Page 1 of 1

Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:14 pm
by Burnaby49
The British are finally attaining critical mass on the Freeman Follies. Old stuff to we Canadians. You'd think the morons trying this in Britain would be at least a little hesitant given the total lack of success here in Canada but, then again, we still have stalwart types like Hawes, Gerlitz, and Master Gee playing the same old tunes.

http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/associate ... d-defences

Be nice to start getting some reported cases.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:07 pm
by notorial dissent
The old line, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it", would seem to have been written specially for the sovcit/FOTL crowd. Since they never learn anything from their past follies and those of their fellows, they are doomed to repeat the same stupid errors time and time again, and do.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 1:29 am
by PeanutGallery
Isn't part of the problem with Sov's learning from mistakes largely down to the simple fact that when a Sov finally fails and realises it's baloney (as opposed to a regular fail which is always down to them not knowing the right magic words/writing in the wrong colour pen/the Judge being a secret reptilian overlord/it being the fault of the company/they wont let us win) , unless a passing Burnaby is in the vicinity, nothing is really documented. It's very rare that a died in the wool Sov posts up a video about how they were an idiot (I can only think of two examples - Ben Lowrey and Jamie "Bopalot" Barnes - both of whom have done some damage to themselves because of their beliefs but have fortunately realised the woo for what it is).

One of the reasons that we don't here is of course because it's likely to be rather difficult for the Sovrun to update their status or post a new YouTube if they are looking for a comfy bridge to sleep under or if their courtroom escapades have landed them in jail. Another is that people simply don't like admitting they were wrong or that they were taken in or like the idea that someone can say the right sort of things and completely influence their decision making.

Of course this is where Quatloos (and sites like it) come in, the Sov scams get documented and discussed here. This can go some way to debunking future scams and hopefully stopping the gullible and desperate from being taken in by the smoke, mirrors and woo.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:28 am
by Burnaby49
Passing? I'll have you know I schedule my entertainment carefully. However real life is going to force me to be somewhat negligent in my duties next week. Gregor Jahn has a hearing on the 16th which conflicts with my last chance to go pubbing in 2014. Not a hard decision, I've been to three Jahn hearings so far and nothing of consequence yet.

Then on the 18th Michael Spencer Millar has a hearing I want to attend, he's a Poriskyite promoter and from what I saw at a prior hearing he's planning to go down with all flags flying. Irresistible for a tax guy like me. But, yet again, a conflict. My Canada Revenue Agency audit team's Christmas lunch is on the 18th. I worked in that team for 31 years and even though I'm long retired I still attend the Xmas lunch. However a glimmer of hope. Lunch is at noon and the hearing is scheduled to start at 2PM. The lunch location is a five minute walk from the Vancouver courthouse so I should be able to catch at least some of it. However Millar has another hearing scheduled for January 6 that I definitely can't make. I'll be in Tucson ambling around the Pima Air Museum and checking out their craft brewerys.

http://www.craftbeeraz.com/arizona-beer-trail-road-map/

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 7:13 am
by littleFred
Some UK freemen are kind enough to document their own failures. For example, freeman1975 was the registered keeper of a vehicle that was snapped speeding in January 2014. He was also in the vehicle, but doesn't know if he or one of the other three occupants was the driver.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 172, the police required him to name the driver. The speeding was sufficiently minor that the driver would have qualified to do a Speeding Awareness Course, cost around £90, with no prosecution. But freeman1975 decided to fight.

freeman1975 explained that he didn't have the permission of the other three possible drivers to name them, and anyway it was the police's job to prove who it was. And it certainly wasn't him, because he no longer drives but travels.

freman1975 was prosecuted for failing to name the driver. He used these arguments, also demanding to know who the injured party was, and so on. Unsurprisingly, he was found guilty.
freeman1975 wrote:Up-shot, I got fined £1000+, plus 6 penalty points
This would actually be a fine, plus costs, plus a victim surcharge. Our hero doesn't take this lyng down. He appealed.
freeman1975 wrote:I believe it gonna cost the system a tidy sum, ha, ha, ha.
The appeal was held in October. Conviction upheld; another £475 costs. He required them to move the case to Queens Bench. They didn't.

He is currently trying to appeal to Crown Court. Meanwhile, the Magistrates' Court is threatening bad things if he doesn't pay.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:42 am
by ArthurWankspittle
littleFred wrote:Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 172, the police required him to name the driver. The speeding was sufficiently minor that the driver would have qualified to do a Speeding Awareness Course, cost around £90, with no prosecution. But freeman1975 decided to fight.
There aren't enough facepalms to convey how epically stupid that move is.
littleFred wrote:freeman1975 explained that he didn't have the permission of the other three possible drivers to name them, and anyway it was the police's job to prove who it was.
Which is why the law is written the way it is, otherwise it would be near unenforceable because all drivers would use the last part of the above quote as a defence.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 1:50 pm
by littleFred
Agreed.

I should mention for any non-UK readers: a conviction for failing to name the driver is expensive. Not only the court penalty, but a big hike in insurance premiums. Insurance companies wonder what the initial accusation was that made not naming the the driver a better option.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:19 pm
by JamesVincent
littleFred wrote:Some UK freemen are kind enough to document their own failures. For example, freeman1975 was the registered keeper of a vehicle that was snapped speeding in January 2014. He was also in the vehicle, but doesn't know if he or one of the other three occupants was the driver.
We have the same thing here, in red light cameras and speeding cameras. Except that, here, the fines attach to the vehicle. It doesn't matter who's driving. The owner of the vehicle gets a notice, with a lovely set of pictures of the vehicle, and a demand to pay the fine. You can pay it or go to court, your choice. Failure to pay results in the suspension of the vehicles registration, along with late fees, etc. There is no points, as it is not considered a moving violation.

edit: I will say that I've never seen much good going to court over them, at least in MD. I've had two of the red light camera tickets while working in Baltimore and going to court seemed to irritate the judge to no end. Which is kinda funny/ not funny since MD got sued and ordered to change its ways after the Federal government found that they had shortened the yellow light times to get more red light violations.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:46 pm
by Jeffrey
I would have guessed it was on the decrease.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 3:18 pm
by Pottapaug1938
JamesVincent wrote:
edit: I will say that I've never seen much good going to court over them, at least in MD. I've had two of the red light camera tickets while working in Baltimore and going to court seemed to irritate the judge to no end. Which is kinda funny/ not funny since MD got sued and ordered to change its ways after the Federal government found that they had shortened the yellow light times to get more red light violations.
This reminds me of the stories which my father told about being stationed in Charleston, SC during World War II. Among other things, he told me about how many country sheriffs' incomes depended on how many speeders they caught; so if the sheriff said that you were caught going 40 1/2 miles an hour, You Were In Violation Of The Law. People with out-of-state license plates on their cars were especially likely to get victimized, due to the expense of coming back to fight the tickets and the unlikelihood of getting an even break from the court in question.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 4:02 pm
by Arthur Rubin
A number of red-light tickets were thrown out in California; in fact, in one jurisdiction, a Superior Court Judge (not traffic court) through out all automatic tickets in the previous year (although I think that was for speeding cameras, rather than red-light). Problems included no record of calibration tests and the fact that the camera company was paid per report, leading to a clear conflict of interest.

I think the "failure to squeal" law would be found unconstitutional here in the US. That's why the tickets are attached to the car and made a "fee", rather than there being any attempt made of due process.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 4:14 pm
by Jeffrey
You know I thought for a long time that ticket quotas were just a myth.

Idk if I've linked this before but you just reminded me of it, one of the more interesting articles to come out due to the fallout over Ferguson that didn't really get much coverage:

http://www.governing.com/topics/public- ... udget.html

We actually have municipalities that get 40% of their budgets from fines and tickets. And interestingly if you observed the livestreams of the protests, you would occasionally see one or two protesters using sovereign citizen arguments.

In fact, I haven't seen this reported anywhere yet but based on the FBI interview with Dorian Johnson's cousin, he indicates he changed his name due to some type of sovereign citizen or Moorish beliefs.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 5:46 pm
by Burnaby49
Arthur Rubin wrote:A number of red-light tickets were thrown out in California; in fact, in one jurisdiction, a Superior Court Judge (not traffic court) through out all automatic tickets in the previous year (although I think that was for speeding cameras, rather than red-light). Problems included no record of calibration tests and the fact that the camera company was paid per report, leading to a clear conflict of interest.

I think the "failure to squeal" law would be found unconstitutional here in the US. That's why the tickets are attached to the car and made a "fee", rather than there being any attempt made of due process.
The fine attaches to the car here in British Columbia because it is generally impossible to identify the driver since the picture is take from behind. I have a very nice photo the police took of our Dodge van when my wife went through a speed trap and it clearly shows my wife driving with our two kids in the back but it is only "clearly" to me. Useless for ID purposes because it only shows the backs of their heads. However the important issue, the license plate, is easily readable.

Re: Ascent Legal reports 10% rise in Freeman cases.

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 6:09 pm
by littleFred
In the UK, speeding and other fines go into the general taxation pot. I think one pot covers the entire UK, but I wouldn't be surprised if Scotland gets its own pot, if it hasn't already. The cost of speed cameras comes from local budgets. Of course, this doesn't prevent speeding motorists from referring to cameras as cash cows. Greater argument can be had about Speed Awareness Courses, which are run by a variety of companies, often employing retired police staff as instructors.

The UK "failure to squeal" law (aka self-incrimination) has been tested in the European Court of Human Rights. Obviously, the USA isn't party to the ECHR.