The federal government is at it again, charging someone who isn't fond of
the IRS with a laundry list of largely bullshit offenses.
What is illegal about a "common law court", which holds trials of public
officials, and issues various findings and fines? Surely as long as such
an organization does not falsely represent itself as being associated with
the real federal, state, or local judiciary, its activities constitute
political theatre and protected First Amendment speech.
I'm perfectly free to ignore any summons, fines, judgments, and verdicts
from the "Jim Bell Court" or the "Peter Stern Court," and as long as there
is no overt attempt to leverage such private court opinions with threats
of illegal action against my person or property, Jim Bell and Peter Stern
have just as much right to express their judicial thoughts in printed form
as Justice Renquist does.
Remember Jim Bell was charged with "Interfering With IRS Agents" for
simply collecting the names of employees whose behavior he found
obnoxious, certainly something a customer should have the right to do with
any business.
Then we hear it claimed that these individuals have written "phony checks"
designed to "bring down the US banking system." But we aren't talking
about printing up checks on someone elses account here, or other methods
of forgery.
Banks are perfectly free to accept or reject any negotiable instrument
presented to them for payment, and to either advance or not advance funds
against such instrument before it clears. If a bank accepts a money order
whose only backing is the signature of the head of the Montana Freemen,
and advances funds against it, one would think such an action would come
under the heading of "bank stupidity" as opposed to "customer fraud."
Then we hear the claim that "bogus liens" have been filed against the
property of IRS Agents and state officials. Isn't the problem here the
laws which permit anyone who alleges non-payment or wrongdoing on the part
of someone else to file a lien, by just walking into the county clerk's
office and filling out a form? If states want to restrict liens to
certain claims, like contractors who have done work on a property, and
have not been paid, they certainly have the power to do so.
These cases are not about James Dalton Bell, or Peter Kay Stern,
threatening to kill public officials and overthrow the United States
Government. They are about petty federal thugs who just can't stand it
when people exercise their free speech rights, and bugger the system using
its own infrastructure as the instrument.
-----
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- A jury was seated today for the trial of an
anti-government activist accused of writing phony checks and heading a
bogus court that issued ``verdicts'' against IRS agents and federal
judges.
U.S. District Judge Lacy H. Thornburg, named in one Peter Kay Stern's
purported judgments, denied motions to delay the trial. Stern's attorney,
Gerald Arrillo, said he was depressed over his wife's death two months
ago. At one point while presenting his case for a delay, Arrillo burst
into tears.
Later, jurors laughed when Assistant U.S. Attorney David Brown asked them
if they enjoyed paying their federal taxes. ``No one enjoys it, but we all
do it,'' Brown said.
Stern, a retired engineer and chief justice of a self-described
``common-law'' court, has been held without bond since his arrest in
September. A federal magistrate ruled there was ``evidence of threats and
weaponry which could be used to kill law enforcement.''
A leader in North Carolina's so-called patriot movement, Stern was charged
with bank fraud, conspiring to defraud the government, attempting to
interfere with administration of internal revenue laws, threatening to
kidnap federal judges, and using the mail to communicate threats.
Stern's group, Our One Supreme Court, attracted notoriety for sending
official-looking summonses to public officials and ordering them to appear
as defendants. Town managers, IRS agents and federal prosecutors were
ordered to pay multi-million-dollar fines.
In his common-law court, Stern and other ``justices'' denied the authority
of laws passed by Congress or state legislatures, saying his group's
judgments were based solely on the U.S. Constitution. They claimed to
administer binding judgments that were a valid way to escape paying taxes
and other debts.
The government says Stern's activities began seven months after the
Internal Revenue Service determined he owed $56,000 in back taxes and a
month after attending a seminar run by the Montana Freemen.
Prosecutors said he was among seminar participants who learned how to
produce phony checks and carry out financial schemes such as filing bogus
liens against enemies.
Beginning in December 1995, Stern allegedly issued at least seven
worthless checks. In each case, he or an associate demanded a refund from
banks, the IRS or mortgage companies for an amount over the debt owed,
according to the indictment.
Stern allegedly tried to intimidate IRS agents by demanding they pay a $1
million penalty. In January 1996, he sent letters threatening to kidnap
federal judges Graham C. Mullen and Richard L. Voorhees, the indictment
said. He allegedly used his title as the chief justice of the ``court'' to
sign an order demanding the release from detention of a fellow tax
protester.
Stern disputes the government's constitutional power to prosecute him. He
has filed challenges and appeals claiming ``defects, illegalities (and)
misconduct of prosecution.''
About two dozen members of the anti-government Montana Freemen group held
FBI agents at bay for 81 days in 1995 before surrendering without a shot
being fired.
Nine Freemen were convicted in two trials in 1998. They and their
followers were accused of trying to undermine the nation's banking system
by issuing thousands of bogus checks totaling billions of dollars.
--
Eric Michael Cordian 0+
O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"
