Welcome to the ninth installment of the Frog Farm. This installment contains the following topics: 1) The Missing 13th Amendment: Titles of Nobility and Honor (part 1 of 2) 2) George Gordon's Original Lesson 9: Service of Process 3) How to Record a Land Patent in California 4) Recorded BBS chat: A lesson in habeas corpus proceedings ** The Missing 13th Amendment: "TITLES OF NOBILITY" AND "HONOR" David Dodge, Researcher Alfred Adask, Editor Reprinted with permission from the AntiShyster, POB 540786, Dallas, Texas 75354, annual subscription $25.00. In the winter of 1983, archival research expert David Dodge, and former Baltimore police investigator Tom Dunn, were searching for evidence of government corruption in public records stored in the Belfast Library on the coast of Maine. By chance, they discovered the library's oldest authentic copy of the Constitution of the United States (printed in 1825). Both men were stunned to see this document included a 13th Amendment that no longer appears on current copies of the Constitution. Moreover, after studying the Amendment's language and historical context, they realized the principle intent of this "missing" 13th Amendment was to prohibit lawyers from serving in government. So began a seven year, nationwide search for the truth surroun- ding the most bizarre Constitutional puzzle in American history -- the unlawful removal of a ratified Amendment from the Constitution of the United States. Since 1983, Dodge and Dunn have uncovered ad- ditional copies of the Constitution with the "missing" 13th Amendment printed in at least eighteen separate publications by ten different states and territories over four decades from 1822 to 1860. In June of this year, Dodge uncovered the evidence that this missing 13th Amendment had indeed been lawfully ratified by the state of Virginia and was therefore an authentic Amendment to the American Constitution. If the evidence is correct and no logical errors have been made, a 13th Amendment restricting lawyers from serving in government was ratified in 1819 and removed from our Constitution during the tumult of the Civil War. Since the Amendment was never lawfully repealed, it is still the Law today. The implications are enormous. The story of this "missing" Amendment is complex and at times confusing because the political issues and vocabulary of the American Revolution were different from our own. However, there are essen- tially two issues: What does the Amendment mean? and, Was the Amendment ratified? Before we consider the issue of ratification, we should first understand the Amendment's meaning and consequent current relevance. MEANING of the 13th Amendment The "missing" 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them." [Emphasis added.} At the first reading, the meaning of this 13th Amendment (also called the "title of nobility" Amendment) seems obscure, unimportant. The references to "nobility", "honour", "emperor", "king", and "prince" lead us to dismiss this amendment as a petty post-revolution act of spite directed against the British monarchy. But in our modern world of Lady Di and Prince Charles, anti-royalist sentiments seem so archaic and quaint, that the Amendment can be ignored. Not so. Consider some evidence of its historical significance: First, "titles of nobility" were prohibited in both Article VI of the Articles of Confederation (1777) and in Article I, Sect. 9 of the Constitution of the United States (1778); Second, although already prohibited by the Constitution, an additional "title of nobility" amendment was proposed in 1789, again in 1810, and according to Dodge, finally ratified in 1819. Clearly, the founding fathers saw such a serious threat in "titles of nobility" and "honors" that anyone receiving them would forfeit their citizenship. Since the government prohibited "titles of nobility" several times over four decades, and went through the amending process (even though "titles of nobility" were already prohibited by the Constitution), it's obvious that the Amendment carried much more significance for our founding fathers than is readily apparent today. HISTORICAL CONTEXT To understand the meaning of this "missing" 13th Amendment, we must understand its historical context -- the era surrounding the American Revolution. We tend to regard the notion of "Democracy" as benign, harmless, and politically unremarkable. But at the time of the American Revolution, King George III and the other monarchies of Europe saw Democracy as an unnatural, ungodly ideological threat, every bit as dangerously radical as Communism was once regarded by modern Western nations. Just as the 1917 Communist Revolution in Russia spawned other revolutions around the world, the American Revolution provided an example and incentive for people all over the world to overthrow their European monarchies. Even though the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, the simple fact of our existence threatened the monarchies. The United States stood as a heroic role model for other nations, that inspired them to also struggle against oppressive monarchies. The French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Polish national uprising (1794) were in part encouraged by the American Revolution. Though we stood like a beacon of hope for most of the world, the monarchies regarded the United States as a political typhoid Mary, the principle source of radical democracy that was destroying monarchies around the world. The monarchies must have realized that if the principle source of that infection could be destroyed, the rest of the world might avoid the contagion and the monarchies would be saved. Their survival at stake, the monarchies south to destroy or subvert the American system of government. Knowing they couldn't destroy us militarily, they resorted to more covert methods of political subversion, employing spies and secret agents skilled in bribery and legal deception -- it was, perhaps, the first "cold war". Since governments run on money, politicians run for money, and money is the usual enticement to commit treason, much of the monarchy's counter-revolutionary efforts emanated from English banks. DON'T BANK ON IT (Modern Banking System) The essence of banking was once explained by Sir Josiah Stamp, a former president of the Bank of England: "The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banking was conceived in inequity and born in sin... Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them but leave them the power to create money, and, with a flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again... Take this great power away form them and all great fortunes like mine will disappear, for then this would be a better and happier world to live in... But, if you want to continue to be the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let bankers continue to create money and control credit." The last great abuse of our banking system caused the depression of the 1930's. Today's abuses may cause another. Current S&L and bank scandals illustrate the on-going relationships between banks, lawyers, politicians, and government agencies (look at the current BCCI bank scandal, involving lawyer Clark Clifford, politician Jimmy Carter, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and even the CIA). These scandals are the direct result of years of law-breaking by an alliance of bankers and lawyers using their influence and money to corrupt the political process and rob the public. (Think you're not being robbed? Guess who's going to pay the bill for the excesses of the S&L's, taxpayer? You are.) The systematic robbery of productive individuals by parasitic bankers and lawyers is not a recent phenomenon. This abuse is a human tradition that predates the Bible and spread from Europe to America despite early colonial prohibitions. When the first United States Bank was chartered by Congress in 1790, there were only three state banks in existence. At one time, banks were prohibited by law in most states because many of the early settlers were all too familiar with the practices of the European goldsmith banks. Goldsmith banks were safe-houses used to store client's gold. In exchange for the deposited gold, customers were issued notes (paper money) which were redeemable in gold. The goldsmith bankers quickly succumbed to the temptation to issue "extra" notes, (unbacked by gold). Why? Because the "extra" notes enriched the bankers by allowing them to buy property with notes for gold that they did not own, gold that did not even exist. Colonists knew that bankers occasionally printed too much paper money, found themselves over-leveraged, and caused a "run on the bank". If the bankers lacked sufficient gold to meet the demand, the paper money became worthless and common citizens left holding the paper were ruined. Although over-leveraged bankers were sometime hung, the bankers continued printing extra money to increase their fortunes at the expense of the productive members of society. (The practice continues to this day, and offers "sweetheart" loans to bank insiders, and even provides the foundation for deficit spending and our federal government's unbridled growth.) PAPER MONEY If the colonists forgot the lessons of goldsmith bankers, the American Revolution refreshed their memories. To finance the war, Congress authorized the printing of continental bills of credit in an amount not to exceed $200,000,000. The States issued another $200,000,000 in paper notes. Ultimately, the value of the paper money fell so low that they were soon traded on speculation from 5000 to 1000 paper bills for one coin. It's often suggested that our Constitution's prohibition against a paper economy -- "No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a tender in Payment of Debts" -- was a tool of the wealthy to be worked to the disadvantage of all others. But only in a "paper" economy can money reproduce itself and increase the claims of the wealthy at the expense of the productive. "Paper money," said Pelatiah Webster, "polluted the equity of our laws, turned them into engines of oppression, corrupted the justice of our public administration, destroyed the fortunes of thousands who had confidence in it, enervated the trade, husbandry, and manufactures of our country, and went far to destroy the morality of our people." CONSPIRACIES A few examples of the attempts by the monarchies and banks that almost succeeded in destroying the United States: According to the Tennessee Laws (1715-1320, vol. II, p. 774), in the 1794 Jay Treaty, the United States agreed to pay 600,000 pounds sterling to King George III, as reparations for the American revolu- tion. The Senate ratified the treaty in secret session and ordered that it not be published. When Benjamin Franklin's grandson published it anyway, the exposure and resulting public up-roar so angered the Congress that it passed the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) so federal judges could prosecute editors and publishers for reporting the truth about the government. Since we had won the Revolutionary War, why would our Senators agree to pay reparations to the loser? And why would they agree to pay 600,000 pounds sterling, eleven years after the war ended? It doesn't make sense, especially in light of Senate's secrecy and later fury over being exposed, unless we assume our Senators had been bribed to serve the British monarchy and betray the American people. That's subversion. The United States Bank had been opposed by the Jeffersonians from the beginning, but the Federalists (the pro-monarchy party) won- out in its establishment. The initial capitalization was $10,000,000 -- 80% of which would be owned by foreign bankers. Since the bank was authorized to lend up to $20,000,000 (double its paid in capi- tal), it was a profitable deal for both the government and the bankers since they could lend, and collect interest on, $10,000,000 that didn't exist. However, the European bankers outfoxed the government and by 1796, the government owed the bank $6,200,000 and was forced to sell its shares. (By 1802, our government owned no stock in the United States Bank.) The sheer power of the banks and their ability to influence representative government by economic manipulation and outright bribery was exposed in 1811, when the people discovered that european banking interests owned 80% of the bank. Congress therefore refused to renew the bank's charter. This led to the withdrawal of $7,000,000 in specie by european investors, which in turn, precipi- tated an economic recession, and the War of 1812. That's destruction. There are undoubtedly other examples of the monarchy's efforts to subvert or destroy the United States; some are common knowledge, others remain to be disclosed to the public. For example, David Dodge discovered a book called "2 VA LAW" in the Library of Congress Law Library. According to Dodge, "This is an un-catalogued book in the rare book section that reveals a plan to overthrow the constitu- tional government by secret agreements engineered by the lawyers. That is one of the reasons why this amendment was ratified by Vir- ginia and the notification ~lost in the mail.' There is no public record that this book exists." That may sound surprising, but according to The Gazette (5/10/91), "the Library of Congress has 349,402 un-catalogued rare books and 13.9 million un-catalogued rare manuscripts." There may be secrets buried in that mass of documents even more astonishing than a missing Constitutional Amendment. TITLES OF NOBILITY In seeking to rule the world and destroy the United States, bankers committed many crimes. Foremost among these crimes were fraud, conversion, and plain old theft. To escape prosecution for their crimes, the bankers did the same thing any career criminal does. They hired and formed alliances with the best lawyers and judges money could buy. These alliances, originally forged in Europe (particularly in Great Britain), spread to the colonies, and later into the newly formed United States of America. Despite their criminal foundation, these alliances generated wealth, and ultimately, respectability. Like any modern member of organized crime, English bankers and lawyers wanted to be admired as "legitimate businessmen". As their criminal fortunes grew so did their usefulness, so the British monarchy legitimized these thieves by granting them "titles of nobility". Historically, the British peerage system referred to knights as "Squires" and to those who bore the knight's shields as "Esquires". As lances, shields, and physical violence gave way to the more civilized means of theft, the pen grew mightier (and more profitable) than the sword, and the clever wielders of those pens (bankers and lawyers) came to hold titles of nobility. The most common title was "Esquire" (used, even today, by some lawyers). INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION In Colonial America, attorneys trained attorneys but most held no "title of nobility" or "honor". There was no requirement that one be a lawyer to hold the position of district attorney, attorney general, or judge; a citizen's "counsel of choice" was not restricted to a lawyer; there were no state or national bar associations. The only organization that certified lawyers was the International Bar Association (IBA), chartered by the King of England, headquartered in London, and closely associated with the international banking system. Lawyers admitted to the IBA received the rank "Esquire" -- a "title of nobility". "Esquire" was the principle title of nobility which the 13th Amendment sought to prohibit from the United States. Why? Because the loyalty of "Esquire" lawyers was suspect. Bankers and lawyers with an "Esquire" behind their names were agents of the monarchy, members of an organization whose principle purposes were political, not economic, and regarded with the same wariness that some people today reserve for members of the KGB or the CIA. Article 1, Sect. 9 of the Constitution sought to prohibit the International Bar Association (or any other agency that granted titles of nobility) from operating in America. But the Constitution neglected to specify a penalty, so the prohibition was ignored, and agents of the monarchy continued to infiltrate and influence the government (as in the Jay Treaty and the US Bank charter incidents). Therefore, a "title of nobility" amendment that specified a penalty (loss of citizenship) was proposed in 1789, and again in 1810. The meaning of the amendment is seen in its intent to prohibit persons having titles of nobility and loyalties foreign governments and bankers from voting, holding public office, or using their skills to subvert the government. HONOR The missing Amendment is referred to as the "title of nobility" Amendment, but the second prohibition against "honour" (honor), may be more significant. According to David Dodge, Tom Dunn, and Webster's Dictionary, the archaic definition of "honor" (as used when the 13th Amendment was ratified) meant anyone "obtaining or having an advantage or privilege over another". A contemporary example of an "honor" granted to only a few Americans is the privilege of being a judge: Lawyers can be judges and exercise the attendant privileges and powers; non-lawyers cannot. By prohibiting "honors", the missing Amendment prohibits any advantage or privilege that would grant some citizens an unequal opportunity to achieve or exercise political power. Therefore, the second meaning (intent) of the 13th Amendment was to ensure political equality among all American citizens, by prohibiting anyone, even government officials, from claiming or exercising a special privilege or power (an "honor") over other citizens. If this interpretation is correct, "honor" would be the key concept in the 13th Amendment. Why? Because, while "titles of nobility" may no longer apply in today's political system, the concept of "honor" remains relevant. For example, anyone who had a specific "immunity" from lawsuits which were not afforded to all citizens, would be enjoying a separate privilege, an "honor", and would therefore forfeit his right to vote or hold public office. Think of the "immunities" from lawsuits that our judges, lawyers, politicians, and bureaucrats currently enjoy. As another example, think of all the "special interest" legislation our government passes: "special interests" are simply euphemisms for "special privileges" (honors). WHAT IF? (Implications if Restored) If the missing 13th Amendment were restored, "special interests" and "immunities" might be rendered unconstitutional. The prohibition against "honors" (privileges) would compel the entire government to operate under the same laws as the citizens of this nation. Without their current personal immunities (honors), our judges and I.R.S. agents would be unable to abuse common citizens without fear of legal liability. If this 13th Amendment were restored, our entire govern- ment would have to conduct itself according to the same standards of decency, respect, law, and liability as the rest of the nation. If this Amendment and the term "honor" were applied today, our govern- ment's ability to systematically coerce and abuse the public would be all but eliminated. Imagine. Imagine! A government without special privileges or immunities. How could we describe it? It would be ... almost like ... a government . of the people ... by the people ... for the people! Imagine: a government ... whose members were truly accountable to the public; a government that could not systematically exploit its own people! It's unheard of ... it's never been done before. Not ever in the entire history of the world. Bear in mind that Senator George Mitchell of Maine and the National Archives concede this 13th Amendment was proposed by Con- gress in 1810. However, they explain that there were seventeen states when Congress proposed the "title of nobility" Amendment; that ratification required the support of thirteen states, but since only twelve states supported the Amendment, it was not ratified. The Government Printing Office agrees; it currently prints copies of the Constitution of the United States which include the "title of nobil- ity" Amendment as proposed, but un-ratified. Even if this 13th Amendment were never ratified, even if Dodge and Dunn's research or reasoning is flawed or incomplete, it would still be an extraordinary story. Can you imagine, can you understand how close we came to having a political paradise, right here on Earth? Do you realize what an extraordinary gift our forebears tried to bequeath us? And how close we came? One vote. One state's vote. The federal government concedes that twelve states voted to ratify this Amendment between 1810 and 1812. But they argue that ratification require thirteen states, so the Amendment lays stillborn in history, unratified for lack of a just one more state's support. One vote. David Dodge, however, says one more state did ratify, and he claims he has the evidence to prove it. PARADISE LOST, RATIFICATION FOUND In 1789, the House of Representatives compiled a list of pos- sible Constitutional Amendments, some of which would ultimately become our Bill of Rights. The House proposed seventeen; the Senate reduced the list to twelve. During this process that Senator Tris- train Dalton (Mass.) proposed an Amendment seeking to prohibit and provide a penalty for any American accepting a "title of Nobility" (RG 46 Records of the U.S. Senate). Although it wasn't passed, this was the first time a "title of nobility" amendment was proposed. Twenty years later, in January, 1810, Senator Reed proposed another "Title of Nobility" Amendment (History of Congress, Proceed- ings of the Senate, p. 529-530). On April 27, 1810, the Senate voted to pass this 13th Amendment by a vote of 26 to 1; the House resolved in the affirmative 87 to 3; and the following resolve was sent to the States for ratification: "If any citizen of the United States shall Accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them." The Constitution requires three-quarters of the states to ratify a proposed amendment before it may be added to the Constitution. When Congress proposed the "Title of Nobility" Amendment in 1810, there were seventeen states, thirteen of which would have to ratify for the Amendment to be adopted. According to the National Archives, the following is a list of the twelve states that ratified, and their dates of ratification: Maryland, Dec. 25, 1810 Kentucky, Jan. 31, 1811 Ohio, Jan. 31, 1811 Delaware, Feb. 2, 1811 Pennsylvania, Feb. 6, 1811 New Jersey, Feb. 13, 1811 Vermont, Oct. 24, 1811 Tennessee, Nov. 21, 1811 Georgia, Dec. 13, 1811 North Carolina, Dec. 23, 1811 Massachusetts, Feb. 27, 1812 New Hampshire, Dec. 10, 1812 Before a thirteenth state could ratify, the War of 1812 broke out with England. By the time the war ended in 1814, the British had burned the Capitol, the Library of Congress, and most of the records of the first 38 years of government. Whether there was a connection between the proposed "title of nobility" amendment and the War of 1812 is not known. However, the momentum to ratify the proposed Amendment was lost in the tumult of war. Then, four years later, on December 31, 1817, the House of Representatives resolved that President Monroe inquire into the status of this Amendment. In a letter dated February 6, 1818, President Monroe reported to the House that the Secretary of State Adams had written to the governors of Virginia, South Carolina and Connecticut to tell them that the proposed Amendment had been rati- fied by twelve States and rejected by two (New York and Rhode Is- land), and asked the governors to notify him of their legislature's position. (House Document No. 76) (This, and other letters written by the President and the Secretary of State during the month of February, 1818, note only that the proposed Amendment had not yet been ratified. However, these letters would later become crucial because, in the absence of additional information they would be interpreted to mean the amendment was never ratified). On February 28, 1818, Secretary of State Adams reported the rejection of the Amendment by South Carolina. [House Doc. No. 129]. There are no further entries regarding the ratification of the 13th Amendment in the Journals of Congress; whether Virginia ratified is neither confirmed nor denied. Likewise, a search through the execu- tive papers of Governor Preston of Virginia does not reveal any correspondence from Secretary of State Adams. (However, there is a journal entry in the Virginia House that the Governor presented the House with an official letter and documents from Washington within a time frame that conceivably includes receipt of Adams' letter.) Again, no evidence of ratification; none of denial. However, on March 10, 1819, the Virginia legislature passed Act No. 280 (Virginia Archives of Richmond, "misc.' file, p. 299 for micro-film): "Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that there shall be published an edition of the Laws of this Commonwealth in which shall be contained the following matters, that is to say: the Constitution of the united States and the amendments thereto..." This act was the specific legislated instructions on what was, by law, to be included in the re-publication (a special edition) of the Virginia Civil Code. The Virginia Legislature had already agreed that all Acts were to go into effect on the same day -- the day that the Act to re-publish the Civil Code was enacted. Therefore, the 13th Amendment's official date of ratification would be the date of re-publication of the Virginia Civil Code: March 12, 1819. The Delegates knew Virginia was the last of the 13 States that were necessary for the ratification of the 13th Amendment. They also knew there were powerful forces allied against this ratification so they took extraordinary measures to make sure that it was published in sufficient quantity (4,000 copies were ordered, almost triple their usual order), and instructed the printer to send a copy to President James Monroe as well as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. (The printer, Thomas Ritchie, was bonded. He was required to be extremely accurate in his research and his printing, or he would forfeit his bond.) In this fashion, Virginia announced the ratification: by publication and dissemination of the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution. There is question as to whether Virginia ever formally notified the Secretary of State that they had ratified this 13th Amendment. Some have argued that because such notification was not received (or at least, not recorded), the Amendment was therefore not legally ratified. However, printing by a legislature is prima facie evidence of ratification. Further, there is no Constitutional requirement that the Secre- tary of State, or anyone else, be officially notified to complete the ratification process. The Constitution only requires that three- fourths of the states ratify for an Amendment to be added to the Constitution. If three-quarters of the states ratify, the Amendment is passed. Period. The Constitution is otherwise silent on what procedure should be used to announce, confirm, or communicate the ratification of amendments. Knowing they were the last state necessary to ratify the Amend- ment, the Virginians had every right announce their own and the nation's ratification of the Amendment by publishing it on a special edition of the Constitution, and so they did. Word of Virginia's 1819 ratification spread throughout the States and both Rhode Island and Kentucky published the new Amendment in 1822. Ohio first published in 1824. Main ordered 10,000 copies of the Constitution with the 13th Amendment to be printed for use in the schools in 1825, and again in 1831 for their Census Edition. Indiana Revised Laws of 1831 published the 13th Article on p. 20. Northwestern Territories published in 1833. Ohio published in 1831 and 1833. Then came the Wisconsin Territory in 1839; Iowa Territory in 1843; Ohio again, in 1848; Kansas Statutes in 1855; and Nebraska Territory six times in a row from 1855 to 1860. So far, David Dodge has identified eleven different states or territories that printed the Amendment in twenty separate publica- tions over forty-one years. And more editions including this 13th Amendment are sure to be discovered. Clearly, Dodge is onto someth- ing. You might be able to convince some of the people, or maybe even all of them, for a little while, that this 13th Amendment was never ratified. Maybe you can show them that the ten legislatures which ordered it published eighteen times we've discovered (so far) con- sisted of ignorant politicians who don't know their amendments from their ... ahh, articles. You might even be able to convince the public that our forefathers never meant to "outlaw" public servants who pushed people around, accepted bribes or special favors to "look the other way." Maybe. But before you do, there's an awful lot of evidence to be explained. [end part 1 of 2] ** [Are there any subscribers out there who missed Lesson 7 (Jurisdiction) when it was posted to alt.society.sovereign? Please keep in mind that I do NOT have all 40 (or somewhere around that figure) of the original lessons transcribed to textfile format. Lesson 7 was a videotaped copy which I "won" in an essay contest on the original Frog Farm; even though I didn't write the article which I posted (_Jury Power_ by Lynn and Judy Osborne, from High Times), FF said I was the only participant, so I deserved a prize! The videotape is a "copy of a copy of a copy of a copy", and shows it by playing like eighty miles of bad road, as Foghorn Leghorn would say. More recently, I ran into someone living in my geographical area who has a complete set of audiotapes of the original lessons, which he graciously allowed me to borrow, and I've since then been dipping into them here and there, and only typing in the "best of the best". So far, I have transcribed lessons 7 and 9 completely, and have partial transcriptions of 13 and 22 (13 is unfinished; 22 ends prematurely on the tape). A list subscriber suggested the possibility of using an audio-capable computer to sample the lessons (at something reasonable like 8 bits; CD quality is certainly not needed) and applying audio compression, then making these files available via FTP, etc. While I feel comfortable simply releasing an ASCII copy of the isolated lesson here and there, I feel that any large- scale duplication effort such as this would have to be done with George's explicit permission. At present, it's a moot issue, since I don't have access to an audio-capable computer, but rest assured that if this changes, I will definitely write to George and ask for a limited distribution license, to apply only to his original series of lessons (done sometime in the early 80's; there are a few references to date in the lessons, as well as the occasional bit of data that allows one to guess George's age, roughly). in the meantime, sit back, relax and enjoy. George is a master salesman, and definitely Frog Farmer's strongest influence. There aren't too many like him in this world, and we are all the richer for them.] George Gordon: Sunday School (Selected Lessons) Originally taped sometime around 1982-3 A.D. Transcribed from videotape 1992-3 A.D. Lesson 9: Service of Process when you begin this type of procedure in your town, in your county, you're going to run into some real static. these lower court judges are going to see you as a wild-eyed fanatic, as a kook. so always be respectful, and don't come unglued, and don't go in there with a nasty or surly attitude, because it's really counter-productive in the long run, and i can tell you that from experience that there's no real benefit in creating enemies. as a matter of fact, it's much easier to just go in and let the judge jump up and down and paw the ground and bite the bushes and froth at the mouth and do whatever it is that judges do when someone demands rights instead of accepting their punishment. but over time, as they become exposed to the briefs and motions, and the ideas, pretty soon you're not a kook, you're a serious, sincere citizen demanding his day in court, demanding redress of greivances. and that's when your respectability, your reputation, will pick up. you'll lose a few jury trials, and i'll admit it's discouraging when the jury comes back and says they find you guilty as charged on all counts. what makes it discouraging is the feeling of being rejected by your supposed peers, but remember, most of these folks have driver's licenses and such. they do err not understanding the law. we just appeal and take it higher. we have an interesting new move we're working on now. Pursuant to Title 10, Chapter 12-01 and 12-02, there's a technical move we can make in taking by statute, this petition for our redress of greivances before the district court. now we're going to experiment with that, starting right away. whereever you are, and by the way, this judge recently asked us, why don't you do this? he's saying, you guys keep coming in and costing us all this money every time, you're always found guilty, and you always appeal, and you always get bogged down in the appeals process, and the prosecutor won't answer your appeal, and it just costs us a lot of money, and you keep getting harassed by the police who keep giving you these tickets. so why don't you use Title 10, Chap 12, and go to the district court? when we went out to see the judges the other day, we asked them, would you be willing to sign this letter to that effect, so when we file the motion, the district court would perhaps take closed notice of the case? and they seemed very amenable to that. i don't know where you are in your state, but remember we've been working in this county for over a year and a half. I think that by now our county, Ada County, has spent over $100,000 on a number of citizens, probably 50 or so, who've taken cases into the traffic courts. that's the important thing to remember. If you want to do it right, always demand a jury trial, always go in and argue the case, always take a full day and always cost the state at least a minimum amount, say, $1500. way back in lesson 1, or lesson 2, i told you money rules. and i gave four reasons why a competent pro se litigant couldn't be defeated in the courtroom, and money is number one. the judge told one of our friends the other day, why are you going to plead not guilty to these parking tickets? This is going to cost the county $1500 and take an entire day, and you know you'll be found guilty! the fellow just used one of our standard lines. "If you're so concerned with the cost to the county, why don't you dismiss it?" "Well, I can't do that, I'm the judge." "Well, then, why do you condemn me? Why don't you condemn the prosecutor for bringing these charges against citizens, and squandering the taxpayer's money? I'm not guilty of any crime, and you come to me and ask me to plead not guilty to something i didn't do and i'm not guilty of, to save the taxpayers money? I think the taxpayers should be informed as to how their money is being wasted by their public servants, who are in reality only public tyrants." well, the judge didn't really have an answer for that one, so of course the trial will go on, and the pro se will lose to the jury because the jury is composed of licensed drivers who all put money in those parking meters, and their attitude is, well, i'm a slave and you should be too! remember the toby formula -- the slaves pretty much want to stay slaves; the freemen pretty much want to be free; but the freemen end up being judged by juries full of slaves. notice that we've talked about these traffic citations, and i'll just comment here. this thing is not a complaint, and here in idaho we always file a motion demanding that these tickets be subjugated to a formal complaint with an affidavit in support. that costs them more money, and it protects your rights. you're denying the court jurisdiction. remember, if you have a right, EXERCISE IT. never, under any circumstances, cut costs in the case. it's not to your benefit. remember, in the early days, they used to make fun of us and ridicule us, and arrest us and throw us in jail and beat us unconscious. now they don't do that anymore, now they listen to us a bit more intently. they're willing to listen. you too, are going to be subjected to some hellacious intimidation. but the more you try to intimidate freemen here in idaho, well, i've said for years that if they just left us alone, we probably wouldn't know what to do, we'd dry up and blow away in a week. i doubt seriously that we could even function if our government didn't oppose us. but it seems these fools have got it in their minds that what they've got to do is beat us down. that's their type of mentality, force, beat, browbeat. people are being oppressed enough as it is, and now you throw a guy in jail over the weekend, he really comes out mad. the word on the street as of this last week, this is march 19, 1983, is that the lower court judges have decided that we're teaching so many new people how to do what we're doing, that they're afraid we're going to bog the whole system down. you see? their money-grubbing system is what we're attempting to put an end to, this thing of stealing people's automobiles and fining people for pretended crimes and railroading them through and stealing their money under color of law. that's what we're trying to stop. had a judge ask me the other day, we were talking in chambers, "what would happen? how would we function if all these people took the license plates off their cars, and turned in their licenses? we'd have nothing but anarchy and chaos!" i said, poppycock. there isn't but one person in a thousand that even wants to be free, let alone knows HOW to be free. all you have to do is let the slaves be slaves, and nobody will know, and nobody will care, and everyone will be happy. it's been all through history, i guess they've never learned, that when you oppress people, they'll sit still for a while, but when they start to squeal, the government better back off and let them get their breath before they start up again. if they do, they can keep it up forever. but if they put the screws to them without stop, they'll have a real rebellion and traumatic changes on your hands. all of a sudden you get black people eating at tables and such, and i'll bet that was real traumatic to those people in the south while it was going on. i'm going to spend the rest of our time running through this file folder, and i want you to become real familiar with this material, because as we go on now, we're talking about heavier and heavier material. the first six lessons were the background, told you who you are and what you are, told you you're a slave and told you how you got that way. and the next six are designed to introduce you to the courtroom and its procedures, and then we'll get into real detailed courtroom strategy. how to ask the jury questions that will create dismissal for cause, and such. the difference between a citation and a complaint is that a COMPLAINT is a FORMAL DOCUMENT that comes from the public prosecutor, the Attorney General, or the prosecuting attorney. You should always demand a complaint in place of a citation. once you have a complaint, it can be served -- that is, administered -- either by warrant or by summons. if you have a lawful summons from the court, just make your appearance and do it specially and not generally. take a look at the arraignment and plea and see what it says. we've had people walk into the court who can't speak too well, and tell the judge, well, your honor, i don't talk too good, and here's my arraignment and plea and everything i need to say is right here in writing. now when you have a warrant, at least here in Idaho - remember to check your State's Constitution - that warrant has to signed by a judge and returned after the arrest. and that warrant is a part of due process. always demand the warrant that went with the complaint, and/or the affidavit in support of the complaint. we talked about subpoenas, both civil and criminal. When you want to bring witnesses into the court, you'll need subpoena power to do that. these mickey mouse parking tickets, there's no witness to the event. maybe that's why they're not prosecuting them anymore here in Ada County. when you talk about a criminal action, you have to have a witness, in this case, someone who can say, yeah, i saw him park there and get out and walk away. lacking that, you don't have any cause of action at bar, and you should challenge it on that basis. but remember, it doesn't matter if it's a mickey mouse charge or a felony charge. i treat parking tickets just as i would crimes of any nature or grade. i fight and argue each and every one with the same intensity, and if you want to win, you'd better do the same, because there's another one of our golden rules: if it's important enough for your government to prosecute, it's important enough for you to defend. okay, we're talking about due process of law under both the 5th amendment, and you cannot have due process of law unless you have all the paperwork in order. and if they don't do the paperwork, you should complain, you should object, you should file motions for dismissal for reversible error and extreme prejudice ANY TIME that there is a major constitutional issue that affects rights. this isn't in any particular order, but i want to show you what you're looking at in this case. this is the entire case from the time of the arrest up until the time it was dismissed. i think the arrest took place around April 9th, 1982, and the dismissal was something on the order of August 30th, something like that, at a motion hearing. First thing i want you to look at is this thing called the Transcript of a Preliminary Hearing, it's 95 pages. covered about two hours of a preliminary hearing where i was doing everything in my power to get charges reduced from felonies to misdemeanors and then get the misdemeanors dismissed, and i think i did get the misdemeanor dismissed, but the judge bound me over to the district court anyway. now originally, they filed the complaint and said i did these things and charged me with a felony, and later they brought the information in. now notice that when i went to the preliminary hearing, which is on page 1 about the middle of the page, i brought up some preliminary matters. makes sense, doesn't it? i was telling the court what my rights were and saying, we need to address these matters prior to moving forward. as you read through these 95 pages -- and remember, this transcript cost the government about two dollars a page -- i ought to bring up that somehow, a jail suit was torn into eleven pieces and left beneath my bunk. don't be surprised if your government agents try to frame you in jail - always be alert. it's relatively easy to win, because after all, they're not going to recognize your rights. i don't believe there was ever a time that i was in jeopardy and i don't think the issue was ever tearing up a jail suit, i think the issue was the grand jury, and counsel, and whether we're gonna have a fair trial or if i'm gonna be prosecuted by one of the king's agents. so follow through the transciprt. i don't claim to be a professional or an expert, i'm just a citizen like you. i'm just saying that we have developed a program and methodology that when we go into court and demand our rights, we get good results, and win every time. i want you to follow through with that, improve on my mistakes, but try to avoid the temptation to experiment. had a lady in here not long ago being sued for something, and we brought up the subject of dirty hands, because in equity, remember, one of the maxims is that you have to come with clean hands, as bouvier's says. And this lady, for some reason, just couldn't use the words "dirty hands". we showed her where bouvier's said it, and told her it was a common term, like "sliding down the slippery slope", and for some reason, she couldn't handle it. i'm not telling you what to say or how to say it, i'm just saying that it would be in your own best interest to follow proven, winning techniques first. I've always said this in business; I don't care if you improve upon what i do, but first of all, i want my subordinates to do what i did, because i may have - you know, there's four ways to do something, the first best way, the second best way, the third best way, and the fourth best way. all four ways get the task done, but the first is the fastest and easiest. let's assume that what i'm doing here in this transcript is the slowest and hardest method: it got the job done, and i won the case. once you get to the point where you can get the job done, then you can try to get it done faster and easier. but let me tell you, this paperwork is so crucial and important, it's absolutely imperative. Failure to do the paperwork spells defeat, and that defeat will come in the appellate process. the paperwork you see here in this case was never for the benefit of the magistrate - in fact, not very much of this was really designed for the district court anyway, because we thought we'd go to trial, and the jury would come back guilty. All of this paperwork is designed to show that there are rights violations - i demand counsel, i demand a public prosecutor, i'm the belligerent claimant in person. now i don't know why a judge would get so uptight and upset and come down so hard on your average joe doakes who works in the sawmill, or does whatever it is he does in his life, who comes in and demands his rights, but i suspect it's because it's such a threat to their power base, which hasn't occurred in the last fifty years. i mean, here in idaho, we actually have one judge who rotates around and looks at all the cases that come through the prosecuting attorney's office, and HE decides which ones will be prosecuted and which ones won't, and i say POPPYCOCK to that, i say that every case which is of an infamous character has to be brought before a grand jury, and that jury of the county or community will decide whether or not to prosecute. you know, if we were to bring this case here, this alleged theft of two parking tickets out of the district court, where i'm facing forty years in prison and a $20,000 fine.. i don't know if they lost them or maybe it's a frameup or they're just mad at me, or maybe they're trying to get a felony conviction on me so i can never run for public office or something. and by the way, to set your minds at ease, all of you out there, i'm not running for any kind of public office. i know i'm not a politician and don't have the mentality for it. i used to think i was a prophet. i remember about 1968 i made some prophecies, and let's see, the fifth prophecy was that the temple would be built in jerusalem in 1968, and i thought that the tribulation would begin about 1972, and i thought the second coming of christ would come about 1975. and then i got to reading i think it was deuteronomy 8, and it said something about a prophet, and if he makes prophecies that come not to pass, then you'll know. so i just want you to know that god didn't send me, because none of those prophecies came to pass, and i figured right out i wasn't a prophet. so i don't know what i am, i just know what i am not, and another thing that i know that i am not is a politician. at this moment in time, i believe that i have the character and the moral integrity to tell you that i won't run for public office, because i don't think that those who serve in public office have the character i have. and i'm not bragging or saying anything great about myself, but i'm just telling you in plain language that my character, whatever it is, is three or four notches above any politician i've ever met. so if any you are prosecutors out there and are concerned about george gordon running for office and trying to straighten the world out, you can forget about it. okay, over here we have this thing called direct examination, and later on a reference to cross examination, and you'll notice that during cross examination, miss carnahan would object. NOTICE THESE OBJECTIONS, and the language that the judge and prosecutor here, and try to pick up on the phrases and ideas used here. your acceptability and professional manner in the court will be recognized by the judge, the prosecution and your adversary, and they'll know it by the words that proceed out of your mouth. i think there's an old proverb that runs something like, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. so, out of the abundance of your mind, you speak your defense. so here's the preliminary hearing where i had the chance to throw this case out, and i worked real hard trying to get that done, but the judge bound me over. take a look at this, and see if you can spot the reason why this happened. was it prejudice? no, i don't think so. was it because of pressure of the judicial system, maybe? oh, probably more that, i don't think they had a case, really. Now i don't know if i mentioned this before, but up here in the corner, there's a number to help you keep track. when you gave this particular document to the judge, you gave him a copy with the number there. and your has the number, of course. but the PROSECUTOR'S copy, that you gave him, it should NOT have any numbering on it, and this is just common sense. it's not in your best interests to give your adversary any more information than is absolutely necessary. the jurisdiction brief. remember, that's a crucial issue, and one of the things it embodies is the ability of the court to effect a remedy. and of course, you're challenging jurisdiction. i was in court the other day, the jury came in and found me guilty and we went to the sentencing hearing, and i laid the money issue out. now in the state of idaho, our state statutes, idaho code, defines dollar, says the money of account is measured in dollars. and your federal constitution, article 1 section 10, of course, defines money. and the coinage act of 1792 defines the dollar as being 412.5 grains of silver. when i brought that up to the judge, and this is very interesting, he said, mr gordon, because of the money issue, i'm going to suspend the fine. we've been here a year and a half preaching the money issue, had another judge the other day tell me, you just may have something there. so maybe things aren't as bad as we believed. here's the felony of destruction of jail charges defense brief, the list of every motion, all 34 of them. as you go through these, you'll see the order they're filed in. we'll get into motions later on, teach you how to read and write the statutes and then how to read and write motions, plead the complaint, challenge the statute and look for the key words that cause reversible error. here's number 33, status to contract. in lesson 1, we went into that, and i want to pass on a litle trick here to serve at arraignment. this particular paper can be served at arraignment, but if it isn't ready, don't worry. you can make motions all you want, or rather, notices and demands. that's another important thing, and we'll repeat it real loud and clear: YOU NEVER 'MAKE MOTIONS'; YOU DO NOT 'MOVE' THE COURT. ONLY AN INJURED PARTY CAN MOVE THE COURT. you make NOTICES and DEMANDS, for example: "I demand that the court take judicial notice of this", "I demand counsel of my choice", "I demand a public prosecutor", etc. the jurisdiction brief uses status, and explains how the statutes attempt to bind people to specific performance with quasi-voluntary agreements. and here's one that demands a subpoena duces tecum. what's black's definition of that one? "a process by which the court, at the instances of the suitor, commands a witness who has in his possession or control some document or paper that is pertinent to the issues of a pending controversy, to produce it at the trial. State ex re. Everglades Cypress Co. v. Smith, 104 Fla. 91,139 So. 794; Ex parte Hart, 240 Ala. 642,200 So. 783,785." you're telling them to bring forward the physical property, in this case, the jail clothes that i'm alleged to have destroyed and torn up, so we can show them to the jury, put it in their hands and measure the damage. here's your opening statement in the jurisdiction argument: "comes now the defendant in the instant case claiming all of his rights under the common law and waiving none of his rights at any time, appearing by motion and not granting jurisdiction to this court, as the issue of jurisdiction is in question, to wit:" almost every appearance i've made has been with that specific reservation of all of my rights. if i've ever forgotten it, it was a mistake and an accident. you're appearing and telling the court: "-- to order the government to bring forward, at the probable cause hearing, any and all rags alleged in the complaint to have been torn or damaged by the defendant on or about April 9, 1982. These rags are necessary and imperative to the defense in the instant case dated April 21, 1982." so here in idaho, check your state for the details, you have to be brought before this preliminary hearing within 21 days if you have been released from jail, and within 14 days if you're still in jail. now on the 15th day, you've got another motion, moving for dismissal for failure to bring the defendant forth timely under rule 5-21 or whatever it happens to be. this last felony, the judge didn't bring me forward for 27 days. if i don't win in the district court, or if this mickey mouse case isn't dismissed, and i'll call it that, a mickey mouse case, any judge can see that it should be dismissed. focus on the words NECESSARY AND IMPERATIVE. everything i demand is necessary and imperative, or else i wouldn't be demanding it! the judge will say, oh, you could get by without one of these, couldn't you? absolutely not, your honor! i don't see how we can continue forward without the actual physical evidence here in the hands of the officer in question and the ability to ask him questions and look at the rags! and the judge may not let you have 'em, but when the appeals court looks at it, it'll be a different story. we'll wrap this particular lesson up on this note. here you have a case, and it may be the only time you've ever seen a case -- i've got a lot, if you want to buy some more, i've got at least ten, and we'll be happy to put 'em together and quote a price. but i think this one here will be plenty, and you can copy this -- remember we're not concerned about copyright laws, this paper is mine and i own it and i'm giving you permission to copy it, but remember that it would be advantageous to the most number of people if you could keep it in its entirety, don't leave out chunks of it, try to pass the whole thing along, all 34 items. there's service of process. [end of lesson] ** [This one is very likely outdated, but it's the most recent item I have regarding "sole and despotic dominion" (one of Bouvier's many definitions of "property", and a damn good one). I offer it here because it still seems like a good starting point for people to research from.] HOW TO RECORD A LAND PATENT IN CALIFORNIA This article will explain the steps necessary to record a Land Patent in California. When I first attempted this, I met with negative results, so I filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus in Superior Court to compel the County Clerk/Recorder to file and record my Land Patent. Needless to say, I was ruled against, the court holding that my Declaration of Land Patent was a self- serving instrument. Further study led me to the method I have used twice in the County of Amador, without so much as a whimper of objection. 1. Get the legal description of your property--Township number, Range number, and Section number. These numbers may be on your deed, but this is not likely. You may have to go to the County Tax Assessors office to get this information. 2. Next, send a copy of this information to Bureau of Land Management Federal Office Building, Room E-2841 2800 Cottage Way Sacramento, California 95825. (Phone 916-484-4724) In your letter to the Bureau of Land Management, ask for certified copies of all Land Patents or Grants that were issued regarding the property described. The cost for your certified copies is somewhere in the neighborhood of $5.00 each, so you can send an amount in excess of this to be positive. They will refund the difference, if any. Also, make payment only with a U.S. Postal Money Order. 3. When you receive your certified copies, you will then grant the property from yourself to yourself, using the certified copies as exhibits to your Grant Deed. Most any stationery store has blank "Grant Deeds." Use the one that you got when you bought your property as a reference. Fill out the Grant Deed as usual, except, that in the area for the description of the property, you will insert the following statement: For Description, see EXHIBIT "A", consisting of one page, and EXHIBIT "B" consisting of ___ page(s), attached hereto and made a part hereof. If your land patent consists of more than one page, insert the total number of pages for Exhibit "B". 4. Exhibit "A" is the revised description of your property. Type up the description of your property as it appears on the deed you got when you bought the property. Immediately below this description, insert the following: ALSO TOGETHER WITH assignment of any and all Rights, Title, Interests, Privileges, and Immunities, as Assign(ee)/(s), of the Original Patentee(s) or Grantee(s) to that portion or those portions of United States Land Patent No. ___________, a Certified Copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "B" and incorporated hereat by reference, dated ____________ ___, _______, originally recorded by ________________ on _______________ ___, ______, in Book ____, at page _______, of ____________ County Patents, as the same concern the herein described real property. Note: The above is a general form and you should change the wording to show the type of interest you have in the property and the "Book" the patent was originally recorded in. You can find the original book and page by looking up the name(s) of the original Patent Holder(s) for your property in the County Recorder's office. Also, if more than one patent applies to your property, list each as part of the above paragraph. 5. Take your completed unsigned Grant Deed, with attached exhibits to a Notary Public for execution. 6. You are now ready to have your Land Patent recorded and brought forward in your name. One additional point that I might add is that, according to the owner of the title company where I had my Grant Deed notarized, a future purchaser will have a hard task, if not an impossible one, getting title insurance on the property. Isn't that too bad!! 7. Take your notarized Grant Deed and exhibits to the County Recorder's ofice for recordation. If they ask you what you are doing, you can just tell them something on the order of "I'm just protecting my interests in my property." Yours for a Constitutional republic!!! Robert D. Ferlingere ** [This is an on-line chat recorded and stored on the now-defunct Sovereign's Paradise BBS in California. The student's identity is unknown; the "teacher" is probably the sysop, Bill Thornton. I have edited and cleaned up the text slightly.] HABEAS CORPUS INQUIRY PRACTICE SESSION #1 "John," say de judge, "y'all step fo'th!" Will you please give me your name, sir? (Says John to de judge) I'm de jedge in this here co't, and I wanna know what the reason you have brought these here innocent people for me to examine them. Answer me now! (pause) "Bang! de gavel say -- "Answer!" de jedge say Sir, why are you acting this way? Are you suspending the Writ? Of course not. Now why don't you answer these here simple questions? (pause) If you continue to ignore my questions I'm going to put you in the can. What is your NAME, bub!? Would you accept "John"? "John" what? On Roger's paper it says "is it not the Accusor's responsibility to put the name into Court?" (See page 4. Position in open Court.) Marshal, take this man into custody. I don't know no "Roger" and no "Roger's paper." "click" go de hand cuffs Are you suspending the Writ, Sir.? If so I now you....... ================================================== OK, where do we go now? Well, obviously, the Judge has not suspended the writ. Just ask him. Call for remedy? Try it. ================================================== Sir, I now ask for the remedy. I see no remedy before me. You have been very contemptous of this court sir. We must have law and ORDER in the town. People like you should learn that. Understand? Never mind. Marshall, take this man into the can till he learns his lesson. Sir, are you aware the hearing is terminated. I now call for the alternative...... Do you want an extension of the sentence? Marshal, take him away. (judge leaves the bench) help! ??????--gotchha visiting hours are from 1 to 2 every Friday. This is Monday... I guess that we are not ready DT. Just stop talking to our buddy about me going to jail and that just upset her But it's fun to play judge and put people in jail. let's review this. OK? ok What I did to you was put a twist in your pathway. You were headed nicely in the direction of Habeas Corpus. What I did was engage in a personal attack on you.. My excuse was that I asked you questions and you did not show any inclination to answer. In equity that would be contempt of the court. As soon as I launched my attack, you should have stopped talking and let me run out of steam.. at some point I have to take a breath, or at least get some reaction out of you. You were then at a fork in your road. You chose to pursue the habeas corpus, which of course, is technically correct. But you let me get away with the initial arrest without any real challenge. What you should have said, as soon as you were arrested, was, "Why am I being arrested?" oh ok It still would have been a question and not a statement. But the judge departed from the normal "civil" procedure, and into something really different. Every one has a legal and equitable right to know why he is in custody. Even the worst judges know that. If you immediately ASK why you are in custody, the judge now really is under pressure to answer that question. The only answer he can give is that you are in contempt because you refused to answer his questions. At that point you can ask, when was I given the Miranda warning that I had to answer the questions or be thrown in jail? By the way, that is exactly what Natalie Telemaque did in Phoenix, Arizona. Actually, I cannot imagin that things would go that way in your civil case. In Natalie's case, she was before the judge on no-driver's license matter, and they really were itching to find even the smallest excuse to put her in jail. The marshal put the handcuffs on her in the courtroom, but then he took them off again, because she did immediately attack the immediate custody issue. like I said, in your case, you will never get close to that point. But if you can handle me, you can probably handle the judge. Dare you try again? not tonight I'll get ready tomorrow nite...just a minute, I have a question about procedure. Could we amend the counterclaim in the Municipal court case to identify one of the John Doe's and name him? Making him a party to the action in that court? Would it stop him from holding the 1/13/89 hearing? you could, but it would not stop him. It's basically located in his territory. He can probably count on the support of his co- workers (judges, clerks, marshals, etc.) They all seem quite anxious to break their own laws. You already have him as a "defendant" in your district court case (federal) Yes. John wants you to know that we have to make a special appearance in Municipal Court on that day, right? Right. The special appearance is a way of appearing for the purposes of challenging jurisdiction, but otherwise, in a legal sense, you have not appeared. But, you cannot be accused of failure to appear when you do it that way. When you appear, (assuming you have not convinced them to back off in the U.S. court) you just object, and conduct your habeas corpus examination as before. In fact, when they call the hearing, you pop up and ask for the opposing party exactly as you did in the U.S. court. Make it a habeas corpus proceeding. Also, you ask questions. If they interfere, (let them interfere at least three times to prove a pattern) then you declare the meeting terminated. Remember--not matter what they do or say, you can straighten it out later with the paperwork. That is where you use the writ of error. For example: You are trying to get a witness to testify. But the judge is using his position to keep you from do so. Also the judge says that your motions and questions are frivolous etc etc. Realize that the judge took the floor to do his talking before you were ready to give up the floor (parliamentary style). He violated the procedure. Therefore, writ of error. It seems to be a little tricky but not really that bad if we can hold things together. The thing that makes it work is the habeas corpus inquiry. As the accused you have a right to examine (i.e. "face") your accusers (6th amendment). When the judge interferes with your constitutional rights, he has extended himself beyond his jurisdiction. The writ of error is used to put him back in his place. Basically, what we need to do is some more practice like we just did. It might be a good idea if I study it myself. I could not have planned it better (pat pat). But it worked perfectly as an example of how things can wrong (from your point of view). The example is good because, even though it went to the extreme, it was an accurate display of the "flow" of logic in such a situation. (actually, there is no logic). Ok (pat, pat) but you turned my stomach upside down again! good. not because I'm sadistic, but because it will condition you and sensitize you to the situation as it develops in the courtroom. By getting this practice, you will be able to nip it in the bud in the courtroom and not let it get out of hand as you did here. [end of recorded text] ** -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.3a mQCNAiuhO1QAAAEEAOuUGP0QKhow6Fao1yAZklOAoU+6sXt8978TaJYQQ+NTHMx7 zlnmG6d6LWarPgwIwyCyygEMU+2zAClde08YHOSI/zH+2rvLSaddgPcGJlf7V7+K uhu3nBJM6dhEBKY2P3UfO+CmQQemQ3Q8yR4m8HEpno1VRzUIh2QAFfmIg8VVAAUR tDNJYW4gTSBTY2hpcmFkbyA8aW1zQHRodW5kZXItaXNsYW5kLmthbGFtYXpvby5t aS51cz4= =WIMt -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----