On Sovereign Citizenship

I used to work in a job where I spent a lot of time reading recorded documents at the County Recorders Office. One day I came across a document that purported to be a declaration to the world, particularly the government, apparently, that this gentleman was a "sovereign citizen," over whom the United States, and its constituent parts, had no jurisdiction.

Uh....

So, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one level below the Supreme Court of the United States, recently issued an opinion in the case of John Jones Bey v. State of Indiana, et al. written by Judge Richard Posner.

John Jones Bey, who describes himself as an “Aboriginal Indigenous Moorish-American,” filed in the district court what he labeled a “Writ of Mandamus,” seeking to enjoin state and county officials from taxing real estate that he owns in Marion County, Indiana. He also asked that the defendant officials be ordered to refund the taxes that he’d paid and to compensate him for their alleged wrongs.

At this point, the claim already seems frivolous. What a world if we could all just declare ourselves exempt from taxation!  If that's how we roll, I hereby declare myself exempt from all bar tabs!

Bey says he’s a “sovereign citizen” and therefore can’t lawfully be taxed by Indiana or its subdivisions in the absence of a contract between them and him. 

And there we have it folks. Methinks the tinfoil hats are coming out next.

 He asked the district court to award him $11.5 billion.

Check and mate.

Although the Moorish Science Temple does not buy the “sovereign citizen” line, many of its members do. Many of them argue, without any basis in fact, that as a result of eighteenth-century treaties the United States has no jurisdiction over its Moorish inhabitants, who are therefore under no obligation to pay taxes. That is Bey’s position, but he does not explain how it entitles him to an $11.5 billion refund from the State of Indiana and/or its subdivisions. Nor is there any basis for his contention that he is not required to pay any taxes because being a Moor makes him a sovereign citizen; he may be a Moor but—we emphasize, in the hope of staving off future such frivolous litigation—he is not a sovereign citizen. He is a U.S. citizen and therefore unlike foreign diplomats has no immunity from U.S. law. Indeed his suit is frivolous and was therefore properly dismissed; he was lucky to be spared sanctions for filing such a suit.

Mic drop.

Here is the opinion for anyone interested. As per always with Judge Posner, it is well written.