Jon Roland
Campaign Site
Jon Roland is not presently a candidate for elected office.
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Jon Roland Campaign Site Jon Roland is not presently a candidate for elected office. |
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Positions
As a U.S. Senator or Representative from Texas I would vigorously pursue my Constitutionalist Platform, which would involve the repeal of much existing legislation. The following are some which will be the initial focus of my efforts, with links to pages that explain them in more detail:
1. Work to repeal all federal criminal legislation based on the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which does not authorize such legislation, starting with repeal of statutes on firearms and drug control.
2. Work to reform judicial procedures to require legal argument in the presence of the jury, remove impediments to private criminal prosecutions, make grand juries independent of prosecutors, resurrect private prosecutions of public rights, revive the prerogative writs such as quo warranto and habeas corpus, and re-establish the right to a presumption of nonauthority in all judicial proceedings, including a presumption of nonconstitutionality of all legislation.
3. Insist on the constitutional requirement that all criminal trials be by jury, even if the defendant is willing to waive his right to a jury trial, and to forbid plea bargains.
4. Seek continuing congressional investigations of compliance with the constitutional requirement that all judicial officers, including jurors, federal, state, and local, be required to take an oath or affirmation to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
5. Seek to establish that requirement that officials disclose the activities and finances of their offices is a right under the Ninth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, prosecutable by any person, and not just a statutory matter.
6. Oppose any suspensions of the rules to allow bills to be submitted to a vote without a complete reading, except for truly minor routine matters, and require that sufficient time be allowed for members and their staffs to thoroughly study bills before having to vote on them.
7. Seek to empower grand juries to decide whether officials have official immunity for an act, and to decide whether federal or state courts have jurisdiction over criminal charges against federal agents or officials.
8. Replace the federal income tax with a purchase tax from which ultimate consumers would be exempt.
9. Seek to repeal statutes making anything but gold or silver coin legal tender on state territory, or impeding private mints from issuing gold or silver coin, other than to insure purity and quantity.
10. Seek to revive the constitutional militia system envisioned by the Founders, involving the organizing and training of the entire population to defend their communities against threats, including threats from terrorism, foreign invasion, insurrection, crime, and disasters, and to secure national borders against unlawful entry.
Voters can expect that I would play a role in the U.S. Senate similar to that of Dr. Ron Paul in the U.S. House of Representatives, with perhaps more of a focus on review of the constitutionality of legislation proposed by other members.
Recent Activities
Founder, CEO and Webmaster of the Constitution Society website.
Intervenor in LULAC v. Perry, the Texas redistricting case, seeking to get declaration of a standard of proof for when a congressional district is improperly gerrymandered, and to establish a non-partisan system for computer-generated and randomly selected maps to replace the current system of humans drawing maps. See http://www.constitution.org/reform/us/tx/redistrict/cnpr.htm .
Played leading role in getting civics textbooks revised to correct errors and bring them into compliance with the Constitution as originally understood. See http://www.constitution.org/reform/us/tx/textbook/textbook.htm .
Previously the Texas Libertarian nominee for Texas Attorney General in 2002 and 2006. Here is the page from that contest.
Delegate to the Libertarian Party national conventions in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008. Served on Platform Committee for the 2006 and 2008 conventions. Member of the Libertarian Reform Caucus that produced and got adopted the shorter Platform in the 2008 convention. At the 2008 convention introduced two resolutions, but they were not adopted:
Some Recent Writings
Presumption of Nonauthority and Unenumerated Rights, 2005.
Mansfieldism Reconsidered, 2005.
United States Constitution. Entry in Encyclopedia of Leadership, Vol. 4, Ed. George R. Goethals, Georgia J. Sorenson, & James MacGregor Burns, Sage Publications, 2004.
Evolving Complex Networks in Constitutional Republics, 2003
Principles of Constitutional Interpretation, 2002.
Sortition for Judges, 2002.
Original Understanding of the Commerce Clause, 2002.
Intent of the Fourteenth Amendment was to Protect All Rights, 2000.
Public Safety or Bills of Attainder? Published in University of West Los Angeles Law Review, Vol. 34, 2002.
Hurst's Law of Treason, Introduction by Jon Roland, Published in University of West Los Angeles Law Review, Vol. 34, 2002.
Constitutionalist Platform, 1997.
Let's Revive Private Prosecutions, 1996.
Background
Jon Roland grew up in the town of Seguin, Texas, received a BS in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and has done some graduate work in computer science. He served for a term in the U.S. Air Force as an Air Traffic Control Officer. He has been a real estate investor, and now earns his living as a computer professional, employed by a Fortune 500 firm as a senior developer. He is also the founder and president of the Constitution Society, and has done a great deal of work in the field of constitutional history. He was also the nominee of the Texas Libertarian Party for Texas Attorney General in the 2002 and 2006 elections.
External Links
Travis County Libertarian Party
Comprehensive Listing of Notable Libertarians
Wikipedia on the term "United States Senate"
Opponents
If you're looking for the Jon Roland who is an Austin film producer, and a partner in Whoopass Entertainment, that is a different person. We don't have contact information for him, and he doesn't seem to have a website online.
