the inspiration and foundation for our Rule of Law today.
The phrase“ No taxation without representation” is derived from the Magna Carta. Without the Magna Carta, there would be no trial by a jury of one’ s peers. The substance of Article 39 of the Magna Carta guaranteeing the right to trial by jury in both civil and criminal cases was adopted by all thirteen colonies. 1 The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution secures the right to trial by jury for all Americans in civil cases where the amount in controversy is greater than twenty dollars.
In many ways, these acts by the Noblemen of the British Empire, more than 800 years ago, directly influenced our founding fathers and directly impact us to this very day.
You cannot help but wonder had King John been able to read and understand what he was affixing his Royal Seal to on that momentous day, would he have sealed it? And if not, what would our system of justice look like today? n
1
Few, J. Kendall. In Defense of Trial by Jury. American Jury Trial Foundation, 1993.
Author: Weldon“ Web” Earl Brennan – Brennan, Holden & Kavouklis P. A.
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