by Nancy Lord,
1992 Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential Candidate
Attorney Nancy Lord, M.D. Vs. The FDA. This is a reconstruction of closing arguments in the Rodger Sless Trial which took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 6, 1994.
…This case is about a federal agency, the Food and Drug Administration, that has spun so completely out of control — out of control of the people, out of control of congress, that they are now no more than a band of armed terrorists. That is why Rodger Sless rented the mailboxes. The FDA was perpetrating armed raids all over the country, of alternative care practitioners, health food stores, and distributors, and nobody knew where next they would strike. You do not have to believe my client. Dr. Priestley told you the very same thing. They want their subjects — we, the people — to obey rules they haven’t even made. They want you to endorse this by convicting Rodger Sless, so that they can use him as an example. And go on making important decisions without a public airing where we can hold them accountable…
* * *
I will conclude by talking a little about the role of the jury. Did you know that one of the reasons the colonies declared independence from Great Britain was “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury”? Thomas Jefferson said in 1789, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” I cannot imagine a case where those words of Thomas Jefferson, written over 200 years ago, are more appropriate than in this case. It is ironic that one often quoted complaint in the Declaration of Independence, against King George was “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”…