Author: Michael Swanson
Michael Swanson is a computer programmer and graphic artist who has lived in Tennessee for the past twenty-three years. Holding degrees in engineering and philosophy, he recently received the Senator Curtis Person Advocacy Award for educational activism leading to improvements in gifted education.
Changing Tennessee Jury Oaths without Going to Court
Until well into the twentieth century, American courts held that only “godly” men and women could serve as jurors and witnesses. It was believed that only such individuals could confirm before God their willingness to fulfill their duties responsibly, hence the use of the familiar phrase “So help me God” in connection with oaths. Nontheists, …