Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
110 th Congress
1st Session
H. R. ___________
For the relief of Don Hamrick
Representative MARION BERRY, 1st District of Arkansas, introduced the following bill;
A PRIVATE BILL
For the relief of Don Hamrick
Ex justa causa fiat justitia ruat coelum.
(Latin, From just cause let justice be done though the heavens fall asunder.)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
Ex malis moribus bonae leges natae sunt, (Latin, Out of bad practices good laws are born) is the
fundamental purpose for this Private Bill.
This Private Bill involves claims against the United States by Don Hamrick, an Able Seaman of the
U.S. Merchant Marine for which all available judicial and administrative remedies have wrongfully been
denied.
WARNING:
Don Hamrick has filed a human rights complaint against the United States for corruption of justice
with the INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, Petition No. 1142-06.
THIS PRIVATE BILL IS EVIDENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
FOR THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
ii
Don Hamrick’s Definition of Injustice:
The wrongful acts of the judicial and executive branches of the U.S. Government
prohibiting the individual citizen from enforcing his statutory, civil, constitutional,
and human rights.
“If everywhere I turn for remedies as a matter of statutory, civil, constitutional and
human rights and I am denied those remedies at each and every step then it stands to
reason that unenforceable rights are not rights at all but only revocable or deniable
privileges, the illusion of rights. The ultimate remedy therefore becomes civil
disobedience, rebellion, rioting, or open civil war for freedom. But for want of an
educated public we must suffer this injustice.”
The Plaintiff, Don Hamrick.
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iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1. CLAIMS......................................................................................................1
CLAIM No. (1). Don Hamrick has a Right to a Private Bill Remedy Citing as Precedence
Wilke v. Robbins, 551 U.S. ____; 433 F. 3d 755; 1127 S.Ct. 2588 (June 25, 2007). ............................1
CLAIM No. (2). The U.S. Coast Guard’s Final Agency Action wrongfully denied Second
Amendment Rights of Don Hamrick and the federal courts wrongfully denied his right to judicial
review of that final agency action in violation of his First Amendment to petition and his Seventh
Amendment right to a civil jury trial. ....................................................................................................2
CLAIM No. (3) Civil RICO Act Treble Damages in the amount of $14 Million .................................4
CLAIM No. (4) $1 Million in Compensatory Damages........................................................................5
CLAIM No. (5) The Federal Courts nor the U.S. Coast Guard or any other Federal Agencies
recognized Don Hamrick’s right as an unrepresented civil plaintiff with a Civil RICO Act case
to act in the capacity of a Private Attorney General. .............................................................................5
CLAIM No. (6) The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Court Clerk are Fugitives
from Justice............................................................................................................................................7
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS .............................................................9
SECTION 1: The Congress is Killing the Right to Petition ..................................................................9
(a)“Private Legislation” .......................................................................................................................... 9
SECTION 2. Brief Legislative History of Civil Defense (50 U.S.C. § 2251 et. seq.).........................13
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION.....................................................................15
SECTION 1: The U.S. Coast Guard Final Agency Action Denial was Wrongfully Based
Upon a Personal Ideology in Violation of the Oath of Office .............................................................15
SECTION 2: There Are No Federal Laws or Regulations on the Second Amendment Rights of
U.S. Seamen to Possess or Carry a Handgun, Whether Concealed Carry or Open Carry,
Between the Jurisdictions of Domestic Law and Maritime Law. ........................................................16
(1) “National Open Carry Handgun” Will Forever Be an Inherent Human Right of
Self-Defense .................................................................................................................................. 16
(2) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Has General Superintendence Over the
U.S. Merchant Marine and Merchant Personnel But Ignores the Role of Seamen’s
Second Amendment Rights in Homeland Security ................................................................. 16
SECTION 3: Federal and State Gun Control Laws Abolished Actual Freedom and Reinstated
Slavery in Violation of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments ..................................................20
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS ...................................23
SECTION 1. Calendar Committee and Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for
DC Violated Court Order of Judge Richard W. Roberts. ....................................................................23
SECTION 2: Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit told the
Federalist Society of Harvard Law School on February 28, 2003, “The American legal system
has been corrupted almost beyond recognition.”.................................................................................25
(1) Three Contemporary Threats to the Rule of Law ....................................................................... 25
(2) No 'Great Awakening' In Law School Classrooms .................................................................... 26
v
SECTION 3. Don Hamrick’s Political Poems Critical of the Federal Judicial System and the
United States Government ...................................................................................................................27
(1) “A Nihilistic Form of Government, This United States,” Inspired by Judge Edith Jones. ...27
(2) “Hailing From the Tower of Babel ...............................................................................................28
(3) “Cataclysms” ....................................................................................................................................29
(3) Affirming Judge Edith Jones’ declaration that the Rule of Law has religious origins. .........30
SECTION 4. Annotated Docket Report to Don Hamrick’s Present Case, No. 07-1616 .....................30
SECTION 5. Missing Documents in the Docket Report. ....................................................................34
(1) Missing Document Accompanying the Original Complaint: ....................................................34
SECTION 6. Equal Justice Under the Law Dos not Apply to the Unrepresented Civil Plaintiff........34
(1) Title 9 U.S. Attorneys’ Manual: Criminal Resource Manual § 2404 Extortion Under
Color of Official Right - Hobbs Act...........................................................................................34
SECTION 7. The U.S. Supreme Court is Systematically Attacking and Taking Away Various
Forms of Remedies. .............................................................................................................................38
SECTION 8. Comments on the Ninth Circuit pro se Task Force Report ............................................43
III. Problems Not Addressed in the Report ........................................................................................43
A. The Role of Bias ..........................................................................................................43
B. Remedies That Fail ......................................................................................................45
C. Common Experiences of Pro Se Litigants ...................................................................47
1. Perjury is tolerated by the judge...........................................................................47
2. Records submitted to the court disappear from the files ......................................47
3. Judges’ opinions fail to address the issues of the lawsuit ....................................48
4. Certain litigants must always win ........................................................................48
5. Different standards are applied to different litigants............................................49
6. Recent handling of civil lawsuits by the courts have instigated a white collar
crime wave ...............................................................................................................49
7. Court orders go unheeded ....................................................................................50
8. Judges give orders contrary to law and accepted standards of behavior ..............50
9. Judges refuse to take actions required by law ......................................................50
10. Courts have become inconsistent and arbitrary..................................................51
11. Federalism theory interferes with practical justice.............................................51
SECTION 9. Judge Donald P. Lay, 8th Circuit in Dissenting Opinion: Too Many Summary
Judgments and 8th Circuit Too Readily Rubber-Stamping Summary Judgments................................52
(1) Melvin v. Cal-Freshener Corp., 06-1279 (8th Cir., July 12, 2006) ..........................................52
(2) Guerrerro v. J.W. Hutton, Inc., 06-1352 (8th Cir., Aug. 21, 2006) ..........................................52
(3) Green v. Franklin National Bank of Minneapolis, 05-2513 (8th Cir., Aug. 23, 2006) ..........53
(4) United States v. Minnesota Church of Angels, 06-1983 (8th Cir., Mar. 22, 2007) ..............53
SECTION 10. Judicial Reform: Federal Judicial Accountability & Integrity Legislation ..................53
(a) Preamble ............................................................................................................................................53
(b) Definitions ........................................................................................................................................53
(c) Immunity ...........................................................................................................................................54
(d) Special Federal Grand Jury ............................................................................................................54
(e) Professional Counsel .......................................................................................................................54
(f) Establishment of Special Federal Grand Jury Seat ......................................................................54
(g) Filing Fees ........................................................................................................................................54
(h) Annual Funding ...............................................................................................................................55
(i) Compensation of Jurors ...................................................................................................................55
vi
(j) Annual Budget .................................................................................................................................. 55
(k) Jurisdiction ....................................................................................................................................... 55
(l) Qualifications of Jurors ................................................................................................................... 55
(m) Selection of Jurors .......................................................................................................................... 55
(n) Service of Jurors .............................................................................................................................. 55
(o) Procedures ........................................................................................................................................ 56
(p) Removal ............................................................................................................................................ 56
(q) Indictment ......................................................................................................................................... 56
(r) Criminal Procedures. ....................................................................................................................... 57
(s) Public Indemnification .................................................................................................................... 57
(t) Redress ............................................................................................................................................... 57
(u) Preeminence ..................................................................................................................................... 57
PART 5. CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE...........59
SECTION 1. Justice Department Witheld Evidence from the Court...................................................59
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT 63
SECTION 1. Five Years of Obstructions of Justice forced Don Hamrick into the Role of a
Human Rights Defender ......................................................................................................................63
(1) United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders:........................................................ 63
(2) The Inter-American Convention Against Corruption: ............................................................... 63
(3) United Nations Convention Against Corruption: ....................................................................... 63
(4) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:................................................................ 63
(5) Universal Declaration of Human Rights: ..................................................................................... 64
(6) American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man: .......................................................... 64
SECTION 2. Don Hamrick Acting in the Capacity of a Private Attorney General.............................64
SECTION 3. Don Hamrick Acting in the Capacity of a Human Rights Defender..............................64
SECTION 4: United Nations Charter: Article 51 Inherent Right of Self-Defense Extends to
the Right of Personal Self-Defense......................................................................................................66
SECTION 5. Other Constitutions: Human Rights are Created by God. Not by Government. ............67
SECTION 6: Other Constitutions: Personal Self-Defense ..................................................................68
SECTION 7: Other Constitutions: Self-Defense Against Tyranny .....................................................70
SECTION 8: Other Constitutions: Right and Duty of Citizens to Resist or Revolt Against
Domestic or Foreign Tyranny..............................................................................................................70
SECTION 9: Other Constitutions: Security against home invasion ....................................................73
PART 7. THE THREE SHIELDS OF FREEDOM..............................................81
SECTION 1. The First Shield of Freedom: In the Interest of Justice ..................................................81
(1) Shared Belief in the “Golden Rule” (a.k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity).............................81
SECTION 2. The Second Shield of Freedom: Equal Justice Under the Law......................................85
SECTION 3. The Third Shield of Freedom: Actual Justice ................................................................86
SECTION 4. The More Things Change The More They Stay the Same............................................86
SECTION 5. A Brief History On the Unchanging Animalistic Human Nature .................................88
SECTION 6. The Myth of the Flat Earth Carried Over to the Myth of Gun Control..........................90
vii
PART 8. FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL RELIEF............................. 93
SECTION 1. Congressional Findings of Facts. ...................................................................................93
(1) First, Fifth, Seventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments Denied: Don Hamrick’s
right to judicial review of final agency action was wrongfully denied. ...............................93
(2) Pattern of Wrongful Behavior Becomes New Species of Litigation: Congress Affirms
U.S. Supreme Court’s Referral to the U.S. Congress on New Species of Litigation
In Re: Wilke v. Robbins (June 25, 2007) ..................................................................................93
(3) Fugitives from Justice: John G. Roberts, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, and
Named Judges of the DC Circuit ................................................................................................93
(4) Equal Justice Under the Law Denied: The Seamen’s Suit Law, 28 U.S.C. § 1916,
has not be equally applied by the federal courts .......................................................................94
(3) Right’s of Pro Se Civil Plaintiff Denied: The U.S. Supreme Court is biased against the
unrepresented civil plaintiff, Don Hamrick...............................................................................94
(4) Judicial and Administrative Remedies Exhausted: Don Hamrick has exhausted all
available judicial and administrative remedies. ........................................................................94
SECTION 2. CONGRESSIONAL ORDERS FOR RELIEF ..............................................................94
(1) ORDERED (Expungement of Records) .......................................................................................94
(2) ORDERED (Filing Fees Reimbursed With Interest): ................................................................94
(3) ORDERED (Attorney’ Fees): ........................................................................................................94
(4) ORDERED (Damages): ..................................................................................................................94
(5) ORDERED (Seamen’s Suit Law is Enforceable) .......................................................................94
(6) ORDERED (Permant Injunction Against DOT Bar Notices and against the U.S. Coast
Guard from further harassment of and/or retaliation against Don Hamrick) .......................95
(7) ORDERED (Citizen’s Arrest Warrant is verified and validated and enforceable by
Don Hamrick with ORDERED assistance from any and all federal law enforcement
agencies) .........................................................................................................................................95
(8) ORDERED (Criminal Investigations) ..........................................................................................95
(9) ORDERED (Civil Rights Investigation by U.S. Department of Justice and FBI) .................95
(10) ORDERED (Ethics Investigation by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of
Justice) ............................................................................................................................................95
(11) ORDERED (U.S. Department of Justice Federal Guidelines on the Law of Citizen’s
Arrest as Applied to Felonies Committed by Employees of Judicial, Executive, and
Legislative Branches of the U.S Government for the Unrepresented Civil Plaintiff
and the U.S. Citizen) ....................................................................................................................96
(12) ORDERED (U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard
Guidelines on the Role of Merchant Seamen in Homeland Security in Regard to
Second Amendment Rights of Seamen) ....................................................................................96
(13) ORDERED (Second Amendment Endorsement on Driver’s Liense as a Matter of a
Constitutional Right): ...................................................................................................................97
(14) ORDERED (Second Amendment Endorsement on Merchant Mariner’s Document
as a Matter of a Constitutional Right) ........................................................................................97
(15) ORDERED (Congressional Reports on Second Amendment Positive Applications
to Law) ...........................................................................................................................................97
(16) ORDERED (Negotiated Rulemaking for Second Amendment Rights as a
Constitutional Norm to Change Legal Norms and Social Norms) ........................................98
(17) ORDERED (Participants in Negotiated Rulemaking). ............................................................99
PART 9. PROPOSED REMEDIES..................................................................... 103
SECTION 1. The Human Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution............................................103
viii
SECTION 2. National Open Carry Handgun and the National Drivers Record................................103
SECTION 3. U.S. Merchant Marine Auxiliary and the Privateer Act of 2008 .................................104
SECTION 4. Social Norming the Second Amendment.....................................................................115
(1) The Dilemma for the Right of Citizen’s Arrest......................................................................... 118
(2) National Open-Carry Handgun as a Deterrent .......................................................................... 119
(3) Open-Carry Handgun Supported by 9th & 13th Amendments ................................................. 120
(4) The Meaning of “Bear Arms” ..................................................................................................... 121
(5) Pointing The Way! ........................................................................................................................ 121
(A). Brannon P. Denning, in his law review Gun Shy: the Second Amendment
as an “Underenforced Constitutional Norm”, (21 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 719,
Summer 1998) ................................................................................................................121
(B). In Eric M. Axler’s, The Power of the Preamble and the Ninth Amendment:
The Restoration of the People’s Unenumerated Rights, (24 Seton Hall Legis. J. 431
(2000): ............................................................................................................................122
(C.) Mark C. Niles’s Ninth Amendment Adjudication: An Alternative to
Substantive Due Process Analysis of Personal Autonomy Rights,
(48 UCLA L. Rev. 85, October, 2000, p. 123-135): ......................................................124
(i). A Ninth Amendment Adjudicative Mechanism ...............................................124
(D). Senate, Senator Claude Pepper of Florida, The Public Responsibilities of an
Educated Citizen, Congressional Record, Extension of Remarks, 79th Congress,
2nd Session (August 1, 1946, legislative day of Monday, July 29),
pages A4750-A4753.......................................................................................................131
(6). The Social Norms View of the Second Amendment .............................................................. 132
(7). Excerpts From Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, The Limits of Social Norms,
74 Chicago-Kent L. Rev. 1537 (2000) .................................................................................... 133
Social Norms ..................................................................................................................134
(8). The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Blows the Whistle On Sister Courts’ Second
Amendment Deceptions............................................................................................................. 136
(9). A Nation of Lies Governed by Liars Leads to Deception and Corruption as a
Social Norm ................................................................................................................................. 136
(10). Social Norms Marketing ........................................................................................................... 136
(11). Berkowitz, Alan D., Applications of Social Norms Theory to Other Health and
Social Justice Issues January, 2001 .......................................................................................... 138
Assumptions of Social Norms Theory ...........................................................................138
(12). The Deadly Belief in Gun Control: The Jessica Lynne Carpenter, Merced,
California Story........................................................................................................................... 140
(13) Grandmother of Slain Children Protests Trigger Locks and Mandatory Gun Storage .... 142
(14) Marching toward Gun Control is Marching toward Genocide ............................................. 143
(15) Social Norming the Second Amendment is Common Sense ................................................ 145
(16) Excerpts From, Robert C. Ellickson, “The Evolution of Social Norms: A Perspective
From the Legal Academy,” in Social Norms, eds. Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter
Opp. New York, Russel Sage Foundation, 2001, 35-75, citing material from
pages 40-45.................................................................................................................................. 145
(A). The Supply Side of the Market for Norms: Change Agents ...................................145
(B). Self-Motivated Leaders...........................................................................................147
(C). Norm Entreprenuers ................................................................................................147
(D). Opinion Leaders......................................................................................................147
(E). The Process of Norm Change..................................................................................148
(17). The Proving Grounds! ............................................................................................................... 148
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(18). Excerpt from Christine Horne, The Enforcement of Norms: Group Cohesion and
Meta-Norms, Social Psychology Quarterly, (A Journal of the American Sociological
Association.The Enforcement of Norms: Group Cohesion and Meta-Norms)
Vol. 64, No. 3, September 2001. .............................................................................................. 150
(19) Social Norming Resources ........................................................................................................ 152
(20) Social Issues Marketing ............................................................................................................. 153
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PART 1. CLAIMS
PART 1. CLAIMS
CLAIM No. (1). Don Hamrick has a Right to a Private Bill Remedy Citing as Precedence
Wilke v. Robbins, 551 U.S. ____; 433 F. 3d 755; 1127 S.Ct. 2588 (June 25, 2007).
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Wilkie v. Robbins directs Don Hamrick by manner of
precedence, to seek relief from the U.S. Congress with a PRIVATE BILL as a remedy to patterns of wrongful
behavior of U.S. Government employees that has otherwise been denied by final agency action and denied
Bivens and RICO Act remedies by the federal courts. In Robbins, the Court said:
We think accordingly that any damages remedy for actions by Government employees who
push too hard for the Government’s benefit may come better, if at all, through legislation.
“Congress is in a far better position than a court to evaluate the impact of a new species of
litigation” against those who act on the public’s behalf. Bush, 462 U. S., at 389. And
Congress can tailor any remedy to the problem perceived, thus lessening the risk of raising
a tide of suits threatening legitimate initiative on the part of the Government’s employees.
Ibid. (“[Congress] may inform itself through factfinding procedures such as hearings that
are not available to the courts”); cf. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U. S. 800, 814 (1982)
(recognizing “the danger that fear of being sued will dampen the ardor of all but the most
resolute, or the most irresponsible public officials, in the unflinching discharge of their
duties” (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted)).
Id. at 22 (last paragraph in II. C.)
In Don Hamrick’s case, as in Robbins, the federal courts and federal agencies have employed a
systematic pattern of wrongful and malicious behavior amounting to not only constitutional violations but
also violations of human rights of access to the courts, to a civil jury trial, and to a judicial remedy
consisting “of an episodic series of small events—events that in isolation may verge on the trivial. But—as
the metaphor ‘‘death by a thousand cuts’’ suggests—a series of small harms, in unison or in sequence, can
add up to one very large harm indeed.” 1 The combined effect of the Judicial Branch, the Executive Branch,
and the Legislative Branch unilaterally restricting available remedies has created unconstitutional
conditions of a nihilistic form of Government repugnant to our guaranteed Republican form of Government
were remedies are all but abolished. This is, by definition, tyranny most rampant.
This type of abuse of authority and abuse of office, in matters where firearms are included under
the umbrella of property rights (physical taking) and included under the Second Amendment (non-physical,
legislative takings) of the Fifth Amendment ought to be included in Title 18, Part I – Crimes, Chapter 65 –
Malicious Mischief; in Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, Part I, The Agencies Generally,
Chapter 7, Judicial Review, § 704 Actions Reviewable; in The Federal Tort Claims Act; in Title 28, Part I,
Organization of the Courts, Chapter 16 – Complaints Against Judges and Judicial Discipline.
Justice Souter delivered the opinion to the Court in Wilkie v. Robbins 551 U.S. ____; 433 F. 3d
755; 1127 S.Ct. 2588 (June25, 2007)
Officials of the Bureau of Land Management stand accused of harassment and intimidation
aimed at extracting an easement across private property. The questions here are whether
the landowner has either a private action for damages of the sort recognized in Bivens v.
Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388 (1971), or a claim against the officials
in their individual capacities under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
1
Citing Laurence H. Tribe, DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS: CONSTITUTIONAL WRONGS WITHOUT REMEDIES AFTER WILKIE
V. ROBBINS [1127 S. CT. 2588 (2007)].
1
PART 1. CLAIMS
Act (RICO), 18 U. S. C. §§1961-1968 (2000 ed. and Supp. IV). We hold that neither action
is available.
Don Hamrick’s case survives Wilkie v Robbins closure of Bivens and RICO Act remedies because
Don Hamrick’s case is a literal case of extortion under color of law, 18 U.S.C. § 872 in violation of a
seman’s statutory right under 28 U.S.C. § 1916. Citing Wilkie v. Robbins:
But even assuming that defendants’ conduct would be “chargeable under State law and
punishable by imprisonment for more than one year,” 18 U. S. C. § 1961(1)(A), it cannot
qualify as a predicate offense for a RICO suit unless it is “capable of being generically
classified as extortionate,” 2 Scheidler, 537 U. S., at 409, 410; accord, United States v.
Nardello, 393 U. S. 286, 296 (1969).
But yet, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Don Hamrick’s Motion to Proceed as a Seaman, (No.
07M24), which accompanied his Petition for Writ of Cetiorari on the vary same category of a pattern of
racketeering activity under the RICO Act as Robbins claimed but with Hamrick’s additional Hobbs Act
claim of extortion as a predicate act for RICO liability. The strict interpretation of the Rule of Law dictates
that Don Hamrick’s case should have been heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and the denial of his Motion
to Proceed as a Seaman non sequitur 3 to the Rule of Law.
The U.S. Supreme Court affirms the public suspicion about formulating opinions to a pre-
conceived decision before weighing in all the evidence with the remark in Robbins
“The point here is not to deny that Government employees sometimes overreach, for of
course they do, and they may have done so here if all the allegations are true. The point is
the reasonable fear that a general Bivens cure would be worse than the disease.”
Ib. at 23. (last paragraph in Section II. B. 1.).
Congressional remedy for Don Hamrick is compelling.
CLAIM No. (2). The U.S. Coast Guard’s FINAL AGENCY ACTION wrongfully denied Second
Amendment Rights of Don Hamrick and the federal courts wrongfully denied his right to
judicial review of that final agency action in violation of his First Amendment to petition and
his Seventh Amendment right to a civil jury trial.
The wrongful denial of Don Hamrick’s Seventh Amendment right violates international human
rights treaties on access to the courts for judicial remedy of the U.S. Coast Guard’s denial of his Second
Amendment rights by way of final agency action.
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to incorporate the Second Amendment through the
Fourteenth Amendment as applying to the States under the Incorporation Doctrine the States still cannot
legislate against the Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment because
U.S. Citizens do not give up their Second Amendment rights just because they travel interstate. Therefore,
State gun control laws that places out-of-state citizen’s in jeopardy of arrest for possession of a handgun or
other firearms when all else is relating to the possession is law makes those State laws unconstitutional, let
alone the human right to life and the human right of self-defense under international human rights treaties.
In 2002 the U.S. Coast Guard denied Don Hamrick his Second Amendment right to “NATIONAL
OPEN CARRY HANDGUN” endorsement on Don Hamrick’s Merchant Mariner’s Document in recognition of
federally required occupational training in small arms in accordance with OPNAVINST 3591.1C: SMALL
2
Emphasis added.
3
Latin: “it does not follow” inference or conclusion that does not logically follow from the premises.
2
PART 1. CLAIMS
ARMS TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION, dated May 13, 2002; ENCLOSURE (3) QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR
SECURITY PERSONNEL (AFLOAT) dated May 13, 1992, 4 through the Military Sealift Command, shipping
companies, and the Seafarers International Union. The small arms training falls under the GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS AND CLASSIFICATIONS FOR ABLE SEAMEN, 46 U.S.C. § 7306(a)(3):
"To qualify for an endorsement as able seaman authorized by this section,
an applicant must provide satisfactory proof that the applicant is qualified
professionally as demonstrated by an applicable examination or
educational requirements ."
The small arms training was a fulfilling requirement for 33 C.F.R. § 104.220 COMPANY OR VESSEL
PERSONNEL WITH SECURITY DUTIES:
Company and vessel personnel responsible for security duties must have
knowledge, through training or equivalent job experience, in the following,
as appropriate:
(a) Knowledge of current security threats and patterns;
(b) Recognition and detection of dangerous substances and devices;
(c) Recognition of characteristics and behavioral patterns of persons
who are likely to threaten security;
(d) Techniques used to circumvent security measures;
(e) Crowd management and control techniques;
(f) Security related communications;
(g) Knowledge of emergency procedures and contingency plans;
(h) Operation of security equipment and systems;
(i) Testing and calibration of security equipment and systems, and
their maintenance while at sea;
(j) Inspection, control, and monitoring techniques;
(k) Relevant provisions of the Vessel Security Plan (VSP);
(l) Methods of physical screening of persons, personal effects,
baggage, cargo, and vessel stores; and
(m) The meaning and the consequential requirements of the different
Maritime Security (MARSEC) Levels.
There are no federal laws or regulations for or against the “National Open Carry Handgun”
endorsement and the security regulation does not provide for arming watchstanding Able Seamen (STCW)
or dayworking Able Seamen while the vessel is transiting known pirate waters or at other times requiring
4
Current edition is OPNAVINST 3591.1E: SMALL ARMS TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION, dated February 20, 2007;
ENCLOSURE (1) RANGE REGULATIONS; ENCLOSURE (2) SMALL ARMS DRY FIRE TRAINING PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES;
ENCLOSURE (3) QUALIFICATIONS FOR PISTOLS – M9 Beretta Pistol and the M11 9mm Compact Pistol (Selection for U.S.
civilian Able Seamen are limited to the M9 9mm Beretta Pistol; ENCLOSURE (4) QUALIFICATIONS FOR RIFLE - M14,
M16 (series) rifles, M4A1, M727, and Mk-18 Carbines, Rifle selection for U.S. civilian Able Seamen limited to the
M14.; ENCLOSURE (5) QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR SHOTGUNS - 12-gauge 00 buckshot and slugs; ENCLOSURE (6)
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR LIGHT, MEDIUM AND HEAVY MACHINE GUN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION - M60 and MK43
(variants) 7.62MM medium machine guns, M240 (variants) 7.62MM medium machine guns, and MK46 Mod 0
(M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)) 5.56MM light machine guns (not available to civilian Able Seamen).
3
PART 1. CLAIMS
extra security. The federal regulation, 33 C.F.R. § 104.22, places unarmed company and vessel personnel
with security duties at grave risk of personal injury or death when security duties require that they approach
and confront suspicious persons. It is unrealistic and suicidal to expect crew members to comply with 33
C.F.R. § 104.22 without the security of firearms.
The U.S. Coast Guard did not support and defend the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights as
part of the Constitution as required by the Oath of Office. Instead the U.S. Coast Guard followed the
International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee policy on, PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY
AGAINST SHIPS: GUIDANCE TO SHIPOWNERS AND SHIP OPERATORS, SHIPMASTERS AND CREWS ON PREVENTING
AND SUPPRESSING ACTS OF PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS, MSC/Circ.623/ Rev.3, dated May
29, 2002, paragraphs 45 and 46 states:
Firearms
45 The carrying and use of firearms for personal protection or protection of a ship is
strongly discouraged.
46 Carriage of arms on board ship may encourage attackers to carry firearms thereby
escalating an already dangerous situation, and any firearms on board may
themselves become an attractive target for an attacker. The use of firearms
requires special training and aptitudes and the risk of accidents with firearms carried
on board ship is great. In some jurisdictions, killing a national may have
unforeseen consequences even for a person who believes he has acted in self
defence.
CLAIM No. (3) CIVIL RICO ACT TREBLE DAMAGES in the amount of $14 Million
Because of the U.S. Coast Guard’s wrongful detention, harassment, and defamation of Don
Hamrick for exercising his First Amendment and Second Amendment rights and for involving the U.S.
Coast Guard as a Defendant in his federal litigation Don Hamrick and the 5-year ordeal of obstructive
federal litigation by the federal courts and the U.S. Department of Justice Don Hamrick seeks damages
from the U.S. Congress in this Private Bill.
Don Hamrick used a 2003 TSA wrongful detention case 5 with a settlement of $50,000 for 3 hours
of wrongful detention to arrive at his $14 million amount. That mathematical equation worked out as
follows:
$50,000 for 3 hours of wrongful detention ÷ 3 hours = $16,666.67/hour
$16,666.67 x 24 hours = $40,0000/day
$40,0000/day x 12 days of wrongful detention by U.S. Coast Guard = $4.8 million
$4.8 million x RICO Act Treble Damages = $14.4 Million
The U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, DC had Don Hamrick taken off a U.S. Government Pre-
Position vessel anchored off the coast of Lithuania and placed in a hotel for what turned out to be 12 days,
and under orders of the Coast Guard, was told to wait for the arrival of two civilian special agents of the
U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service to be criminally interviewed. The ship left the very next day for
a 10-day exercise with the U.S. Navy stranding Don Hamrick in Lithuania at company’s expense for the
hotel bill and his own expenses for meals and other miscellaneous expenses which were never reimbursed.
To cause the Coast Guard’s wrath Don Hamrick emailed a Second Amendment advocacy article in support
of his application for the endorsement. The article cover had a photo of someone aiming a handgun at the
5
http://www.cnsnews.com/Nation/archive/200308/NAT20030801b.html (Still available as of December 14, 2007).
4
PART 1. CLAIMS
viewer point-blank with the caption, “Who do you want holding this gun? The criminal? Or, the law-
abiding citizen.” Don Hamrick had been emailing the U.S. Coast Guard officer in Washington, DC on a
recurring basis for 6 months prior to the emailing of that Second Amendment article on May 25, 2002. The
day before, on May 24, 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard officer mailed a letter to Don Hamrick’s home address
affirming the April 19, 2002 (coincidentally on Patriot’s Day) Final Agency Action denying the
endorsement. The Coast Guard did not email Don Hamrick about that letter to which the Coast Guard
officer knew full well Don Hamrick was aboard ship anchored off the coast of Lithuania. The U.S. Coast
Guard maliciously perceived this as a threat in retaliation for the May 24, 2002 letter without taking into
consideration that Don Hamrick was not aware of the May 25, 2002 Coast Guard letter.
The U.S. Congress statutorily waived sovereign immunity for U.S. seamen disputing Final Agency
Actions of the U.S. Coast Guard under 46 C.F.R. § 1.01–30(a) which states:
“Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any party from
seeking judicial review of any Commandant’s decision . . .”
The U.S. Coast Guard retaliated against Don Hamrick for bringing suit against the Coast Guard in
addition to others, including the President of the United States, George W. Bush on a Petition for Writ of
Mandamus followed by five years of abusive of judicial procedures by the federal courts and the U.S.
Department of Justice. The most egregious of these is the U.S. Department of Justice claiming the United
States did not waive sovereign immunity from a suit such as this with the federal courts agreeing to that
convenience in defiance of the actual waiver of sovereign immunity under 46 C.F.R. § 1.01–30(a). That is
only the tip of the troubles Don Hamrick has experience with the federal courts and the U.S. Department of
Justice.
CLAIM No. (4) $1 Million in Compensatory Damages
Don Hamrick’s pursuit of his Second Amendment right through the U.S. Coast Guard’s
administrative appeals process and through judicial review in the federal courts for an agonizing five years
has not been without adversity or injury. has incurred medical injury to his health in the form of high blood
pressure causing the end of his 19-year career as a seamen with the Seafarers International Union because
by the act of
Because Don Hamrick was fired off a U.S. container ship in Europe for high blood pressure that
unexpected event knocked him out of his financial juggling act of putting his wages earned toward the
expenses of pursuing his Second Amendment rights in the federal courts has financially ended his
membership with the Seafarers International Union. Don Hamrick, at age 52, must start his life financially
from scratch.
Because Don Hamrick devoted his life from 2002 to the present pursuing and defending the
constitutional rights of American seamen through the administrative process with the U.S. Coast Guard and
through the judicial review process in the federal courts on his own initiative without an attorney and faced
insurmountable obstacles Don Hamrick rightfully claims that the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
should provide honorary recognition under 14 U.S.C. § 93(a)(22) for his significant contribution to the
recognition of rights and duties of U.S. Merchant Marine personnel as a vital component to the Common
Defence clause of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution which consists of not only the National Defense
but also the Common Defence of actual freedom for the people of the United States through the Second
Amendment right to keep and bear arms as an additional part of compensatory damages..
CLAIM No. (5) The Federal Courts nor the U.S. Coast Guard or any other Federal Agencies
recognized Don Hamrick’s right as an unrepresented civil plaintiff with a Civil RICO Act case to act
in the capacity of a Private Attorney General.
Citing from David F. Herr, ANNOTATED MANUAL FOR COMPLEX LITIGATION, (Thomson West, 2006
ed., Chapter 35 Civil Rico, pp. 792-793, footnotes generally omitted):
5
PART 1. CLAIMS
Congress enacted the 1920 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to
respond to the “infiltration of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate
organizations operating in interstate commerce.” Congress targeted organized crime
through a broad statutory scheme that included severe criminal penalties, fines,
imprisonment, asset forfeiture, and civil remedies in an effort to undermine the economic
power of racketeering organizations. The statute further enabled private individuals to act,
in effect, as private attorneys general 6 to sue for injury to their businesses or property
caused by a RICO violation.
Civil RICO claims have alleged wrongs actionable under state and common law;
as well as other federal statutes. Although the statute was targeted at organized crime,
courts have broadly construed RICO’s provisions, and its scope has extended well beyond
its original aim. Early efforts by lower courts to restrict claims that appeared to exceed
RICO’s original goals were overruled by Supreme Court decisions that broadened the
statute’s reach. RICO claims can now be found in a variety of contexts, including
insurance and business disputes, antiabortion and other protests, consumer financial
services litigation family law, and whistle-blower actions. Although the nontraditional uses
of RICO have continued to expand despite significant criticisms by commentators and the
courts, Congress has shown little inclination to narrow the statute’s focus or reach.
Citing Paul A. Batista, Civil Rico Practice Manual, 2nd Ed. 2006 Cumulative Supplement (Wolters
Kluwer Law & Busines,):
§ 6.29 Agencies of the United States as RICO Defendants
In Berger v. Pierce, 933 F.2d 393 (6th Circuit, 1991) ─ which, like the Tenth, has been
highly conservative in its treatment of civil racketeering issues ─ held that a federal agency
is not subject to any civil RICO liability:
Section 1962 states a requirement of “racketeering activity” as a predicate
for a civil RICO action. Section 1961(1), in turn, defines “racketeering
activity,” which requires that the defendant be, variously, “chargeable,”
“indictable,” or “punishable” for violations of specific state and federal
criminal provisions. The assertion that the [federal agency] was engaged in
RICO conspiracy under section 1926(d) was patently defective as a matter
of law, since it is self-evidence that a federal agency is not subject to state
or [federal] criminal prosecution.
Berger 933 F.2d at 397.
§ 6.30 ─ Individual Federal Officials as RICO Defendants
The automatic immunity accorded to federal agencies from RICO liability does not extend
automatically to individual federal officials. While federal officials may qualify for the
absolute or limited immunity available to them in all types of federal civil litigation, they
do not receive the same underlying protection that federal agencies receive in the RICO
context.
This distinction was made clear in Mceily v. United States, 6 F.3d 343, 350 (5th Circuit,
1993) in which the Fifth Circuit held that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), “as a federal agency, is not chargeable, indictable or punishable for violations of
6
18 U.S.C. § 1964(c) (West 2003). See Rotella v. Wood, 528 U.S. 549, 557 (2000) (“The object of civil RICO is thus
not merely to compensate victims but to turn them into prosecutors, ‘private attorneys general,’ dedicated to
eliminating racketeering activity.”).
6
PART 1. CLAIMS
state and federal criminal provisions.” Id. In contrast, as McNeily stressed, individual
FDIC officials could face RICO liability, since individual federal officials can violate
RICO’s predicate acts. Id. See also Brown v. Nationsbank Corp., 188 F.3d 579, 587 (5th
Circuit, 1999) (“McNeily does not support the grant of immunity to FBI agents”).
CLAIM No. (6) The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Court Clerk are Fugitives from
Justice
The Seamen’s Suit law, 28 U.S.C. § 1916 provides:
“In all courts of the United States, seamen may institute and prosecute
suits and appeals in their own names and for their own benefit for wages or
salvage or the enforcement of laws enacted for their health or safety
without prepaying fees or costs or furnishing security therefor.”
Appended to this Private Bill are annotated copies of Court Orders from the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit unlawfully compelling payment of that Court’s filing fee from Don
Hamrick, who, being a seaman, is exempt from paying their filing fee. Other documents including the
August 30, 2007 letter from the Krista Jaffe, Private First Class, Supreme Court of the United States Police,
Threat Assessment Unit, confirming the U.S. Supreme Court received $600 in filing fees from Don
Hamrick. That letter it stated:
The purpose of this letter is to advise why you have not received
reimbursement from the Supreme Court of the United States for your
filings.
In No. 03-145 (Hamrick v. Bush, et al.), you submitted the docket fee of
$300.00. The petition for a writ of certiorari was denied October 6, 2003.
In No. 04-1150 (Hamrick v. Bush, et al.), the motion for leave to proceed
as a seamen was denied. The docket fee of $300.00 was also submitted in
this case, and the petition for a writ of certiorari is denied by this Court,
the petitioner is not reimbursed the docket fee.
Why a letter from the U.S. Supreme Court Police Threat Assessment Unit?
Because Don Hamrick visited the staff of Arkansas U.S. Senator Mark Pryor at the U.S. Senate
seeking congressional assistance in obtaining the return of the extorted under color of law $600 in filing
fees from the U.S. Supreme Court by way of a Citizen’s Arrest Warrant for the Chief Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court, John G. Roberts and the Court Clerk.
The staff promptly called the U.S. Supreme Court Police for assistance. The Capitol Police and the
U.S. Marshals Service arrived with the U.S. Supreme Court Police as though Don Hamrick had committed
a criminal act. Although no arrests were made by anyone that day the incident triggered the U.S. Supreme
Court Police to investigate my claims of Extortion Under the Color of Law, 18 U.S.C.§ 872 of filing fees
from a seaman, Don Hamrick, in violation of the Seamen’s Suit law, 28 U.S.C. § 1916.
Krista Jaffe of the U.S. Supreme Court Police made no references to the Seamen’s Suit law and
addressed the matter in all absence to the allegation of Extortion Under Color of Law. The letter was
essentially a coverup of the extortion because if Krista Jaffe did mention Don Hamrick’s statutory right of
exemption from the U.S. Supreme Court’s filing fee the letter would, be necessity, trigger official
investigations by the U.S. Supreme Court Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the U.S.
Department of Justice and in strong probability would cascadingly trigger congressional investigations by
the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. So, Krista Jaffe committed the criminal act of covering up the
extortion.
7
PART 1. CLAIMS
Don Hamrick would latter file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari that would have all the incriminating
Court Orders from the DC Circuit as admissible evidence proving just cause for the self-styled Citizen’s
Arrest Warrants for the Chief Justice and the Court Clerk. The requisite Motion to Proceed as a Seaman
accompanied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari. Both were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. The Motion
to Proceed as a Seaman was given “No. 07M24.”
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DOCKET REPORT FOR NO. 07M24
No. 07M24
Title: Don Hamrick, Petitioner
v.
George W. Bush, President of the United States, et al.
Docketed: November 13, 2007
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Case Nos.: (07-2400)
Under the strict interpretation of the Rule of Law it is Don Hamrick’s understanding that if the law
on Extortion Under Color of Law, 18 U.S.C. § 872 and the Seamen’s Suit law 28 U.S.C.§ 1916 are clear,
and his case for Second Amendment rights of seamen under U.S. law and maritime law are construed to
fall under the safety clause of the Seamen’s Suit law then Don Hamrick, in fact and law, has the statutory
right to proceed as a seaman in any court of the United States. The Court Orders of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia compelling Don Hamrick to pay that Court’s filing fee and the above
denial of the Motion to Proceed as a Seaman are unlawful administrative acts that are not protected by
absolute immunity nor any other immunities.
In the matter of the denied Motion to Proceed as a Seaman the Petition for Writ of Certiorari with
its evidence of extortion under color of law and the Citizen’s Arrest Warrants for the Chief Justice and the
Court Clerk it can now be substantiated that the Chief Justice and the Court Clerk have unlawfully resisted
Citizen’s Arrest, escaped Citizen’s Arrest, and by strict interpretation of the Rule of Law, they are now
fugitives from justice.
8
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
(a)“PRIVATE LEGISLATION”
House Document No. 109-153, A HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 1813–2006
Section II–Jurisdictions History of the Judiciary Committee, “PRIVATE LEGISLATION,” pp. 143-148
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd109-153/browse.html
Nearly half of all the laws enacted by Congress have been private laws. 7 Unlike public law,
which applies to public matters and deals with individuals only by classes, the provisions
of private law apply to “one or several specified persons, corporations, [or] institutions.” 8
Private legislation has its foundation in the right to “petition the government for a redress
of grievances” 9 guaranteed to all citizens by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
7
According to data obtained from CANNON’S PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, v.7, §1028, the
CALENDAR OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND HISTORY OF LEGISLATION FROM THE 74TH THROUGH
79TH CONGRESSES, and the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD’S RESUME OF CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITY FROM THE 80TH THROUGH
109TH CONGRESSES, BETWEEN 1789 AND 2006, Congress enacted a total of 94,120 laws. Of these, 45,937 — 49 percent
— have been private laws.
8
HINDS’ PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, v.4, §3285.
9
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
Congress sometimes chooses to enact private law to grant relief in situations where no
other legal remedies are available. Private legislation is premised on the idea that public
law cannot cover all situations equitably, and sometimes Congress must address special
circumstances with specially targeted legislation. In this sense, private law has been called
“an anomaly,” 10 since it is intended to address specific problems that public law either
created or overlooked.
The 1st Congress enacted 10 private laws. The 59th Congress–the historic high water mark
of private legislation–enacted 6,249. Reporters observing the 59th Congress (1905–1906)
noted that, on one occasion, 320 private pension bills passed the House in an hour and a
half, “an average of three each minute.” One reporter characterized the Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole as presiding with “auctioneer-like qualities” as these private
pension measures were raised and rapidly adopted in turn. 11
Today Congress enacts very little private legislation. In the last 10 Congresses combined it
has enacted just 159 private measures, a mere two percent of the amount passed in the
1905–1906 sessions alone. In the 108th Congress, just one percent of the laws enacted by
Congress were private – the lowest percentage of private legislation enacted at any time in
the nation’s history.
The first private law enacted by Congress in 1789 awarded a year-and-a-half’s pay at the
rank of Captain to a foreign citizen serving in the U.S. military. 12 Since that time, Congress
has enacted over 45,000 private laws dealing with issues both commonplace and
extraordinary: providing pensions or lump sum payments to soldiers and widows,
satisfying sundry monetary claims against the government, correcting military records,
eliminating the “political disabilities” of Civil War rebels, fixing immigration problems,
extending patents, providing vessel documentation, refunding tariffs or overpayments,
expediting the naturalization process for a potential Olympian, authorizing the Speaker of
the House to wear a foreign military decoration, and permitting the family of an immigrant
murdered in a post 9/11 hate crime to remain in the United States.
Historically, most private legislation introduced in the House of Representatives was
considered by various private claims Committees in the House 13 or by the Committee on
Immigration and Naturalization. 14 THE 1946 LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT, 15
however, transferred jurisdiction over both immigration and claims to the House
Committee on the Judiciary, along with jurisdiction over patents. Thus, since 1947, only a
fraction of private measures dealing with sundry matters such as public lands, vessel
9
U.S. CONGRESS, CONSTITUTION, JEFFERSON’S MANUAL, AND RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, H.Doc. 108–
241, 108th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 2005), §208, p. 90. (Hereafter referred to as “HOUSE MANUAL”).
10
“PRIVATE BILLS IN CONGRESS,” Harvard Law Review, vol. 79, June 1966, p. 1684.
11
“Three Pensions a Minute,” New York Times, May 12, 1906, p. 9.
12
CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY’S GUIDE TO CONGRESS, 5th ed., vol. I (Washington: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.,
2000), p. 526.
13
These include the House Committees on Claims; Pensions and Revolutionary Claims; Private Land Claims;
Revolutionary Claims; Military Pensions; Invalid Pensions; Revolutionary Pensions; War Claims; and Pensions.
David T. Canon, Garrison Nelson, Charles Stewart III, Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1789–1946, vol. 1,
(Washington: CQ Press, 2002), pp. VI-XXXV.
14
U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, Committee Print, 92nd Cong. 2nd sess., (Washington: GPO, 1972), p. 5.
15
P.L. 79–601, 60 Stat. 812.
10
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
documentation, military awards, veterans’ benefits and legislation relating to tax and tariffs
introduced in the House have been referred to Committees other than the House Committee
on the Judiciary.
While the overall volume of private law has not been large in recent years, the internal
workload of the Judiciary Committee and of its Members and professional staff, in dealing
with private legislation has remained significant. Over the last 27 years, the House
Judiciary Committee has processed 91 percent of all private laws enacted. In addition, the
importance of the task of reviewing such legislation is as high as ever. In its truest sense,
each private measure referred to the House Judiciary Committee represents a plea for relief
from a petitioner who, in theory, has no other recourse. The problems involved may touch
on some of the most important and emotionally-charged subjects imaginable: a mother’s
plea to bring an adopted child into the United States, the death of a soldier’s toddler due to
government negligence, payments justly owed to a small business but tied up in
bureaucratic red tape.
Since 1947, private immigration and claims bills have been handled in the House by
subcommittees of the full Judiciary Committee, initially known as Subcommittee No. 1
(dealing with immigration and nationality) and Subcommittee No. 2 (dealing with claims
against the government.) 16 Currently, such measures are referred to one Judiciary
subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, for review.
Individual private cases are examined by the Subcommittee to determine if they meet the
criteria for private relief and are in keeping with precedents and with Congress’s
overarching goal of making equitable law.
The decline in the introduction of private legislation in recent decades stems primarily
from incremental reforms made by Congress to delegate the authority to address most
private grievances administratively or through the courts. Examples of this progression
include the creation of the United States Court of Claims in 1855, the enactment of the
Federal Tort Claims Act, and the passage of similar statutes permitting administrative
settlement of most military claims. 17 Likewise, changes in immigration law have, at times,
led to reductions in the introduction of private legislation in Congress. 18
Congress has also made numerous internal reforms that have had the effect of reducing the
amount of private legislation introduced. For example, section 131 of the 1946 Legislative
Reorganization Act barred the introduction of private bills addressing grievances that
might be resolved by the Tort Claims Procedure of Title 28, bills to grant a pension, to
construct a bridge over a navigable stream, or to correct a military or naval record. These
provisions were made part of the standing rules of the House in 1953, and are currently
codified in Rule XIII, clause 4. 19
As former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celler noted, these changes
initially did “effect some change in the private bill workload,” reducing the percentage of
16
CRS Typed Report, (TRENDS IN ACTIVITY ON PRIVATE LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS), by Richard S. Beth, p. 8.
17
CRS Typed Report, (TRENDS IN ACTIVITY ON PRIVATE LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS), by Richard S. Beth.
18
Other changes in immigration law have arguably led to increases in the introduction of private bills at certain points
in congressional history. For more information on immigration policy and its effect on private legislation, see TRENDS
IN ACTIVITY ON PRIVATE LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS, by Richard S. Beth, and CRS Report RL33024, PRIVATE
IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, by Margaret Mikyung Lee.
19
HOUSE MANUAL, §822, p. 601.
11
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
private measures enacted from 55 percent immediately before the reforms, to 34 percent
after their adoption. 20
Additional reforms undertaken by the House Judiciary Committee in 1947 barred stays of
deportation simply because of the introduction of a private bill for “stowaways, deserting
seamen, and border jumpers.” The Committee realized that a large fraction of private
immigration bills were being introduced by Members, not with the hope of them becoming
law, but simply to stay deportation proceedings. The simple introduction of a relief bill
meant that the alien would not be deported while the measure was pending, whether or not
the measure was ever acted upon.
The volume of private legislation introduced, and as a result, the workload of the House
Judiciary Committee, however, remained unmanageably large despite these reforms. In the
90th Congress (1967–1968), for example, House Judiciary Subcommittee No. 2 was
referred 779 private claims bills and oversaw the enactment of 116 of them into law.
Subcommittee No. 1 was referred over 6,000 private immigration bills. 21 According to
former Rep. William Cahill, this represented “the largest number [of private immigration
bills] ever introduced” up to that time. 22 While the Judiciary panel worked hard to meet its
responsibilities – its immigration subcommittee held 37 meetings and oversaw the
enactment of 216 private laws – the strain from such legislative volume meant that it was
simply, “unable to remain current.” 23
In response to this challenge, the restrictions on stays of deportation for certain petitioners
were further broadened. According to Rep. Cahill, in 1967, the Committee rule “was
broadened to include those who entered the United States as transients en route to third
countries and [who] illegally remain[ed] in this country.” 24 New Judiciary Committee rules
adopted in 1969, and amended in 1971, further tightened procedures for the consideration
of private immigration measures and contributed signifi cantly to an overall decline in their
introduction. Specifi cally, the rules altered Committee policy by eliminating the stay of
deportation of various additional petitioners that used to be automatic upon the
introduction of a private immigration bill. These Judiciary Committee rules changes led the
introduction of private immigration bills to “drop sharply.” 25
The marked reduction in private laws enacted in recent decades stem largely from these
reforms, but doubtless also stems in part from periodic accusations of impropriety or the
appearance of impropriety in the introduction of private measures. In 1969 and 1976,
Members and staff in both chambers were accused of soliciting and accepting bribes in
exchange for the introduction of private immigration measures. 26 In addition, the widely
20
Rep. Emanuel Celler, remarks in the House, CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, daily edition, vol. 95, pt. 15, May 12, 1949,
p. A2901.
21
U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES, Committee Print, 90th Cong., 2nd sess.,
(Washington: GPO, 1968), p. 9.
22
Rep. William T. Cahill, remarks in the House, CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, vol. 115, pt. 20, Mar. 12, 1969, p. H1629.
23
Ibid., p. H1630.
24
Rep. William T. Cahill, remarks in the House, CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, vol. 115, pt. 20, Mar. 12, 1969, p. H1629.
25
Richard L. Madden, “Private Immigration Bills Found to Drop Sharply,” New York Times, Oct. 25, 1972, p. 14.
26
“Rep. Helstoski Denies He Got Payoffs,” New York Times, June 26, 1976, p. A5.
12
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
publicized 1980 FBI Abscam bribery sting operation revolved, in part, around requests for
the introduction of private bills in exchange for money. 27
Today, in considering private immigration bills, the Judiciary Committee generally reviews
only those cases that are of such an extraordinary nature that an exception to the law is
needed and acts favorably on only those private bills that meet certain well-defined
precedents. The Subcommittee has published detailed rules of procedure for the
consideration of private immigration and claims bills, and works regularly with Members
and staff to guide them in the framing and drafting of private legislation on behalf of their
constituents. 28
----
SECTION 2. Brief Legislative History of Civil Defense (50 U.S.C. § 2251 et. seq.)
On January 12, 1951: H.R. 9798, The Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, became Pub.L. 920 (64
Stat. 1228). It authorized a Federal civil defense program.
On August 8, 1958: H.R. 7576 became Pub.L. 85-606 (72 Stat. 532). It amended the Federal
Civil Defense Act of 1950 adding the thermonuclear provisions.
On October 5, 1994: Pub.L. 103-337 (108 Stat. 3101) repealed the Federal Civil Defense Act of
1950.
In 5 U.S. Code Cong. And Adm. News 2182-2183 (1994) TITLE XXXIV CIVIL DEFENSE:
Civil defense programs were originally designed to protect “life and
property in the United States from attack.” In 1981, the law was amended
to permit states to use civil defense funds to prepare for natural disasters
“in a manner that . . . . does not detract from attack-related civil defense
preparedness.”
Section 3402 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
1994 (Pub.L. 103-160) eliminated this restriction. The Civil Defense Act
now reflects the “all-hazard” approach to emergency management, i.e.,
states are permitted to use the funds for all kinds of emergencies and
disasters.
The committee believes that it should get out of the civil defense business
for two reasons. First, the program has lost its defense emphasis. The
threat of attack is no longer the driving force behind the program.
Rather, the chief threats today come from tornadoes, earthquakes, floods,
chemical spills, and the like.
Civil Defense gave way to FEMA.
Seven years later on September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked by terrorists. President
Clinton dropped the guard abolishing Civil Defense. Instead of resurrecting Civil Defense President Bush
created the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to which precipitated relentless thefts of constitutional
rights, powers, and duties of citizenship as evidence in this Private Bill. The U.S. Department of Homeland
Security is the exact centralization of the federal government that was feared at the Constitutional
Convention and in The Federalist Papers.
27
Charles R. Babcock, “FBI ‘Sting’ Ensnares Several In Congress,” The Washington Post, Feb. 3, 1980, p. A1.
28
SUBCOMMITTEE RULES OF PROCEDURE are available on the House Committee on the Judiciary’s website:
http://judiciary.house.gov/Printshop.aspx.
13
PART 2. CONGRESSIONAL REFORMS
Further evidence of a grave need for the restoration of Second Amendment rights to its full
constitutional limits, i.e., National Open Carry Handgun, is found in the growing epidemic of single-
shooter suicidal mass murders in Gun-Free Terrorist Zones in schools, malls, and now churches.
14
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
SECTION 1: The U.S. Coast Guard Final Agency Action Denial was Wrongfully Based
Upon a Personal Ideology in Violation of the Oath of Office
That Don Hamrick’s cause of action arose in 2002 from a judicial review of the U.S. Coast Guard’s final
agency action denial (46 C.F.R. § 1.01–30) of his application for an endorsement on his Merchant
Mariner’s Document, such endorsement to read, “National Open Carry Handgun” for which there were and
still are no federal laws or regulations for or against that particular endorsement. The reason given for the
denial is found in the U.S. Coast Guard’s letter dated April 19, 2002:
Dated April 19, 2002
Dear Mr. Hamrick:
This is to address your appeal of a decision by the Commanding Officer, Coast Guard
National Maritime Center concerning your Merchant Mariner's Document.
In your letter of 19 January 2002, you applied to have your Merchant Mariner's Document
endorsed "National Open Carry Handgun." The Commanding Officer, Coast Guard
National Maritime Center replied to you in his letter of 22 February, denying your
application. You appealed that decision in your letter of 16 March to Secretary of
Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, and supplemented your appeal with your letter 29
March, also to Secretary Mineta. Your appeal was forwarded to me for final agency action
as outlined in 46 CFR 1.03-15(j).
I am impressed with your scholar ship and zeal in formulating arguments in support of
your application for a "National Open Carry Handgun" endorsement on your Merchant
Mariner's Document, but I am not persuaded to agree with you. 29 As you have noted, the
laws and regulations do not provide for such an endorsement nor do they prohibit it.
Instead, the matter is left to my judgment. 30 My decision, after considering all the
material your have submitted, is that it would not be in the best interest of marine safety
or security 31 to initiate the endorsement you have applied for. Your appeal is therefore
denied and the Commanding Officer, National Maritime Center is directed not to place any
endorsements regarding firearms on any merchant mariner's licenses or documents.
This decision constitutes final agency action as cited above.
Capt. J. P. Brusseau
Director of Field Activities
Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection
29
Emphasis added.
30
Emphasis added.
31
Emphasis added.
15
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
SECTION 2: There Are No Federal Laws or Regulations on the Second Amendment Rights
of U.S. Seamen to Possess or Carry a Handgun, Whether Concealed Carry or Open Carry,
Between the Jurisdictions of Domestic Law and Maritime Law.
(1) “NATIONAL OPEN CARRY HANDGUN” WILL FOREVER BE AN INHERENT HUMAN RIGHT OF
SELF-DEFENSE
See Part 4 on the international human right aspect of the Second Amendment.
The Second Amendment right to openly keep and bear arms for personal safety, security and self-
defense against the common criminal of society and against government tyranny, whether implied or
explicitly included, under the right to life provisions of international human rights treaties and especially so
under the United Nations CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE.
Federal and State gun control laws violate the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution and the
privileges and immunities of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and the U.S. citizenship of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
The United Nations global gun control agenda violates the United Nations Charter, Article 2,
Clause 7 to which United States has the international remedy under the VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW
OF TREATIES 1969 and VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF TREATIES BETWEEN STATES AND INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS OR BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 1986
(2) THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS GENERAL SUPERINTENDENCE OVER THE U.S.
MERCHANT MARINE AND MERCHANT PERSONNEL BUT IGNORES THE ROLE OF SEAMEN’S SECOND
AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN HOMELAND SECURITY
Because there are no federal laws or regulations for or against Don Hamrick’s requested
endorsement for National Open Carry Handgun on the Merchant Mariners Document, Capt. Brusseau
should have given full weight of the Second Amendment to Don Hamrick’s application and acted in
accordance with the "Oath of Office" [CG-9556 (Rev. 8-05)] that states:
"Having accepted this appointment, I, [Capt. Brusseau], do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any
mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully
discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me
God. "
(3) That Capt. Brusseau abandoned his duty to support and defend the constitutional rights of seamen under
the Bill of Rights by ignoring Don Hamrick’s individual right under the Second Amendment as an Able
Seaman in their administrative final agency action in favor of a treasonous political ideology more in line
with the United Nations global gun control agenda attacking the Second Amendment.
(4) That in 2002, U.S. civilian Able Seamen taking employment aboard U.S. Government vessels of the
Ready Reserve Fleet and of the Pre-Position Fleet in support of the U.S. military are required to have small
arms training in accordance with OPNAVINST 3591.1C: SMALL ARMS TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION, dated
May 13, 2002; ENCLOSURE (3) QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL (AFLOAT) dated May 13,
1992, 32 through the Military Sealift Command, shipping companies, and the Seafarers International Union.
32
Current edition is OPNAVINST 3591.1E: SMALL ARMS TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION, dated February 20, 2007;
ENCLOSURE (1) RANGE REGULATIONS; ENCLOSURE (2) SMALL ARMS DRY FIRE TRAINING PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES;
ENCLOSURE (3) QUALIFICATIONS FOR PISTOLS – M9 Beretta Pistol and the M11 9mm Compact Pistol (Selection for U.S.
civilian Able Seamen are limited to the M9 9mm Beretta Pistol; ENCLOSURE (4) QUALIFICATIONS FOR RIFLE - M14,
M16 (series) rifles, M4A1, M727, and Mk-18 Carbines, Rifle selection for U.S. civilian Able Seamen limited to the
16
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
(5) That small arms training falls under the GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND CLASSIFICATIONS FOR ABLE
SEAMEN, 46 U.S.C. § 7306(a)(3):
"To qualify for an endorsement as able seaman authorized by this section, an applicant
must provide satisfactory proof that the applicant is qualified professionally as
demonstrated by an applicable examination or educational requirements ."
(6) That 33 C.F.R. § 104.220 COMPANY OR VESSEL PERSONNEL WITH SECURITY DUTIES requires the
following:
Company and vessel personnel responsible for security duties must have
knowledge, through training or equivalent job experience, in the following,
as appropriate:
(a) Knowledge of current security threats and patterns;
(b) Recognition and detection of dangerous substances and devices;
(c) Recognition of characteristics and behavioral patterns of persons
who are likely to threaten security;
(d) Techniques used to circumvent security measures;
(e) Crowd management and control techniques;
(f) Security related communications;
(g) Knowledge of emergency procedures and contingency plans;
(h) Operation of security equipment and systems;
(i) Testing and calibration of security equipment and systems, and
their maintenance while at sea;
(j) Inspection, control, and monitoring techniques;
(k) Relevant provisions of the Vessel Security Plan (VSP);
(l) Methods of physical screening of persons, personal effects,
baggage, cargo, and vessel stores; and
(m) The meaning and the consequential requirements of the different
Maritime Security (MARSEC) Levels.
(7) That 33 C.F.R. § 104.22 places unarmed company and vessel personnel with security duties at grave
risk of personal injury or death when security duties require that they approach and confront suspicious
persons. It is unrealistic and suicidal to expect company personnel to comply with 33 C.F.R. § 104.22 while
unarmed.
M14.; ENCLOSURE (5) QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR SHOTGUNS - 12-gauge 00 buckshot and slugs; ENCLOSURE (6)
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA FOR LIGHT, MEDIUM AND HEAVY MACHINE GUN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION - M60 and MK43
(variants) 7.62MM medium machine guns, M240 (variants) 7.62MM medium machine guns, and MK46 Mod 0
(M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)) 5.56MM light machine guns (not available to civilian Able Seamen).
17
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
(8) That the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee policy on, PIRACY AND
ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS: GUIDANCE TO SHIPOWNERS AND SHIP OPERATORS, SHIPMASTERS AND
CREWS ON PREVENTING AND SUPPRESSING ACTS OF PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS,
MSC/Circ.623/Rev.3, dated May 29, 2002, paragraphs 45 and 46 states:
Firearms
45 The carrying and use of firearms for personal protection or protection of a ship is
strongly discouraged.
46 Carriage of arms on board ship may encourage attackers to carry firearms thereby
escalating an already dangerous situation, and any firearms on board may
themselves become an attractive target for an attacker. The use of firearms
requires special training and aptitudes and the risk of accidents with firearms carried
on board ship is great. In some jurisdictions, killing a national may have
unforeseen consequences even for a person who believes he has acted in self
defence.
Pirates/armed robbers have succeeded in entering ship
51 Early detection of potential attacks must be the first line of defence, action to prevent
the attackers actually boarding the second, but there will be incidents when attackers
succeed in boarding a ship. The majority of pirates and armed robbers are
opportunists seeking an easy target and time may not be on their side, particularly if
the crew are aware they are on board and are raising the alarm. However, the
attackers may seek to compensate for the pressure of time they face by escalating
their threats or the violence they employ.
When attackers are on board the actions of the master and crew should be aimed at:
.1 securing the greatest level of safety for those on board the ship;
.2 seeking to ensure that the crew remain in control of the navigation of the ship;
and
.3 securing the earliest possible departure of the attackers from the ship.
52 The options available to the master and crew will depend on the extent to which the
attackers have secured control of the ship, e.g. by having gained access to the bridge
or engine room, or by seizing crew members who they can threaten, to force the
master or crew to comply with their wishes. However, even if the crew are all safely
within secure areas, the master will always have to consider the risk to the ship the
attackers could cause outside those areas, e.g. by using firebombs to start fires on a
tanker or chemical carrier.
53 If the master is certain that all his/her crew are within secure areas and that the
attackers cannot gain access or by their actions outside the secure areas they do not
place the entire ship at imminent risk, then he/she may consider undertaking evasive
manoeuvres of the type referred to above to encourage the attackers to return to their
craft.
54 The possibility of a sortie by a well-organized crew has, in the past, successfully
persuaded attackers to leave a ship but the use of this tactic is only appropriate if it
can be undertaken at no risk to the crew. For an action like this to be attempted the
master must have clear knowledge of where the attackers are on the ship, that they
are not carrying firearms or other potentially lethal weapons and that the number
of crew involved significantly outnumbers the attackers they will face. If a sortie
18
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
party can use water hoses, they stand an increased chance of success. The intention
should be to encourage the attackers back to their craft. Crew members should not
seek to come between the attackers and their craft nor should they seek to capture
attackers as to do so may increase the resistance the attackers offer which will, in
turn, increase the risk faced by members of the sortie party. Once outside the secure
area, the sortie party should always stay together. Pursuit of an individual attacker by
a lone crew member may be attractive but if it results in the crew member being
isolated and seized by the attackers, the advantage turns to the attackers. Crew
members should operate together and remain in constant communication with the
bridge and should be recalled if their line of withdrawal to a secure area is
threatened.
55 If the crew do apprehend an attacker, he/she should be placed in secure confinement
and well cared for. Arrangements should be made to transfer him/her to the custody
of officers of the security forces of a coastal State at the earliest possible opportunity.
Any evidence relating to this activities should also be handed over to the authorities
who take him/her into custody. The pirates/armed robbers begin to gain control and
take one or more of the ship's crew into their custody
56 If the attackers have gained control of the engine room or bridge, have seized crew
members or can pose an imminent threat to the safety of a ship, the master or officer
in charge should remain calm and, if possible, seek to negotiate with the attackers
with the intention of maintaining the crew's control over the navigation of the ship,
the safe return of any hostages they may hold and the early departure of the attackers
from the ship. There will be many circumstances when compliance with the
attackers' demands will be the only safe alternative and when resistance or
obstruction of any kind could be both futile and dangerous.
57 In the event of attackers gaining temporary control of the ship, crew members
should, if it is safe and practicable, leave Close Circuit Television (CCTV) records
running.
58 As there have been occasions when entire crews have been locked up, consideration
should be given to secreting equipment within areas in which the crew could be
detained to facilitate their early escape. The pirates/armed robbers have stolen
property/money, etc.
59 At this stage it is essential that the pirates/armed robbers are assured that they have
been given everything they demand and a strong reassurance that nothing has been
secreted may persuade the pirates/armed robbers to leave. The pirates/armed robbers
start to disembark from the ship
60 If the crew are in their secure positions, it would be unwise of them to leave this
security until it is confirmed that the pirates/armed robbers have left the ship. The
pirates/armed robbers have disembarked from the ship
61 A pre-arranged signal on the ship's siren will alert the crew to the "all clear".
(9) That Don Hamrick has represented himself in his 5 years of federal litigation and encounter an
unjustified anomaly of having nearly every motion denied and his cases dismissed with prejudice in the
majority of times and always affirmed at the appellate courts as to imply judicial bias against the
unrepresented plaintiff.
19
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
(10) That Don Hamrick now has a human rights complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights, Petition No. 1142-06, against the United States for human rights violations of the right of access to
the federal courts, to a civil jury trial, retaliation for exercising constitutional rights and his human rights to
prove the Second Amendment is a universal human right.
(11) That upon the lawful accumulation of evidence of felony extortion under color of law, 18 U.S.C. § 872
by federal judges appended to this Private Bill as a matter for the Congressional Record that implicates the
present Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John G. Roberts from his time as a judge at the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the DC Circuit Don Hamrick, did in fact and law, apply to the U.S. Marshals Service, the
Federal Bureau of Investigations and various divisions of the U.S. Department of Justice for remedies and
every approach was rejected leaving Don Hamrick with a dwindling amount of remedies left, namely the
right to make citizen’s arrest of federal judges, including the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and
their court clerks for felony extortion under color of law in clear violation of the Seamen’s Suit law, 28
U.S.C. § 1916 by way of Citizen’s Arrest Warrants.
(12) That Don Hamrick’s complaints to federal law enforcement agencies were not only ignored but he was
criminally interrogated and investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service for his lawful activities in re:
Citizen’s Arrest Warrant. This included seeking information and advice from the U.S. Marshals Service as
a law abiding, unrepresented civil plaintiff only to be rebuffed and treated as a criminal suspect.
(13) That the U.S. Coast Guard unlawfully retaliated against Don Hamrick for being named as a defendant
in his civil RICO Act complaint because he was lawfully pursuing his case as an represented civil plaintiff
and as Private Attorney General, (and at the time he was unaware that he was also acting as a Human
Rights Defender) by conspiring with and relating hearsay evidence to the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) to issue Bar Notices in 2004 and 2006 and the DOT did issue those Bar Notices
prohibiting Don Hamrick from visiting any DOT, FAA, or U.S. Coast Guard headquarters building in the
District of Columbia. The problem with the Bar Notices is that they (1) do not detail the offense Don
Hamrick was alleged to have committed; (2) the Bar Notices do NOT include administrative appeal
procedures to contest the Bar Notices violates the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C § 551-559;
Negotiated Rulemaking Procedure, 5 U.S.C § 560-570a; Alternative Means of Dispute Resolution in the
Administrative Process 5 U.S.C § 571-584; and Judicial Review 5 U.S.C § 701-706.
SECTION 3: Federal and State Gun Control Laws Abolished Actual Freedom and
Reinstated Slavery in Violation of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments
(1) That Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation stated:
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State
or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;
and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military
and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of
such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of
them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.” 33
(2) Actual Freedom Defined: Citing Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney in Dred Scott v. Sanford, 60 US
(19 How.) 393, 417 (1857):
"[If blacks were] entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens... It would give to persons of the
negro race, who were recognized as citizens in any one State of the Union, the right to enter every other
33
Emphasis added.
20
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
State whenever they please, singly or in companies...; and it would give the full liberty of speech...; to hold
meetings upon public affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went." 34
34
Emphasis added.
21
PART 3. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
22
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
SECTION 1. Calendar Committee and Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court
for DC Violated Court Order of Judge Richard W. Roberts.
ORDER OF RECUSAL REVISED ORDER OF RECUSAL
January 13, 2004 January 20, 2004
Plaintiff Don Hamrick has filed an action against United States Plaintiff Don Hamrick has filed an action against United States
Attorney General John Ashcroft and others, and the action was Attorney General John Ashcroft and others, and the action was
randomly assigned to me. Plaintiff has filed a motion for recusal, randomly assigned to me. Plaintiff has filed a motion for recusal,
alleging that an appearance of impropriety exists because I was alleging that an appearance of impropriety exists because I was
appointed by former President Clinton. Plaintiff offers no evidence appointed by former President Clinton. Plaintiff offers no evidence
that could reasonably call into question my impartiality in these that could reasonably call into question my impartiality in these
proceedings on the basis of my status as a Clinton appointee. proceedings on the basis of my status as a Clinton appointee.
Accordingly, his motion will be denied.
However, there is now pending in the United States Court of Federal
Claims a class action lawsuit filed by a class of present and former However, there is now pending in the United States Court of Federal
Department of Justice attorneys seeking damages against the United Claims a class action lawsuit filed by a class of present and former
States for alleged violations of the Federal Employees Pay Act, 5 Department of Justice attorneys seeking damages against the United
U.S.C. §§ 5541-97 (1994). See John Doe, et al., on behalf of States for alleged violations of the Federal Employees Pay Act, 5
themselves and all other similarly situated v. United States, Civil U.S.C. §§ 5541-97 (1994). See John Doe, et al., on behalf of
Action No. 98-896C. I am currently a member of that class. Since themselves and all other similarly situated v. United States, Civil
Canon 3C(1) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges Action No. 98-896C. I am currently a member of that class. Since
requires a judge to “disqualify himself . . . in a proceeding in which the Canon 3C(1) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges
judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” the Committee requires a judge to “disqualify himself . . . in a proceeding in which the
on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” the Committee
has opined that recusal is required from any proceeding in which the on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States
Attorney General appears as a real party in interest, unless a waiver has opined that recusal is required from any proceeding in which the
of such disqualification pursuant to Canon 3D1 is submitted by all Attorney General appears as a real party in interest, unless a waiver
parties involved in the suit. of such disqualification pursuant to Canon 3D1 is submitted by all
parties involved in the suit.
Plaintiff’s motion for recusal makes plain that he would not waive my
disqualification under Canon 3C(1). Thus, my recusal from this case Plaintiff’s motion for recusal makes plain that he would not waive my
is now appropriate. For the reasons stated above, it is therefore disqualification under Canon 3C(1). Thus, my recusal from this case
is now appropriate. For the reasons stated above, it is therefore
ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for recusal [4] be, and hereby is, ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for recusal [4] be, and hereby is,
GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to reassign this DENIED. However, I am recusing myself sua sponte. The Clerk of
matter to the Calendar Committee. Because United States District the Court is directed to reassign this matter to the Calendar
Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of this Court is also a named defendant in Committee. Because United States District Judge Ellen Segal
this suit, I recommend to the Calendar Committee that it seek to have Huvelle of this Court is also a named defendant in this suit, I
a judge from another district assigned to this matter. recommend to the Calendar Committee that it seek to have a judge
When 1. the general provisions of Canon 3C(1) serve as the basis for from another district assigned to this matter.
disqualification, Canon 3D permits a judge to continue to participate 1. When the general provisions of Canon 3C(1) serve as the basis for
in a proceeding if all of the parties and lawyers, after notice of the disqualification, Canon 3D permits a judge to continue to participate
basis for the disqualification, agree in writing to waive the in a proceeding if all of the parties and lawyers, after notice of the
disqualification under a procedure independent of the judge’s basis for the disqualification, agree in writing to waive the
participation. disqualification under a procedure independent of the judge’s
SIGNED this 13th day of January, 2004. participation.
RICHARD W. ROBERTS SIGNED this 20th day of January, 2004.
United States District Judge RICHARD W. ROBERTS
United States District Judge
Emphasis added.
Judge Richard W. Roberts was originally assigned to my RICO Act case. I filed a motion for
recusal and he granted Don Hamrick’s motion for recusal on January 13, 2004. But one week later, on
January 20, 2004, he revised that motion to deny Don Hamrick’s motion so that he could recuse himself
23
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
sua sponte. In that motion Judge Roberts recommended to the Calendar Committer that a judge from
another district be assigned to Don Hamrick’s case remained unchanged.
However, Judge Reggie B. Walton, a judge in that same U.S. District Court as Judge Roberts, was
assigned to Don Hamrick’s civil RICO Act case under questionable circumstances that imply judicial
misconduct at the administrative level where Judge Reggie B. Walton is not protected by absolute
immunity because Calendar Committee assignments are not judicial acts.
On January 15, 2004, Judge Walton was assigned to Don Hamrick’s civil RICO Act case for the
Second Amendment (No. 03-2160) while still presiding over another Second Amendment case, Seegars v.
Ashcroft, (No. 03-0834).
On January 29, 2004, a full two weeks after being assigned to Don Hamrick’s case for the Second
Amendment, Judge Walton ruled in the Seegars case “that the Second Amendment does not apply to the
District of Columbia.” Under the Canons and under 28 U.S.C. § 455, he was not qualified to preside over
Don Hamrick’s case. This fact implies judicial misconduct on the parts of the (1) Court Clerk, (3) Judge
Walton himself and (3) the Calendar Committee for not complying with Judge Richard W. Roberts Court
Order that, “The Clerk of the Court is directed to reassign this matter to the Calendar Committee.”
By whatever the circumstances were that Judge Walton got assigned to Don Hamrick’s case there
is the distinct appearance that Judge Walton had a pre-disposed opinion on the merits of Don Hamrick’s
case to dismiss his case with prejudice. The following are allegations of violations of the Canons that Don
Hamrick presents to Congress on Judge Reggie B. Walton:
Canon 1: Judge Walton did not uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
Canon 2A. Judge Walton did not act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity
and impartiality of the judiciary.
Canon 3: Judge Walton did not perform his duties of judicial office impartially nor diligenly.
Canon 3B(1) & (5): Judge Walton presided over and decided Don Hamrick case in which is was
not qualified by reason of bias or prejudice from the Seegars case.
Canon 3B(2): While Judge Walton was not swayed by a fear of criticism as evidenced in his
Seegars opinion that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia he was apparently
swayed by partisan politics and public clamor whether of his own political ideology on the Second
Amedment or was misinformed by the politicalization of the U.S. Department of Justice over the then
upcoming presidential election in 2004 as evidenced by the U.S. Department of Justice failure or refusal to
inform Judge Walton of the Justice Department's imminent internal release on August 24, 2004, of their
Memorandum Opinion for the Attorney General [John Ashcroft] titled Whether the Second Amemdment
Secures an Individual Right, in which the conclusion was, "The Second Amendment secures a right of
individuals general, not a right of States or a right restricted to persns serviing in militias." The
politicalization of the U.S. Department of Justice is evidenced in that the Memorandum Opinion was not
only withheld as evidence from Don Hamrick's case vindicating the merits of his case but that the
Memorandum Opinion was not released to the public until mid-December, well after the November
presidential elections. These two events are sufficient to proof Judge Walton was externally swayed by
partisan politics and personally swayed by his Seegars opinion.
The Docket Report shows that Judge Walton denied or ignored nearly all of Don Hamrick’s
motions, judicial notices of adjudicative facts, and other pleadings while he granted every motion and
pleading by the Government Defense Attorney, Dennis Barghaan. Judge Walton denied Don Hamrick’s
case with prejudice.
On Appeal the DC Circuit affirmed Judge Walton’s dismissal of my RICO Act claims but
remanded my case for further proceedings on Second Amendment grounds. Judge Walton, response to the
24
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
DC Circuit’s Mandate issued a dirty trick of a so called “Scheduling Order” that resembled more like a
repeat of Rule 7 pleadings than a Rule 16 Scheduling Order in anticipation of Rule 26 Discovery Order.
SECTION 2: Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit told the
Federalist Society of Harvard Law School on February 28, 2003, “The American legal
system has been corrupted almost beyond recognition.”
Excerpted from MassNews.com March 7, 2003 report by Geraldine Hawkins Judge Edith Jones
said:
z The question of what is morally right is routinely sacrificed to what is politically
expedient. The change has come because legal philosophy has descended to nihilism.
z "The integrity of law, its religious roots, its transcendent quality are disappearing.
z "The first 100 years of American lawyers were trained on Blackstone, who wrote that:
'The law of nature . . . dictated by God himself . . . is binding . . . in all counties and at
all times; no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this; and such of them as are
valid derive all force and all their authority . . . from this original.' The Framers created
a government of limited power with this understanding of the rule of law - that it was
dependent on transcendent religious obligation," said Jones.
z The business about all of the Founding Fathers being deists is "just wrong," or "way
overblown." They believed in "faith and reason," and this did not lead to intolerance.
z Having lost sight of the moral and religious foundations of the rule of law, we are
vulnerable to the destruction of our freedom, our equality before the law and our self-
respect. It is my fervent hope that this new century will experience a revival of the
original understanding of the rule of law and its roots.
(1) Three Contemporary Threats to the Rule of Law
(1) The first contemporary threat to the rule of law comes from within the legal system
itself.
(2) The second threat to the rule of law comes from government, which is encumbered
with agencies that have made the law so complicated that it is difficult to decipher and
often contradicts itself.
"Agencies have an inherent tendency to expand their mandate," says
Jones. "At the same time, their decision-making often becomes parochial
and short-sighted. They may be captured by the entities that are
ostensibly being regulated, or they may pursue agency self-interest at the
expense of the public welfare. Citizens left at the mercy of selective and
unpredictable agency action have little recourse." 35
(3) The third and most comprehensive threat to the rule of law arises from contemporary
legal philosophy.
"Throughout my professional life, American legal education has been
ruled by theories like positivism, the residue of legal realism, critical legal
studies, post-modernism and other philosophical fashions," said Jones.
35
Emphasis added due to the quote having direct application to the U.S. Coast Guard final agency action denying Don
Hamrick’s Second Amendment application to the Merchant Mariner’s Document for an endorsement for “National
Open Carry Handgun” as a matter of a constitutional right.
25
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
"Each of these theories has a lot to say about the 'is' of law, but none of
them addresses the 'ought,' the moral foundation or direction of law."
Jones quoted Roger C. Cramton, a law professor at Cornell University, who wrote in the
1970s that "the ordinary religion of the law school classroom" is "a moral relativism
tending toward nihilism, 36 a pragmatism tending toward an amoral instrumentalism, a
realism tending toward cynicism, an individualism tending toward atomism, and a faith in
reason and democratic processes tending toward mere credulity and idolatry."
(2) No 'Great Awakening' In Law School Classrooms
The judge said ruefully, "There has been no Great Awakening in the law school
classroom since those words were written." She maintained that now it is even worse
because faith and democratic processes are breaking down.
"The problem with legal philosophy today is that it reflects all too well the broader post-
Enlightenment problem of philosophy," Jones said. She quoted Ernest Fortin, who wrote
in Crisis magazine: "The whole of modern thought . . . has been a series of heroic
attempts to reconstruct a world of human meaning and value on the basis of . . . our
purely mechanistic understanding of the universe."
Jones said that all of these threats to the rule of law have a common thread running
through them, and she quoted Professor Harold Berman to identify it:
"The traditional Western beliefs in the structural integrity of law, its
ongoingness, its religious roots, its transcendent qualities, are
disappearing not only from the minds of law teachers and law students but
also from the consciousness of the vast majority of citizens, the people as a
whole; and more than that, they are disappearing from the law itself. The
law itself is becoming more fragmented, more subjective, geared more to
expediency and less to morality. ... The historical soil of the Western legal
tradition is being washed away . . . and the tradition itself is threatened
with collapse."
Judge Jones concluded with another thought from George Washington:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to prosperity, religion and
morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the
tribute of patriotism who should labor to( subvert these great pillars of
human happiness – these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."
36
Emphasis added. Judge Jones view of a nihilistic form of government inspired Don Hamrick to write a political
poem titled “A Nihilistic Form of Government, This United States.” See page ___.
26
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
SECTION 3. Don Hamrick’s Political Poems Critical of the Federal Judicial System and the
United States Government
(1) “A Nihilistic Form of Government, This United States,” Inspired by Judge Edith Jones.
27
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
37
http://www.asil.org/events/AM05/ginsburg050401.html
28
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
(3) “Cataclysms”
“CATACLYSMS”
(A poem in Diamante form)
© 2005 Don Hamrick
Freedom
Independence, autonomy
Speaking, associating, traveling
Action, responsibility, permission, dependence
Obedience, submission, oppression
Laws, regulations
Slavery
Speech
dialog, lecture
learning, questioning, teaching
research, email, government, investigate
harassing, intimidating, threatening
coercive, abusive
Silence
Association,
Mingle, Join
Participating, discriminating, voting
Society, congress, estrangement, alienation
Disassembling, segregating, dividing
Suppression, stealth
Isolation
Judges
Constitutional, law
Deliberating, theorizing, concluding
Adjudicator, marshal, partisan, crony
Corrupting, lying, betraying
Biased, prejudiced
Criminals
Government
Guidance, balance
Regulating, administrating, delegating
Republic, commonwealth, nihilistic, despotic
Racketeering, marauding, transgressing
Indiscriminate, desultory
Anarchy
29
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
(3) Affirming Judge Edith Jones’ declaration that the Rule of Law has religious origins.
Date Filed # Docket Text: U.S. District Court for DC, No. 07-1616
COMPLAINT against UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES ( Filing fee $ 0.00, receipt
number FEE NOT PAID) filed by DON HAMRICK. (Attachments: # 1 Complaint
(continuation)# 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(tg, ) (Entered: 09/13/2007) [HAMRICK
COMMENTARY: It is a federal question of ethics for the Court to apply minimalism
standards of entries into the Docket Report online. The above entry does not accurately
convey the true nature of the case. Although it is admitted true that it is unreasonable to enter
09/10/2007 1
captions of extreme length such as this complaint it is a reasonable expectation to enter
enough length to convey the nature of the case. An example of reducing the caption’s extreme
length in this complaint would read as follows: “CIVIL RICO ACT COMPLAINT FOR
RACKETEERING ACTIVITIES, THREEFOLD DAMAGES AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS UNDER
RULE 5.1 OF THE FED.R.CV.PRO., AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY THE
UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED NATIONS.”]
NOTICE OF RELATED CASE by DON HAMRICK. Case related to (Case No. 03-344 and
04-065 - USDC Western District of NC), (Case No. 02-1434, 02-1435, 03-2160, 04-0422, 04-
2040, and 05-1993, USDC, DC), (Case No. 06-0044 USDC, AK). (tg, ) (Entered: 09/13/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: This is an extract copy of Page 4 from the COMPLAINT at
Entry #1 above. Covered up from the original not shown in the copy of page 4 is “Exceptions
to Tort Liability Cannot Be Claimed under 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a): The U.S. Coast Guard did
not have the discretionary duty to deny Plaintiff's Application for National Open Carry
Handgun endorsement on his Merchant Mariner's Document on the personal judgment of the
Coast Guard Officer that such an endorsement provided. . .” It is a questionable matter of
ethics to coverup the bottom section of a page from a complaint because the altered copy is
09/10/2007 2 implied to be faithful representation of the original to which in this case it is not.” Moreover,
the top section of the page was titled: 28 U.S.C. § 1963 REGISTRATION OF JUDGMENTS
FOR ENFORCEMENT IN OTHER DISTRICTS: Hamrick v. George, US District Court for
the Western District of NC, Charlotte Division, Case No. 03-cv-0344-W, ORDER, November
9, 2006. Judge Frank D. Whitney: “If Plaintiff elects to exercise his appeal rights, the Court
finds that 28 U.S.C. § 1916 waives the requirement of prepayment of docket fees or
furnishing security therefor , and the Clerk of Court is so instructed.” The Court Docket does
not show this registration and Judge Collyer has not yet issued an Order In Re the registration
such that Don Hamrick could beyond all doubt proceed with the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant.
Don Hamrick construes this delay as judicial misconduct by deliberately obstructing justice
by protecting the targeted judges from citizen’s arrest.]
30
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Date Filed # Docket Text: U.S. District Court for DC, No. 07-1616
SUMMONS (3) Issued as to UNITED NATIONS, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General.
09/10/2007
(tg, ) (Entered: 09/13/2007)
Emergency MOTION for Ex Parte Order Verifying and Validating Plaintiff's Citizen's
Arrest Warrants and Petition for Ex Parte Order to Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
to Assist the Plaintiff With the Citizen's Arrest Warrant by DON HAMRICK(tg, )
"Leave to File GRANTED" by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer. Modified to add text on
10/10/2007 (tg, ). (Entered: 10/10/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: The requisite evidence of extortion under color of law was
included to satisfy the probable cause question for a self-styled citizen’s arrest warrant.
10/09/2007 3
However, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer has not yet issued an Order or an opinion on this
Emergency Motion, essentially nullifying the Emergency nature of the arrest. Moreover, it is
standard procedure to sit on disfavored Motions, even though possessing issues of merit under
the Rule of Law, to cause them to be ruled moot upon dismissal. This unethical procedure
does the most serious damage to any unrepresented civil plaintiff’s case because judges take
full advantage of the disfavored status of the unrepresented civil plaintiff for they are not
welcomed in the courtroom by the judges. This goes to judicial bias and misconduct.]
ERRATA (Addendum to Civil Complaint) by DON HAMRICK 1 Complaint filed by DON
HAMRICK. (tg, ) (Entered: 10/18/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: It is a question of ethics not to enter into the Docket Report
Online the captions of court documents verbatim. This ERRATA document is captioned,
{“ADDENDUM TO CIVIL TO CIVIL COMPLAINT: THERE IS AN ONGOING LEGAL DEBATE ON THE
SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS AS AN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHT! BY FACT OF SUCH ONGOING PUBLIC DEBATE A PUBLIC INTEREST IS HEREBY
10/17/2007 4
ESTABLISHED COMPELLING THE COURT TO TAKE JURISDICTION OVER MY CLAIMS AGAINST
THE UNITED NATIONS AND AGAINST THE UNITED STATES IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE. This is
a Case of First Impression! "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or
justice." Magna Carta, clause 40”} Entering the captions verbatim, regardless of their length,
accurately conveys the nature of the case. Reducing captions to minimalism standards gives
judges greater freedom to dismiss unpopular cases without raising suspicions. (i.e. Cohen v.
Common Wealth of Virginia)]
NOTICE OF RELATED CASE by DON HAMRICK. Case related to Case Number P-1142-
06. (tg, ) (Entered: 10/18/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Here again, as with #4 above the Docket gives no
indication that the related case is a human rights case at the international (hemispheric) level.
10/17/2007 5
This invokes the federal question of Fraud and False Statements under 18 U.S.C § 1001. The
caption actually reads as, “MANDATORY JUDICIAL NOTICE OF ADJUDICATIVE FACTS: RELATED
HUMAN RIGHTS CASE! Don Hamrick, pro se -v- United States & United Nations, Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights, Case No. P-1142-06.]
MEMORANDUM Opinion in Support of 3 MOTION for Order filed by DON HAMRICK by
DON HAMRICK. (tg, ) ("Let this be filed." by Judge R. M. Collyer). (Entered: 10/19/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Again the Docket Report gives no clue on the nature of the
10/19/2007 6 case. Again a lengthy caption can be respectfully paraphrased as in this entry is paraphrased
to read as, “PLAINTIFF'S EX PARTE MEMORANDUM OPINION IN SUPPORT OF HIS EMERGENCY
[MOTION] FOR EX PARTE ORDER ON FEDERAL QUESTIONS IN RE CITIZEN'S ARREST AND THE
SEAMEN'S SUIT LAW.”]
MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer on 10/19/07.
10/19/2007 7
(lcrmc2) (Entered: 10/19/2007)
31
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Date Filed # Docket Text: U.S. District Court for DC, No. 07-1616
ORDER dismissing 1 Complaint and requiring Plaintiff to file an amended complaint on
or before November 19, 2007. The amended complaint must comply with Federal Rule
10/19/2007 8 of Civil Procedure 8. If Plaintiff fails to timely file an amended complaint in compliance
with Rule 8, this case may be dismissed. See Order for further details. Signed by Judge
Rosemary M. Collyer on 10/19/07. (lcrmc2) (Entered: 10/19/2007)
Set Deadlines/Hearings: Amended Complaint due by 11/19/2007. (cdw) (Entered:
10/22/2007
10/22/2007)
Civil Statement from Plaintiff re Current Political Events, and War and Treason by the Bush
Administration. (tg, ) (Entered: 10/24/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Excessive paraphrasing can also conceal the true nature of
the case. The verbatim caption in this document reads, “PLAINTIFF'S MEMORANDUM OPINION:
10/22/2007 9
EXCLUDING CURRENT POLITICAL EVENTS HAVING DIRECT EVIDENTIARY VALUE TO THE CASE
AT HAND FROM JUDICIAL REVIEW IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED
STATES: WAR AND TREASON BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS EXACERBATING THE
SECESSION MOVEMENT: "OVER HALF OF THE 50 STATES HAVE SECESSION MOVEMENTS.”]
AMENDED COMPLAINT against UNITED NATIONS, UNITED STATES filed by DON
HAMRICK.(tg, ) (Entered: 10/25/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Again not entering a caption verbatim can be purposely
10/24/2007 10 misleading especially when the caption contains a Protest Statement impugning the integrity
of the judge for ordering an Amended Complaint because the original Complaint contained
political poems severely criticizing the federal courts. In this document the caption reads,
“AMENDMENT COMPLAINT: JUDICIAL BIAS.”]
ERRATA (Addendum to Amended Complaint) by DON HAMRICK 10 Amended Complaint
filed by DON HAMRICK. (tg, ) (Entered: 10/26/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Again the minimalism standard of Docket Report entries
unfairly conceals the nature of the case to avoid extra scrutiny. This document includes
10/25/2007 11
protest language on the integrity of the judge. The verbatim caption reads, “ADDENDUM TO
AMENDED COMPLANT: DO I HAVE ANY ENFORCEABLE RIGHTS? : "CONTUMACIOUS
BEHAVIOR" OF FEDERAL COURTS AND U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE : (CC: INTER-AMERICAN
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS)”
Civil Statement from Plaintiff re Mandatory Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts. (tg, ) "Let
this be filed" by Judge R. M. Collyer. Modified to add text on 12/3/2007 (tg, ). (Entered:
12/03/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: A pattern of behavior is developing in this Docket Report
of editing down captions in a manner that purposely conceals language impugning the
integrity of the federal courts. The verbatim caption in this document reads, “MANDATORY
11/21/2007 12 JUDICIAL NOTICE OF ADJUDICATIVE FACTS: CHANGE IN RULE 40.2 OF THE RULES OF THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES VALIDATES PLAINTIFF'S CITIZEN'S ARREST
WARRANT : MEMORANDUM OPINION IN SUPPORT OF CITIZEN'S ARREST WARRANT FOR
EXTORTION UNDER COLOR OF LAW : EVIDENCE OF JUDICIAL BIAS BY THE U.S SUPREME
COURT AGAINST AN UNREPRESENTED CIVIL PLAINTIFF : EVIDENCE OF EXTORTION BY THE
U.S. SUPREME COURT UNDER COLOR OF LAW, 18 U.S.C. § 87, AND : EVIDENCE OF
OBSTRUCTIONS OF JUSTICE BY THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.”]
32
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Date Filed # Docket Text: U.S. District Court for DC, No. 07-1616
Civil Statement. Plaintiff's Memorandum Opinion on Abusive Use of Sua Sponte Dismissals
and Summary Judgment Dismissals When Genuine (Triable) Issues of Material Facts
Preclude Dismissals and the Federal Courts Short-Sheeting the Role of the Private Attorney
General (tg, ) "Let this be filed" by Judge R. M. Collyer. (Entered: 12/03/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: This Docket Report entry provides the caption verbatim.
Therefore, this verbatim entry establishes that fact that entry of captions is purely at the whim
11/21/2007 13
of the data entry operator with no apparent standardization policy on data entry of captions to
court documents. The inference here is that the data entry operator is imposing his/her own
sense of loyalty to the Courts, fear of incriminating judges in accountable acts of wrongdoing,
or simply trying to make entries into the Docket Report in such a manner is not to incur
derisive attention from judges. Therefore, it can be construed that there does exist a bias
against unrepresented civil plaintiffs by all court personnel.]
Leave to File Denied. Addendum to Civil Rico Act Complaint "Use or Lose It" doctrine on
the Second Amendment. (5 Volumes) (tg, ) "Leave to file DENIED" by Judge R. M. Collyer.
(Entered: 12/03/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: In comparing the Docket Report entries to the files on my
laptop that I use to write these documents I discovered a Motion missing from the Docket
Report that accompanied the original Complaint submitted to the Court for filing. That
Motion is: “MOTION FOR COURT ORDER TO TRANSFER THE COURT RECORDS OF PLAINTIFF'S
CASE FROM THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS, NO.
1:06CV0044 TO THIS COURT AS PLAINTIFF'S ADDENDUM TO THE PRESENT COMPLAINT FOR
DUE CAUSE FROM THE APPEARANCE OF JUDICIAL BIAS OF THAT COURT ON THE BASIS OF
PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER RULE 1005 OF THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE THAT THERE IS
NEW RELEVANT & DIRECT EVIDENCE THAT THE UNITED NATIONS IS WAGING A WAR OF
11/21/2007 AGGRESSION AGAINST THE SECOND AMENDMENT WHERE UPON THE UNITED NATIONS LOSES
THEIR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES FROM CIVIL LAWSUIT BY A UNITED STATES CITIZEN FOR
BREACH OF TREATY AND VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS THEREBY CASTING
DOUBT UPON THE JUDGMENT OF JAMES M. MOODY. The 5 volumes noted above is refers to
the 5 volume Complaint (volume 1 Complaint; Volumes 2 & 3 the Evidence; Volume 4 the
AMENDED COMPLAINT SIMPLY ADDING THE UNITED NATIONS AS LEAD DEFENDANT; VOLUME
5 THE “ADDENDUM TO CIVIL RICO ACT COMPLAINT : “USE IT OR LOSE IT” DOCTRINE ON THE
SECOND AMENDMENT : UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SUB-COMMISSION ON THE
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS HAS DECLARED WAR ON THE UNITED
STATES’ SECOND AMENDMENT. This Motion was designed to save on expenses of evidence
gathering and to strengthen the case on that collected evidence. The evidence was admissible
evidence to the U.S. District Court for DC. Denying the evidence is construed to be judicial
misconduct in light of a missing explanation in the Docket.]
Leave to File Denied. Evidence "Courtesy copy of my petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for
Writ of Certiorari" (tg, ) " Leave to file DENIED this is a duplicate" by Judge R. M. Collyer.
(Entered: 12/03/2007)
[HAMRICK COMMENTARY: Duplicate? The Docket Report does not show the receipt of
11/28/2007 this document. The laptop shows that the document was last saved on November 4, 2007. All
documents are mailed either immediately upon the last saved date or mailed as soon as
possible there after. If this document was sent twice (I do not recall sending it twice) the data
entry operator failed to enter it into the Docket Report online and this entry would be correct.
This is indicative of sloppy case handling by the staff of the Court Clerk.]
33
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Judicial bias is also measured in the accuracy of the Docket Report. Sitting on Motions until the
case is dismissed rendering the Motions moot is a common practice as experienced by Don Hamrick.
Lethargic judges get off scott free! Remedies are unavailable when appeals courts rubber stamps the lower
court’s dismissals.
SECTION 6. Equal Justice Under the Law Dos not Apply to the Unrepresented Civil
Plaintiff
(1) Title 9 U.S. Attorneys’ Manual: Criminal Resource Manual § 2404
Extortion Under Color of Official Right - Hobbs Act
In addition to the “wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear,” 38 the
Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951) defines extortion in terms of “the obtaining of property from
another, with his consent . . . under color of official right.” In fact, the under color of
official right aspect of the Hobbs Act derives from the common law meaning of extortion.
As the Supreme Court explained in a recent opinion regarding the Hobbs Act,
“[a]t common law, extortion was an offense committed by a public official
who took ‘by color of his office’ money that was not due to him for the
performance of his official duties. . . . Extortion by the public official was
the rough equivalent of what we would now describe as ‘taking a bribe.’”
Evans v. United States, 504 U.S. 255 (1992).
In order to show a violation of the Hobbs Act under this provision, the Supreme Court
recently held that “the Government 39 need only show that a public official has obtained a
payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for
38
Includes the fear of being denied justice for wrongful acts of the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S.
Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the judges themselves.
39
Emphasis added. Don Hamrick presumes that Equal Justice Under the Law includes an unrepresented civil plaintiff
with a civil RICO Act case acting in the capacity of a Private Attorney General the right and the duty to apply the
Hobbs Act against federal judges and against the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and their court clerks.
34
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
official acts.” 40 While the definition of extortion under the Hobbs Act with regard to force,
violence or fear requires the obtaining of property from another with his consent induced
by these means, the under color of official right provision does not require that the public
official take steps to induce the extortionate payment: It can be said that “the coercive
element is provided by the public office itself.” Evans v. United States, 504 U.S. 255
(1992); see United States v. Margiotta, 688 F.2d 108, 130 (2d Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 461
U.S. 913 (1983) (“[t]he public officer’s misuse of his office supplies the necessary element
of coercion . . . .”).
This theory of extortion under color of official right has resulted in the successful
prosecution of a wide range of officials, including those serving on the federal, 41 state and
local levels. For example: United States v. O’Connor, 910 F.2d 1266 (7th Cir. 1990), cert.
denied, 111 S. Ct. 953 (1991) (police officer accepts payments from FBI agents posing as
crooked auto parts dealers); United States v. Stephenson, 895 F.2d 867 (2d Cir. 1990)
(international trade official in Department of Commerce accepts payments to influence
ruling); United States v. Spitler, 800 F.2d 1267 (4th Cir. 1986) (state highway
administrator accepts money from road building contractor); United States v. Wright, 797
F.2d 245 (5th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1013 (1987) (city prosecutors accept
money for not prosecuting drunk drivers); United States v. Greenough, 782 F.2d 1556
(11th Cir. 1986) (city commissioner accepts money for awarding city concession); United
States v. Murphy, 768 F.2d 1518 (7th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1012 (1986)
(judges accept payments to fix cases); United States v. Mazzei, 521 F.2d 639 (3d Cir.) (en
banc), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1014 (1975) (state senator accepts money from landlord
seeking government office lease). In United States v. Stephenson, 895 F.2d at 871-73, the
defendant, who was a federal official, unsuccessfully contended that the Hobbs Act only
applied to state and local officials and that prosecution of federal official for extortion
would have to be exclusively brought under 18 U.S.C. § 872: extortion by officers and
employees of the United States. The court found that the government could seek a charge
under whichever of these two overlapping statutes it thought appropriate. Moreover, “it is
not a defense to a charge of extortion under color of official right that the defendant could
also have been convicted of bribery.” Evans v. United States, 504 U.S. 255 (1992).
GENERAL RULE: The usual fact situation for a Hobbs Act charge under color of official
right is a public official trading his/her official actions in a area in which he/she has actual
authority in exchange for the payment of money.
Some cases under certain fact situations, however, have extended the statute further. For
example:
z Some courts have held that a Hobbs Act violation does not
require that the public official have de jure power to perform any
official act paid for as long as it was reasonable to believe that
he/she had the de facto power to perform the requested act. See
United States v. Nedza, 880 F.2d 896, 902 (7th Cir. 1989) (victim
reasonably believed state senator had the ability to impact a local
business); United States v. Bibby, 752 F.2d 1116, 1127-28 (6th
Cir. 1985); United States v. Sorrow, 732 F.2d 176, 180 (11th Cir.
1984); United States v. Rindone, 631 F.2d 491, 495 (7th Cir.
1980) (public official can extort money for permit beyond control
40
This includes the federal courts compelling payment of filing fees from Don Hamrick, a seaman, in violation of the
Seamen’s Suit law, 28 U.S.C. § 1916.
41
Emphasis added.
35
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
36
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
1235 (M.D.Pa. 1978), aff’d mem., 578 F.2d 1376 (3rd Cir.), cert.
denied, 439 U.S. 862 (1978).
z Some courts have held that private persons who are not
themselves public officials can be convicted under this provision if
they caused public officials to perform official acts in return for
payments to the non-public official. United States v. Margiotta,
688 F.2d 108 (2d Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 913 (1983)
(court upheld conviction of head of local Republican Party under
color of official right where defendant could be said to have
caused, under 18 U.S.C. §2(b), public officials to induce a third
party to pay out money); see United States v. Haimowitz, 725 F.2d
1561, 1572-73 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1072 (1984)
(private attorney’s conviction of Hobbs Act violation upheld due
to complicity with state senator); United States v. Marcy, 777
F.Supp. 1398, 1399-400 (N.D.Ill. 1991); United States v. Barna,
442 F.Supp. 1232 (M.D. Pa.), aff’d mem., 578 F.2d 1376 (3rd
Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 862 (1978). But see United States v.
McClain, 934 F.2d 822, 829-32 (7th Cir. 1991) (“we believe that,
as a general matter and with caveats as suggested here, proceeding
against private citizens on an ‘official rights’ theory is
inappropriate under the literal and historical meanings of the
Hobbs Act, irrespective of the actual ‘control’ that citizen purports
to maintain over governmental activity.”).
z Some courts have also held that private individuals who make
payments to a public official can be charged under the Hobbs Act,
either as an aider and abettor or co-conspirator, if he or she is truly
the instigator of the transaction. See United States v. Torcasio, 959
F.2d 503, 505-06 (4th Cir. 1992); United States v. Spitler, 800
F.2d 1267, 1276-79 (4th Cir. 1986) (conviction affirmed for aiding
and abetting extortion under color of official right even though
defendant, who paid kickbacks from corporate coffers, was an
officer of the victim corporation); United States v. Wright, 797
F.2d 245 (5th Cir. 1986). But see United States v. Tillem, 906 F.2d
814, 823-24 (2d Cir 1990) (consultant employed to help
restaurants obtain approvals from corrupt health inspectors had no
stake in the conspiracy and was not promoting the outcome).
z Finally, in a federal prosecution of a state legislator, there is no
legislative privilege barring the introduction at trial of evidence of
the defendant’s legislative acts. The Supreme Court has held that
in such a prosecution a speech or debate type privilege for state
legislators cannot be made applicable through Fed.R.Evid. 501.
The Court said such privilege is not required by separation of
powers considerations or by principles of comity, the two
rationales underlying the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S.
Constitution, art. I, §6, cl. 1. United States v. Gillock, 445 U.S.
360, 368-74 (1980).
37
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
SECTION 7. The U.S. Supreme Court is Systematically Attacking and Taking Away Various
Forms of Remedies.
The federal courts have not applied the principal of actual freedom in judging constitutional rights
against Malum prohibitum laws. 42 The federal courts have especially avoided adjudicating freedom “in
facto quod se habet ad bonum et malum, magis de bono quam de malo lex intendit” (Latin, In a deed which
may be held either good or bad, the law directs its attention more to the good than the bad) to Don
Hamrick’s Second Amendment rights case.
DISARMING THE PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Pamela S. Karlan*
Stanford Law School
Research Paper No. 36 (2002)
http://ssrn.com/abstract_id=308220
The two great Alexanders of constitutional law – Hamilton and Bickel – saw courts as
essentially reactive institutions. The judiciary, Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Paper that
gave Bickel’s book its title, is “the least dangerous branch” because it can “take no active
resolution whatever ... and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even
for the efficacy of its judgments.” 43 Bickel applied this general proposition even to the
fundamental constitutional principle of equality expressed in Brown v. Board of
Education, 44 suggesting that the Supreme Court might properly decline to grant an
immediate remedy because realistic enforcement would require enlisting Congress and the
President. 45 The Alexandrian view depends on a model of adjudication in which the courts
announce a rule and then rely on the political branches to obey or enforce it. 46 But Marbury
shows that the converse can also be true. There is an important class of cases in which the
legislature and the executive must depend on the judiciary for the efficacy of their
judgments. In these cases, it is judicial refusals to act that pose a danger “to the political
rights of the Constitution.” 47
42
Latin, An act forbidden by statute, but not otherwise wrong.
43
See The Federalist No. 78, at 465 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed. 1961); this passage appears as the
epigraph to Bickel’s book.
44
347 U.S. 483 (1954).
45
See Alexander M. Bickel, THE LEAST DANGEROUS BRANCH: THE SUPREME COURT AT THE BAR OF POLITICS 247-54,
267-72. (1962).
46
Even when it comes to straightforward constitutional adjudication, however, as Gerald Gunther explained in a
classic article, there can be substantial costs to a court’s refusal to address properly presented claims. See Gerald
Gunther, THE SUBTLE VICES OF THE “PASSIVE VIRTUES” – A COMMENT ON PRINCIPLE AND EXPEDIENCY IN JUDICIAL
REVIEW, 64 Colum. L. Rev. 1 (1964).
47
THE FEDERALIST, No. 78, supra note 3, at 465.
38
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Marbury itself recognized this threat, when Chief Justice Marshall observed that the
government of the United States could no longer be “termed a government of law, and not
of men .... if the laws furnish no remedy for a vested legal right.” 48 As the Court stated last
Term, although there are “vital limits on judicial authority,” when “contending parties
invoke the process of the courts, ... it becomes our unsought responsibility to resolve the
federal and constitutional issues the judicial system has been forced to confront.” 49 What
makes that declaration so ironic is the context. As in Marbury, an aspirant for federal office
sought the Court’s assistance. But unlike William Marbury, George W. Bush managed to
procure a sweeping remedial order from the Supreme Court without ever identifying any
vested legal right that the remedy he requested would actually vindicate. 50 Moreover, the
same Court that provided George W. Bush with an unprecedented remedy in the service of
an expansive, if evanescent, equal protection claim has shown itself strikingly resistant to
judicial remedies for civil-rights plaintiffs raising more traditional equality-based claims.
There are two ways a court might retrench on civil rights protections. First, a court might
explicitly redefine an underlying right in narrower terms. For example, in City of Mobile v.
Bolden, 51 the Supreme Court redefined the preexisting jurisprudence of racial vote dilution,
embodied in such decisions as White v. Regester, 52 to forbid only those electoral structures
that were adopted or maintained for racially discriminatory purposes, rather than
prohibiting also those that had a disparate impact on minority voters. 53 Similarly, in
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 54 the Supreme Court offered a cramped interpretation
of 42 U.S.C. § 1981's protection against racial discrimination in the right “to make and
48
5 U.S. at 163.
49
Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, 111 (per curiam).
50
I explore this point at substantial length in Pamela S. Karlan, Nothing Personal:
The Evolution of the Newest Equal Protection from Shaw v. Reno to Bush v. Gore, 79 N.C.L. Rev.
1345 (2001), and Pamela S. Karlan, Equal Protection: Bush v. Gore and the Making of a Precedent,
in The Unfinished Election of 2000, at 159, 185-95 (Jack N. Rakove ed. 2001).
51
446 U.S. 55 (1980).
52
412 U.S.755 (1973).
53
For discussions of this retrenchment, see, e.g., Samuel Issacharoff, Pamela S. Karlan & Richard H. Pildes, THE LAW
OF DEMOCRACY: LEGAL STRUCTURE OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS 708-10, 729-45 (2d ed. 2001); James U. Blacksher &
Larry T. Menefee, FROM REYNOLDS V. SIMS TO CITY OF MOBILE V. BOLDEN: HAVE THE WHITE SUBURBS COMMANDEERED
THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT?, 34 Hastings L.J. 1, 4, 28 (1982).
54
491 U.S. 164 (1989).
39
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
enforce contracts.” 55 It held that section 1981 “extends only to the formation of a contract,
but not to problems that may arise later from the conditions of continuing employment,” 56
and thus that racial harassment of employees was not actionable under section 1981.
The other approach, which is more insidious, is for the court to leave the formal right in
place, but to constrict the remedial machinery. At best, this will dilute the value of the
right, since some violations will go unremedied. At worst, it may signal potential
wrongdoers that they can infringe the right with impunity.
Remedial abridgment is a pervasive tool of the contemporary Supreme Court. In criminal
procedure, for example, Carol Steiker has shown that while the Burger and Rehnquist
Courts have left in place most of the Warren Court’s restrictions on police activity, they
have developed new “inclusionary” rules that allow the introduction of unconstitutionally
obtained evidence, thereby dampening the effect of “conduct” rules directed at law
enforcement personnel. 57 Similarly, in structural reform litigation, Daryl Levinson has
pointed to ways in which the Court’s retrenchment on the scope of appropriate remedies
has backwashed into the definition of the underlying rights. 58
***
In this article, I shall discuss how several of the Supreme Court’s civil rights decisions
from last Term reflect this strategy as well. For the most part, the Court has left the
political branches’ power to regulate relatively unconstrained. That is, the Court assumes
that Congress and the Executive can prohibit various forms of primary conduct. At the
same time, however, the Court has launched a wholesale assault on one of the primary
mechanisms Congress has used for enforcing civil rights: the private attorney general.
The idea behind the “private attorney general” can be stated relatively simply: Congress
can vindicate important public policy goals by empowering private individuals to bring
suit. While one can imagine a regime in which Congress simply delegates the
government’s own right to enforce its laws to private bounty hunters – that is essentially
what qui tam lawsuits envision 59 – the current reliance on private attorneys general is more
55
42 U.S.C. § 1981 provided, at the time, that “[a]ll persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the
same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens ....” Congress
subsequently amended § 1981 to overturn the Court’s decision in Patterson, declaring that “[f]or purposes of this
section, the term ‘make and enforce contracts’ includes the making, performance, modification, and termination of
contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contractual relationship.” 42
U.S.C. § 1981(b) (1994).
56
491 U.S. at 176.
57
See Carol S. Steiker, COUNTER-REVOLUTION IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE?: TWO AUDIENCES, TWO ANSWERS, 94 Mich. L.
Rev. 2466 (1996).
58
See Daryl J. Levinson, RIGHTS ESSENTIALISM AND REMEDIAL EQUILIBRATION, 99 Colum. L. Rev. 857 (1999).
59
And what Judge Jerome Frank, who apparently coined the phrase “private attorney general” in his 1943 opinion in
Associated Industries v. Ickes, 134 F.2d 694, 704 (1943), imagined. For discussions of qui tam lawsuits, see, e.g.,
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765 (2000); Evan Caminker,
Comment, THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF QUI TAM ACTIONS, 99 Yale L.J. 341 (1989).
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PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
modest. It consists essentially of providing a cause of action for individuals who have been
injured by the conduct Congress wishes to proscribe, usually with the additional incentive
of attorney’s fees for a prevailing plaintiff.
Virtually all modern civil rights statutes rely heavily on private attorneys general. As the
Court explained in Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, 60 one of the earliest cases
construing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids various kinds of discrimination in
public accommodations, federally funded programs, and employment, Congress
recognized that it could not achieve compliance solely through lawsuits initiated by the
Attorney General:
A [public accommodations] suit is thus private in form only. When a plaintiff brings an
action ..., he cannot recover damages. If he obtains an injunction, he does so not for
himself alone but also as a “private attorney general,” vindicating a policy that Congress
considered of the highest priority. 61
Thus, Piggie Park recognized the piggybacking function of the Act: Congress harnessed
private plaintiffs to pursue a broader purpose of obtaining equal treatment for the public at
large. Later, the Court explained that this public function exists even when a civil rights
plaintiff asks for compensatory damages rather than injunctive relief. “Unlike most private
tort litigants,” the civil rights plaintiff “seeks to vindicate important civil and constitutional
rights that cannot be valued solely in monetary terms.... Regardless of the form of relief he
actually obtains, a successful civil rights plaintiff often secures important social
benefits.” 62 Thus, when “his day in court is denied him,” the congressional policy which a
civil rights plaintiff “seeks to assert and vindicate goes unvindicated; and the entire Nation,
not just the individual citizen, suffers.” 63
In this article, I explore four decisions from October Term 2000 in which the Supreme
Court sharply abridged the ability of private attorneys general to get their day in court. In
two cases, the Court denied private plaintiffs the ability to bring lawsuits altogether. In
Board of Regents v. Garrett, 64 the Court underscored its narrow reading of congressional
enforcement power under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, holding that Congress
cannot authorize private damages lawsuits against state governments that discriminate
against the disabled. And in Alexander v. Sandoval, 65 the Court held that there is no private
60
390 U.S. 400 (1968) (per curiam).
61
Id. at 401-02.
62
City of Riverside v. Rivera, 477 U.S. 561, 574 (1986).
63
Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).
64
531 U.S. 356 (2001).
65
532 U.S. 275 (2001).
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PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
66
532 U.S. 105 (2001).
67
532 U.S. 598 (2001).
68
Gerald Gunther, THE SUBTLE VICES OF THE “PASSIVE VIRTUES” – A COMMENT ON PRINCIPLE AND EXPEDIENCY IN
JUDICIAL REVIEW, 64 Colum. L. Rev. at 25 (1964).
69
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 177 (1803).
42
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
no remedy for the violation of a vested legal right.” 70 When the law furnishes no remedy
because the Supreme Court has cast out the remedies that the political branches have tried
to provide, then the courts threaten to become the most dangerous branch “to the political
rights of the Constitution,” 71 and not the least.
70
5 U.S. at 163.
71
The Federalist, No. 78, supra note 3, at 465.
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An even more enlightening articulation of the prejudice litigants often face appeared in
numerous discussions on the decision of a Washington State appeals court in Hill v. BCTI
Income Fund, 97 Wn. App. 657 (1999), later upheld by the Washington State Supreme
Court. Although it is the decision of a state court, it draws on the en banc opinion of the U.
S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Fisher v. Vassar College, 70 F.3d 1420, 1437
(2d Cir.). The opinion in Hill v. BCTI defends a school of thought within the legal
profession, which has been having a revolutionary effect on American jurisprudence. It
parallels the controversial theory of a “living constitution,” which condones the “updating”
of the United States Constitution by the courts to conform to the personal opinion of judges
concerning what the public wants and will accept. On a more mundane level, this
revolution in judicial theory is interpreted by many judges as a mandate to quickly dismiss
any lawsuit that can be dismissed without causing a public outcry, regardless of the merits
of the case.
One of the main innovations introduced by the decision in Fisher v. Vassar is the
acceptability and utility of lying to the court. This was discussed at length in a dissenting
opinion by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit, who pointed out
the implications of the decision reached by his colleagues. Briefly stated, a jury of the trial
court had determined that the spokesmen for Vassar had lied about the reason Fisher was
denied tenure. It therefore concluded that the prima facie case Fisher had established had
not been rebutted, and the relief she had demanded was granted. The Second Circuit, en
banc, reversed the decision of the trial court by a single vote, ruling that the
non-discriminatory reason given for not granting Fisher tenure had eliminated her prima
facie case, even though the reason was shown unequivocally to be a lie. With the case in
favor of Fisher eliminated, the court opined that she was required to meet a higher level of
proof, which was not defined by the court and was apparently not humanly possible to
meet, at least without the services of a certified mind-reader.
Expanding on this legal opinion, the Washington State courts in Hill v. BCTI set an
unattainable burden of proof on a plaintiff who has alleged discrimination as soon as the
defendant lies to the court and alleges that the motivation was not to discriminate against
the plaintiff. According to the opinion of the Washington courts, proving conclusively that
the defendant’s allegation was a lie is not enough for a plaintiff to prevail. He must prove
that the motive of the plaintiff was to discriminate against him for the reason alleged in the
complaint. Hence, if age discrimination is alleged, the plaintiff must prove that the real
reason for the discriminatory action and the subsequent lie by the defendant was actually
the age of the plaintiff and not, for example, his religion, race, or gender. The judges of the
Washington State Court of Appeals were well aware of the fact that the opposite decision
had been reached by the United States Supreme Court, but they reasoned that the Supreme
Court was wrong and the State of Washington was free to decide contrary to the highest
Federal court because the State of Washington has its own constitution and its courts are
therefore not bound by the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the Federal
judiciary.
What is interesting about this case in the context of pro se litigation is not the decision
itself but rather the opinion of an author who defended the decision as vital to preserve the
integrity of the judicial system. He stated clearly in his article that if one person came to a
court with a discrimination complaint and obtained relief, this would encourage other
litigants to file similar lawsuits, and there are already too many lawsuits being filed. There
is a strong undercurrent within the legal profession, as well as among corporations that are
frequently sued, propagating the opinion that filing civil lawsuits is somehow sinister and
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PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
un-American. They wish to discourage most lawsuits by denying justice to litigants and
thereby discouraging other litigants from seeking justice in a court.
While there is a tradition from the Old West that a man settles his disputes by shooting it
out with his adversary or settles lesser disputes with his fists, it was long thought that this
was a less desirable alternative to letting a jury decide which party should prevail.
Apparently, some members of the legal profession think otherwise and wish to close off
the courts to ordinary citizens, returning dispute resolution to the means available in the
“Wild West.” It would be well to determine how closely the decrease in justice provided
in civil suits has paralleled the increase in crimes of violence between people with no
civilized means available to settle their dispute. How many of the civil disputes
wrongfully dismissed or inequitably settled come back to the court as a criminal case?
The treatment of pro se litigants reflects the desire expressed by many politicians and
judges that the number of lawsuits be reduced. Showing litigants who lack strong financial
resources, the services of a first-class law firm, backing by an influential organization, or
attention in the press that they have no chance of prevailing in a lawsuit or even of
presenting their cases to a jury might well discourage other litigants from seeking redress
in the courts but it also encourages persons in positions of authority to deliberately break
the law, knowing that there is almost no chance that the victim would be able to obtain
redress in a court of law.
It seems obvious to me that the flood of lawsuits is the result of a massive increase in white
collar crime in the United States, most of which is ignored by law enforcement authorities
on the excuse that their time is needed to combat crimes of violence. The victims are
therefore forced to attempt to obtain redress in a civil lawsuit, and most are unable to
obtain legal counsel. A recent estimate made by a group in Iowa suggested that 70% of the
population of that state did not have enough money to retain the services of an attorney.
Because most white collar criminals have learned the applicable law very well before
embarking on their criminal careers and many seem to have the active assistance of local
civil servants or even judges, attorneys do not see much chance of immediate success
before a court and will therefore refuse to represent an indigent litigant on a contingency
basis. Furthermore, many attorneys working out of small offices without a major law firm
behind them hardly do better in court than pro se litigants. Therefore, as the white collar
criminals, deliberate abusers of civil rights, unscrupulous business firms, and corrupt
public officials become bolder, the victims have no way of protecting their property and
livelihoods other than by representing themselves in a lawsuit. Even though an increasing
number of pro se litigants see the courts as hostile to them and their needs for redress under
the law, the flood of lawsuits grows because of the massive increase in the crimes that the
current attitude of the courts has engendered.
Missing from the report by the Task Force is any adequate remedy for the actions of judges
who adhere to the belief that pro se litigants do not deserve full consideration by the court.
This can be justified by the self-fulfilling prophesy that pro se litigants never win. As a
result, many judges believe that any time given to a lawsuit in which a litigant represents
himself is wasted. Therefore, pro se litigants really do not win simply because the
prophesy that they will lose is self-fulfilling.
B. REMEDIES THAT FAIL
If a district judge summarily dismisses the civil lawsuit of a pro se plaintiff without
reviewing any of the facts and writes a short opinion that fails to address the fundamental
complaint, indicating that the judge barely knew what issues the complaint addressed, the
plaintiff can appeal the dismissal to the court of appeals. In a great many cases, the
45
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
plaintiff receives a brief affirmation of the district judge’s opinion, which also fails to
address the issues in the complaint and almost always contains the notation that the opinion
cannot be cited as a precedent and should not be published.
The plaintiff can then file an appeal with the United States Supreme Court with near
certainty that certiorari will not be denied. Many litigants lack the money to have their
petitions for certiorari correctly printed and bound to the satisfaction of the clerk, and
others fail to present the legal issues in an understandable manner. Even if all submissions
are perfect, however, the petition will almost certainly be denied in favor of appeals that
are given considerable publicity in the press, are promoted by major organizations, or are
otherwise likely to bring fame and praise to the justices. The problems of ordinary
citizens, no matter how devastating to them and their families, are ignored, and they find
that they would have little more chance of success in getting a justified complaint before a
jury than they would have of winning a lottery.
For example, after the courts in several circuits had summarily dismissed hundreds and
perhaps thousands of lawsuits alleging employment discrimination at the complaint stage
because the plaintiff had failed to provide enough hard evidence to establish a prima facie
case when the complaint was submitted, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear
one of the appeals from the Second Circuit. In Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S.
(2002), it decided unanimously that it is a gross violation of procedures to dismiss a
lawsuit at this stage of the proceedings. Among the points the justices made were that a
plaintiff can prevail without establishing a prima facie case at all, that a judge’s opinion of
whether or not a litigant will prevail before a jury is irrelevant to decision to dismiss a
lawsuit, and that it is fundamentally unfair to dismiss a lawsuit before the whole body of
facts can be revealed through discovery. While this decision provided the plaintiff with a
chance to have his lawsuit heard by a jury on the merits, it affirmed that thousands of
litigants whose lawsuits had been improperly dismissed over the many years during which
the appeals courts had been violating procedures had been left without any access to
justice.
Still more perverse was the continued dismissal of lawsuits at the complaint stage, even
after the Supreme Court had denounced this practice. It was well known to the judges
guilty of this practice that any subsequent petitions for certiorari citing this issue would be
denied on the grounds that the Supreme Court had already decided the issue and would not
agree to decide it again. This would leave a litigant no way of redressing violations of his
civil rights just because he had the bad luck of coming before a judge who is trying to
discourage lawsuits by issuing non-precedential dismissals at the complaint stage and
appeals court judges who affirm decisions of the lower court with a rubber stamp. Citing
the clear opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Swiercewicz v. Sorema N.A. would have
no effect on the outcome before a judge who assumes that anything filed pro se is without
merit.
In case of particularly severe violations of the law, procedures, or ethics by a judge, a
litigant is limited to filing a complaint with a judicial board established for hearing such
complaints. Other avenues of redress are closed off because judicial immunity from civil
liability was made absolute during the 1990s, even if corruption or malice motivated the
judge’s actions. Experience shows that the boards investigating misconduct by judges
move extremely slowly, and a litigant has roughly one chance in a thousand of having a
rogue judge censured, even mildly.
It can be concluded that a litigant whose lawsuit has been dismissed because of the bias of
a judge against him, a class to which he belongs, pro se litigants in general, or the kind of
lawsuit he has filed has almost no chance of redress, either on appeal or in complaint
46
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
proceedings against a judge. Human nature clearly dictates that when members of any
group are permitted to perform illegal, immoral, and unjust actions against other persons
with complete impunity, many of them will do so, some because of laziness, others
because of malice, and still others in anticipation of gratuities from a favored party. A pro
se litigant has no recourse against a judge who does not want his complaint heard due to
bias of any kind, and the fact that a judge has the power to deny him access to a jury
effectively eliminates an important civil right supposedly guaranteed by Amendment VII
of the United States Constitution.
C. COMMON EXPERIENCES OF PRO SE LITIGANTS
The solutions proposed by the Task Force presume good will by the judges and conformity
with the standards of ethics and behavior traditionally held by our society. Unfortunately,
in speaking and corresponding with many pro se litigants, I have learned that there are
common problems that reflect an erosion of human values and are often accompanied by
abusive behavior by judges. These problems are less likely to arise when a litigant is
represented by a lawyer, whose status as an “insider” in the legal profession might tend to
restrain the opposing attorney and presiding judge from improper conduct. Such conduct
is difficult for pro se litigants to cope with, but it is readily recognized when it occur.
Eventually, pro se litigants make their opinions of the court public, and the increasing
criticism leads to a general loss of faith in courts. The growing dissatisfaction of the public
with the judicial system is rooted in the negative opinions developed by many litigants who
know they have been improperly or illegally treated. Losing a lawsuit is fundamentally
different from being denied due process and a fair hearing, and even pro se litigants
without formal education in a law school can immediately tell the difference.
The most common complaints by litigants of misconduct by the courts include the
following:
1. Perjury is tolerated by the judge
This complaint has been made by the great majority of pro se litigants with whom I have
spoken. Very often, the false testimony is given by one or more government employees.
Even when parts of the testimony are shown to be false, judges continue to give full
credence to the witness in the remaining parts of the testimony. The judge then dismisses
the lawsuit of a pro se litigant citing the perjured testimony as evidence that the lawsuit has
no merit. Usually there are documents in the file clearly showing that the testimony was
false, but these are simply disregarded by the judge.
Prosecutions for perjury have become rare to non-existent. Government employees have
been given complete immunity for perjury they commit “in the line of duty,” even if it is
given with malice. Government prosecutors may suborn witnesses to perjury by promising
them immunity for crimes they have been accused of. It has even been alleged that
government employees can be fired for refusing to give false testimony at the behest of
their supervisors. Many cases are known where civil servants have advanced their own
careers by deliberately misleading courts, administrative boards, and even Congress to
advance a political agenda espoused by the their supervisors.
2. Records submitted to the court disappear from the files
This complaint has frequently been made. Some litigants note that the entries of the
documents are still in the court records but the documents themselves have disappeared.
Even if copies of the records are retained by the litigant, they usually cannot be added to a
record on appeal unless they are still in the file of the lower court.
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48
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
Any lawsuits brought by a plaintiff pro per fall into the category of “thousand to one
shots,” but so do discrimination lawsuits brought against government agencies with the
assistance of “B” or “C-class” lawyers. Similarly, civil rights and employment
discrimination lawsuits routinely fail, unless a major special interest group supports one of
the parties.
Any time lawsuits that depend on an individual interpretation of the facts are decided so
preponderantly in favor of one party without the assistance of a jury, suspicion of bias is
justified. In conflicts between human beings, rank, job title, or affiliation do not determine
which party has followed the law and which party has broken it. If the supervisor prevails
one thousand times in whistleblower appeals for every time the whistleblower prevails, it is
clear that the adjudication has not been impartial. This conclusion is given great support
by the findings of Congress that reprisal against whistleblowers is a problem of massive
proportions in the civil service, requiring several amendments to make the Whistleblowers’
Protection Act considerably stronger. That the efforts of Congress have been consistently
undermined by the judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
reflects an imbalance that has been developing between the powers of the legislative and
judicial branches in recent years.
5. Different standards are applied to different litigants
Powerful plaintiffs seek to delay litigation until the opponent dies or is forced to end the
litigation for financial reasons. Some well-represented litigants do not respond to the
summons until a motion for default has been entered, and judges routinely excuse the
failure and refuse to enter a default judgment. The same judges are quick to dismiss
lawsuits because a pro se plaintiff has missed a deadline by one or two days, even when the
cause of the delay was beyond the control of the litigant. The lack of impartiality is plainly
evident when one party is permitted unlimited delays, in spite of the fact that the United
States Department of Justice or a major law firm with a large staff of lawyers is
representing that party, while a pro se litigant forced to act alone is held to the strictest
standards stipulated in the FRCP and local rules. Allowing one litigant unlimited delays
while the other is facing severe financial difficulties as long as the lawsuit remains
unsettled is a tactic that clearly violates judicial fairness and at least the spirit of the United
States Constitution, which demands a speedy trial in criminal matters and, by implication,
reasonable speed in settling civil disputes, as well.
6. Recent handling of civil lawsuits by the courts have instigated a white collar crime
wave
Many successful white collar criminals have obtained the cooperation of local courts to
defraud private citizens out of large sums of money, often leaving the victim destitute. A
few of the methods frequently used include abuse of bankruptcy procedures to loot estates,
illegal foreclosures on real estate, seizure of cash or property without due process, and
fraud during divorce proceedings.
Federal courts should have jurisdiction over obvious frauds perpetrated by state courts
under the RICO statute and civil rights laws. However, failure of effective action by
Federal judges to stop obvious fraud perpetrated by colleagues employed by state and local
government encourages larcenous state officials, including judges, to conclude that their
positions allow them to illegally enrich themselves at the expense of selected victims with
complete impunity.
Litigants who have sought protection from state and local criminal gangs in Federal courts
have encountered many years of delays, denial of jury trials, and refusals to issue decisions
justified by the facts of the case. Many abuses have come to public attention in recent
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PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
years, but the crime wave has grown so rapidly, many of the practices have not received
sufficient publicity to warn potential victims. Crimes like identity theft, fraudulent
foreclosure, fraud in stating fees and interest charges, and abuses of eminent domain have
become epidemic throughout the United States. They can financially ruin victims, who
have not found effective protection through either criminal or civil procedures.
7. Court orders go unheeded
Failure of courts to enforce their own orders granting relief to litigants may eventually
result in more difficulties than adjudicating the initial petition for relief. Plaintiffs may
prevail but gain no redress from the decision because judges refuse to issue effective orders
mandating the remedies demanded by a jury. This is a problem that often arises when the
delinquent party is a government agency. Common examples of deliberate resistance to
court orders include ignoring orders to produce documents requested under the Freedom of
Information or Privacy Act and failure of public officials to obey orders to return money or
property unlawfully taken from citizens by law enforcement agencies.
8. Judges give orders contrary to law and accepted standards of behavior
Opposite the failure to enforce just orders for relief is issuing orders demanding illegal or
obviously impractical relief from litigants. Examples of practices that have become
common during the past few years include demands for support payments from one party
to divorce proceedings that exceed the total earnings of the person ordered to pay, jailing of
indigent litigants who cannot pay what the court has demanded of them for other reasons,
removal of children from their natural parents without due process, and imposition of
medical treatment on minor children without informing their parents.
9. Judges refuse to take actions required by law
Many routine actions required of judges have created barriers to the enforcement of laws as
intended by Congress. An excellent example of this is the action usually taken after a
litigant complaints that he cannot obtain documents requested pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act. This law was passed by Congress because of the great resistance shown
by Federal civil servants to making their unclassified documents available to the general
public. Records created through the use of tax money should belong to the public and be
made available on request.
Congress obviously intended that documents formally requested be made available
immediately. It therefore specified a waiting period of no more than ten working days and
permitted a person who requested the records to file a lawsuit to obtain the documents if
the agency is not forthcoming. It requires agencies to assist people making requests to
identify the documents and to provide the documents after charging only minimal copying
fees.
Obviously, to uphold this law as Congress intended, a judge must order immediate release
of the records to the court for distribution to the plaintiff after the court has ruled on any
objections the agency has made to their release. Because obtaining records as quickly as
possible is often necessary for a litigant to obtain some benefit to which he is entitled,
complete an article for publication in a newspaper or periodical, or protect himself of a
relative from the consequences of false information about him being distributed with
official records, the rapid availability of records is vital.
Instead of upholding the high standards demanded by the Freedom of Information Act,
judges have consistently permitted lawsuits to obtain public information to drag on for
several years, often making the intended use of the documents impossible. Judges seem to
attempt to avoid issuing orders to government agencies, even when the law mandates this.
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PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
They fail to review contested records in camera, as provided for in the law, and simply
hope the plaintiff will eventually withdraw his demand for the documents. Although
obtaining documents often costs plaintiffs excessive amounts of money for the litigation,
judges seldom offer the monetary relief specified in the law. They also fail to impose the
requirement of the law that photocopy fees be reasonable. While private shops provide
photocopies for 5 cents or less, agencies may charge exorbitant amounts to copy their
documents. For example, about two years ago, one agency demanded 31 cents for each
copy, or more than 6 times the price on the private market.
The failure of the courts to impose sanctions on civil servants who make it a sport to defy
the Freedom of Information Act has led to the development of procedures to keep public
documents out of the hands of citizens who want to obtain them.
10. Courts have become inconsistent and arbitrary
Courts have recently begun to establish very confusing precedents, reverse their own
decisions, and ignore real issues rather than settling them. In recent years, different Courts
of Appeals have issued opposite interpretations of the same law, making one action legal
under the jurisdiction of one circuit and illegal under the jurisdiction of another. Because
the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari each time a litigant attempted to obtain a
definitive decision on some of these matters, Federal law can mean one thing in one circuit
and the opposite in another. For example, whether or not Federal law permits factory
workers to speak with each other in a language other than English depends upon the area of
the country in which the factory is located.
Changing public opinion or even an unusual personal opinion held by the judge to whom
the case has been assigned may result in a lawsuit being decided in a manner contrary to
other recent decisions in nearly identical cases. When judicial opinions on the
interpretation of a law are continually fluctuating because one judge approves of the law
while another does not, whichever litigant loses will feel cheated by the court because
other litigants in exactly in the same position won their lawsuits. This situation causes
more litigants to risk a lawsuit rather than settling the dispute out of court because winning
or losing depends only on the whim of the judge hearing the case rather than on a
consistent and unambiguous interpretation of the law. An advantage of being represented
by counsel is often the knowledge he brings concerning which judges will be sympathetic
to the litigant’s case and which will favor the other party. In an impartial system, such
considerations would not be a factor. The founding fathers hoped to eliminate this problem
by insisting that decisions be rendered by juries, but by increasingly usurping the duties of
the jurors, judges have permitted their own beliefs on the wisdom of individual laws to
override the stated intentions of Congress. Because all judges do not hold the same
opinions, an increasing inconsistency in decisions is becoming an increasing problem for
pro se litigants and lawyers, alike.
11. Federalism theory interferes with practical justice
In recent history, Federal courts have intervened in many disputes between citizens and
individual states, where the state court system was clearly violating or assisting in the
violation of civil rights. Since the first Civil Rights statutes were passed in 1871, Congress
has shown a clear intent to place the guarantees in Amendments XIII, XIV, and XV above
the limitations on suits against states in Amendment XI. Federal courts belatedly struck
down state laws deliberately passed to bar Americans of African descent from voting,
attending schools with white children, and using public facilities. These rulings have
clearly focused the attention of the nation on the fact that states are prone to commit
51
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
actions against their citizens that violate Federal guarantees defined as civil and human
rights by our Constitution.
Recently, the theory of federalism has been revived, and Federal courts have become less
willing to interfere with the actions of state courts, no matter how unjust and reprehensible.
One of the most important reasons for Federal courts to exist is to provide citizens with a
final recourse against clearly illegal actions committed by state and local government,
which are much more likely to fall under the influence of criminal conspirators than the
much more diverse Federal system. If the Federal courts disqualify themselves from
settling disputes between citizens and state governments, they have clearly left the citizens
vulnerable to losing their civil rights through clearly illegal actions by small, corrupt
political machines.
SECTION 9. Judge Donald P. Lay, 8th Circuit in Dissenting Opinion: Too Many Summary
Judgments and 8th Circuit Too Readily Rubber-Stamping Summary Judgments
DECISION OF THE DAY
Robert Loblaw’s blog.
(1) Melvin v. Cal-Freshener Corp., 06-1279 (8th Cir., July 12, 2006)
Too Many Summary Judgments in the Eighth Circuit?
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
http://blogs.enotes.com/decision-blog/2006-07/too-many-summary-judgments-in-the-
eighth-circuit
One trend I have noticed in the nine months I have been doing this blog is that reversals are
pretty rare in the Eighth Circuit. The vast majority of the decisions I have seen are
unanimous affirmances, both in the criminal and civil context. (The one exception being
below-Guidelines sentences, as Doug Berman has catalogued.) So, either the district courts
there are doing everything right, or perhaps something may be broken in the appellate
system.
Today, in a rare Eighth Circuit dissent, Judge Lay suggests that something may be broken.
Dissenting from a decision affirming summary judgment for the defendant in an
employment discrimination case, Judge Lay argues that the district courts are granting too
many summary judgment motions, and the Eighth Circuit is too readily rubber-stamping
these decisions. He urges the courts to take a closer look at these cases, to ensure that
litigants’ right to a jury trial is being adequately protected.
===
DECISION OF THE DAY
Robert Loblaw’s blog.
(2) Guerrerro v. J.W. Hutton, Inc., 06-1352 (8th Cir., Aug. 21, 2006)
More On the Eighth’s Overly Summary Judgments
Monday, August 21, 2006
http://blogs.enotes.com/decision-blog/2006-08/more-on-the-eighths-overly-summary-
judgments
A month ago, I posted on this Eighth Circuit decision, in which Judge Lay criticized his
colleagues for being too trigger-happy about affirming summary judgments. Although he
does not editorialize this time, Judge Lay’s dissent in this employment case again
highlights the Eighth Circuit’s readiness to deny litigants their right to a jury trial despite
the existence of material, disputed facts.
52
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
===
Decision of the Day
Robert Loblaw’s blog.
(3) Green v. Franklin National Bank of Minneapolis, 05-2513 (8th Cir., Aug.
23, 2006)
Judge Lay Continues His Crusade Against Summary Judgments
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
http://blogs.enotes.com/decision-blog/2006-08/judge-lay-continues-his-crusade-against-summary-
judgments
For the second time this week (see this post) and at least the third time this summer (see
here), Judge Lay exposes the Eighth Circuit’s pattern of affirming summary judgments
despite the existence of triable issues. In today’s low-profile dissent, he explains why there
are material factual disputes about whether a plaintiff was fired for complaining about a
coworker’s racial insults.
===
DECISION OF THE DAY
Robert Loblaw’s blog.
(4) United States v. Minnesota Church of Angels, 06-1983 (8th Cir.,
Mar. 22, 2007)
A Fitting Tribute to Judge Lay
Thursday, March 22, 2007
http://blogs.enotes.com/decision-blog/2007-03/a-fitting-tribute-to-judge-lay/
Loyal Decision of the Day readers may remember Senior Judge Donald Lay, the former
Chief Judge of the Eighth Circuit who criticized his colleagues last summer for affirming
too many summary judgments. (My coverage here, here, and here.) Well, the 80-year-old
Johnson appointee is now off the bench due to disability retirement. One of the last oral
arguments he heard was this appeal, in which the Hell’s Angels challenged the
government’s forfeiture of their clubhouse due to its alleged use as a drug den. Judge Lay
wasn’t able to stick around for the decision, but the two remaining panelists conclude that
there are material issues of fact for trial. Accordingly, the Court reverses the district court’s
decision granting summary judgment for the government. Judge Lay would be proud.
53
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
54
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
55
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
persons shall be rotated off the Special Federal Grand Jury and new citizens seated, except
in January it shall be three. Vacancies shall be filled on the first of the following month in
addition to the Jurors regularly rotated, and the Juror chosen to fill a vacancy shall
complete only the remainder of the term of the Juror replaced.
(o) PROCEDURES
The Special Federal Grand Jury shall serve a copy of the filed complaint upon the subject
judge and notice to the complainant of such service. The judge shall have thirty days to
serve and file an answer. The complainant shall have twenty days to reply to the judge's
answer. (Upon timely request, the Special Federal Grand Jury may provide for extensions
for good cause.) The Special Federal Grand Jury shall have power to subpoena witnesses,
documents, and other tangible evidence, and to examine witnesses under oath. The Special
Federal Grand Jury shall determine the causes properly before it with their reasoned
findings in writing within one hundred twenty (120) calendar days, serving on all parties
their decision on whether immunity shall be barred as a defense to any civil action that
may thereafter be pursued against the federal judge. A rehearing may be requested of the
Special Federal Grand Jury within twenty days with service upon the opposition. Twenty
days shall be allowed to reply thereto. Thereafter, the Special Federal Grand Jury shall
render final determination within thirty days. All allegations of the complaint shall be
liberally construed in favor of the complainant. The Jurors shall keep in mind, in making
their decisions, that they are entrusted by the people of these United States with the duty of
restoring a perception of justice and accountability of the federal judiciary, and are not to
be swayed by artful presentation by the federal judge. They shall avoid all influence by
judicial and government entities. The statute of limitations on any civil suit brought
pursuant to this statute against a federal judge shall not commence until the rendering of a
final decision by the Special Federal Grand Jury. Special Federal Grand Jury files shall
always remain public record following their final determination. A majority of thirteen
shall determine any matter.
(p) REMOVAL
Whenever any federal judge shall have received more than three strikes, the federal judge
shall automatically be brought up on charges before Congress for Articles of Impeachment
by the Special Federal Grand Jury through its special prosecutor for bad behavior and
willful misconduct. Congress thereafter shall commence to a vote on such Articles of
Impeachment. Upon a conviction, the federal judge shall be permanently removed from
office. He may also be held liable under any other appropriate criminal or civil proceeding.
(q) INDICTMENT
Should the Special Federal Grand Jury also find probable cause of criminal conduct on the
part of any federal judge against whom a complaint is docketed, it shall have the power to
indict such federal judge except where double jeopardy attaches. The Special Federal
Grand Jury shall, without voir dire beyond personal relationship, cause to be impaneled
special trial jurors, plus alternates, which trial jurors shall be instructed that they have
power to judge both law and fact. The Special Federal Grand Jury shall also select a non-
governmental special prosecutor and a federal judge with no more than four years on the
bench from a state other than that of the defendant judge (or outside of the District of
Columbia, if the case so be). The trial jury shall be selected from the same pool of jury
candidates as any regular federal jury. The special prosecutor shall thereafter prosecute the
cause to a conclusion, having all the powers of any other prosecutor within these United
States. Upon conviction, the special trial jury shall have exclusive power of sentencing
56
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
57
PART 4. CORRUPTION IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
58
PART 5. CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF JUSTICE
59
PART 5. CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF JUSTICE
60
PART 5. CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF JUSTICE
ruled on this motion or any motion for judicial notice of adjudicative facts or
presumptions in general that the Plaintiff has filed. Copy of this motion was
FedEx’d to the Deputy Attorney General James Comey as Chairman of that
civil liberties board. No response has yet been received. This is not a very
good track record for the Government on protecting the civil liberties of the
American people when the federal courts and the Executive Branch treats a
pro se Plaintiff in such a manner.77
61
PART 5. CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMEN OF JUSTICE
62
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
SECTION 1. Five Years of Obstructions of Justice forced Don Hamrick into the Role of a
Human Rights Defender
(1) United Nations DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS: 73
Article 6. Obstruction of Justice.
Article 9 The Right to Effective Remedy of Human Rights Violations
Article 13. Obstruction of Justice.
(2) THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION: 74
Article III.1. Abuse of Authority, (Equivalent to 18 U.S.C. § 4. Misprision of Felony).
Article III.11. Obstruction of Justice.
Article IV. Acts of Corruption (18 U.S.C. § 872 Extortion Under Color of Law)
(3) United Nations CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION: 75
Article 11. Measures Relating to the Judiciary and Prosecution Services;
Article 19. Abuse of Functions;
Article 24. Concealment;
Article 25. Obstruction of Justice;
Article 27. Participation and Attempt;
Article 28. Knowledge, Intent and Purpose as Elements of an Offence;
Article 30. Prosecution, Adjudication and Sanctions;
Article 32. Protection of . . . Victims;
Article 33. Protection of Reporting Persons;
Article 34. Consequences of Acts of Corruption ["Citizen's Arrest Warrant"]
Article 39. Cooperation Between National Authorities and the Private Sector.
(4) INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS: 76
Article 14.1. Denial of Equal Justice Under the Law
Article 15.1. Threatened False Arrest (As applied against U.S. Marshals Service)
Article 16. Denial of Equal Justice Under the Law
72
Latin, By the Law of Nature.
73
DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND ORGANS OF SOCIETY TO PROMOTE AND
PROTECT UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, U.N. General Assembly, Fifty-
third session, Agenda item 110 (b); Document No. A/RES/53/144; dated 8 March 1999. Resolution Adopted
by the General Assembly [on the report of the Third Committee (A/53/625/Add.2)]
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/770/89/PDF/N9977089.pdf?OpenElement
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/declaration.htm
74
THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION was signed by the United States and ratified on September
15, 2000
75
The U.N. CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION was signed by the United States on December 9, 2003 and ratified on
October 30, 2006
76
INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS entered into force internationally on March 23, 1976 and
was ratified by the United States on September 8, 1992.
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm
63
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
77
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ratified by the United States on December 10, 1948.
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
78
AMERICAN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN, O.A.S. Res. XXX, adopted by the Ninth International
Conference of American States (1948), reprinted in Basic Documents Pertaining to Human Rights in the Inter-
American System, OEA/Ser.L.V/II.82 doc.6 rev.1 at 17 (1992).
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/oasinstr/zoas2dec.htm
79
U.N. General Assembly, DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND ORGANS OF
SOCIETY TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS; Fifty-
third session, Agenda item 110 (b); Document No. A/RES/53/144, dated 8 March 1999
64
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
“Human Right to Own, Possess, and Bear Arms for the Personal Protection, Safety and Security” of not
only the “Human Right to Life” but also to preserve freedoms and liberties under our form a government in
accordance with the GENOCIDE CONVENTION to counter Jessica Gonzales’ case of “No Constitutional Right
to Police Protection.”
z (4) In ¶ 60 of the above Robert the Commission concluded that it has the competence to examine
the Petitioners’ allegations, and that the petition is admissible for the alleged violations of Articles I, II, V,
VI, VII, XVIII and XXIV of the [AMERICAN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN] and in
accordance with the Commission’s Rules of Procedure.
Article I. Every human being has the right to life, liberty and the security of his person.
Article II. All persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established in this
Declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed or any other factor.
Article V. Every person has the right to the protection of the law against abusive attacks upon
his honor, his reputation, and his private and family life.
Article VI. Every person has the right to establish a family, the basic element of society, and to
receive protection therefor.
Article VII. All women, during pregnancy and the nursing period, and all children have the right to
special protection, care and aid.
Article XVIII. Every person may resort to the courts to ensure respect for his legal rights.
There should likewise be available to him a simple, brief procedure whereby the
courts will protect him from acts of authority that, to his prejudice, violate any
fundamental constitutional rights.
Article XXIV. Every person has the right to submit respectful petitions to any competent
authority, for reasons of either general or private interest, and the right to obtain a
prompt decision thereon.
z (5) Don Hamrick’s human rights petition is based on two additional Articles of the AMERICAN
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF MAN to that of Jessica Gonzales’ Petition. These additional
two Articles are:
Article II. All persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established in this
Declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed or any other factor.
Article XVII. Every person has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person having rights
and obligations, and to enjoy the basic civil rights.
65
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
80
See also General Treaty for the Renunciation of War (“Kellogg-Briand Pact”) 94 L.N.R.S. 57 (1928); 22 AM. J.
INT’L L. 109-13 (formal notes exchanged between the signatories, reserving the right to selfdefense).
81
Frey Report at 13, para. 39 (“ Article 51 was not intended to apply to situations of self-defence for individual
persons.”)
82
See David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant, and Joanne D. Eisen, titled, THE HUMAN RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE.
83
DINSTEIN, at 179. Dinstein goes on to reject the overtone, because he rejects the whole concept of natural law, for
reasons detailed supra at text accompanying notes .
84
See supra text accompanying notes – (natural law and the classical founding scholars of international law), and –
(Roman law jus naturale).
85
Military and Paramilitary Activities (Nicaragua v. United States), 1986 I.C.J. Rep. 14, 94, para. 176.
86
DINSTEIN, at 176; see also M. A Weightman, Self-Defense in International Law , 37 VIR. L. R EV. 1095, 1099-1102
(1951).
66
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
SECTION 5. Other Constitutions: Human Rights are Created by God. Not by Government.
z Footnote 263 in David B. Kopel, Paul Gallant, and Joanne D. Eisen, titled, THE HUMAN RIGHT OF
SELF-DEFENSE notes that human rights are included in the constitutions of 16 nations:
The constitutions of at least sixteen nations explicitly affirm that human rights are inherent
(or “natural” or created by God); they affirm human rights are recognized by governments,
but not created by governments. 87
Afghanistan Const., art. 23, “Life is a gift of God and a natural right of human
beings.”
Andorra Const., art. 4 “The Constitution reco gnizes the intangibility of
the human dignity and guarantees the person’s
inviolable and imprescriptible rights….”
Azerbaijan Const., art. 24 “Everyone…possess inviolable and inalienable rights
and liberties.”
Belive Const., pmbl. “inalienable rights with which all members of the
human family are endowed by their Creator….”
Egypt Const., art. 41 “Individual freedom is a natural right not subject to
violation….”
Ethiopia Const., art. 10 “Human rights and freedoms, emanating from the
nature of mankind, are inviolable and inalienable.”
Liberia Const., art. 11, “All persons…have certain natural, inherent and
inalienable rights….”
Lithuania Const., art. 18 “The rights and freedoms of individuals shall be
inborn.”
Luxembourg Const., art. 11 “The State guarantees the natural rights of the
individual….”
Paraguay Const., art. 4 “The right to the life is inherent to the human person.”
Saint Lucia Const., Part II, sched. III, b “ all persons have been endowed equally by God with
inalienable rights….”
Saudi Arabia Const., art. 26 “The state protects human rights in accordance with the
Islamic Shari’ah.”
Spain Const., art. 10 “inviolable rights which are inherent….”
Syria const., art. 25 “Freedom is a sacred right.”
Trinidad & Tobago Const., pmbl. “the equal and inalienable rights with which all
members of the human family are endowed by their
Creator….”
Turkey Const., art. 12 “Everyone possesses inherent fundamental rights….”
87
SELF-DEFENSE. The following list is from footnote 263 of SELF-DEFENSE.
67
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
88
Supra.
89
See Schlomit Wallerstein, Justifying the Right to Self-Defense: A Theory of Forced Consequences , 91 VA. L. REV.
999, 999 (2005) (“the right to self-defense is recognized in all jurisdictions”).
90
ZIMBABWE const. Ch. III, art. 21 (1) (“no person shall be hindered in his freedom of assembly and association…
and in particular to form or belong to political parties…”).
91
See Tsvangirai Held in Intensive Care , BBC News, Mar. 14, 2007. Concerning breach of Zimbabwe’s guarantees
(“Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is being treated in an intensive care unit as doctors examine
wounds he received in police custody…. He and dozens of other activists were arrested at a rally on Sunday.”)
92
KENYA CONST., ch. 5, art. 71(1).
93
See Cyrus Ombati, Govt Burns 8,000 Guns As Minister Orders Police to Kill Thugs , THE EAST AFRICAN
STANDARD (Nairobi), Mar. 16, 2007. (Internal Security minister John Michuki stated: “An illegal weapon in the
hands of a criminal has no other purpose except to kill an innocent person. It is, therefore, justifiable for the law
enforcers to take equal measure against such a person.”).
94
“Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.” François, Duke of La Rochefoucauld. “If a State acts in a way
prima facie incompatible with a recognized rule, but defends its conduct by appealing to exceptions or justifications
contained within the rule itself, then whether or not the State’s conduct is in fact justifiable on that basis, the
significance of that attitude is to confirm rather than weaken the rule.” Nicaragua v. United States, at 98.
68
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
69
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
95
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
The Universal Declaration affirms the right of violent resistance to tyranny, so the incorporation of the Universal
Declaration into a national constitution thereby incorporates the rightfulness of resisting tyranny. (Kopel, et al)
96
Section (2), (5), and (6) omitted in Kopel, et al, THE HUMAN RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE. Section (2), (5), and (6), in
their operation is the parallel function of the “Common Defence” clause in the Preamble to the United States
Constitution and the Powers reserved to the People in the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the United States
Constitution.
70
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
97
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
98
Id.
71
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
72
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
Slovakia Const., art. 32: “Citizens have the right to put up resistance to anyone who would
eliminate the democratic order of human rights and basic liberties
listed in this Constitution, if the activity of constitutional bodies and
the effective use of legal means are rendered impossible.”
SECTION 9: Other Constitutions: Security against home invasion
Finally, a very common item in constitutions which include a Bill of Rights is the right to security
against home invasion. Sometimes—as in the United States’ Fourth Amendment [U.S. CONST.,
amend. 4.]—the right is stated in terms that apply only to home invasions by the government. Very
frequently, however, the right is stated in terms which are not limited to government actors.
Afghanistan Const., art. 38.1-2: “Other than the situations and methods indicated in the
law, no one, including the state, is allowed to enter or
inspect a private residence without prior permission of
the resident or holding a court order.”
Andorra Const., art. 14: “Inviolability of the dwelling shall be guaranteed. No one
shall enter a dwelling or any other premises against the
will of the owner or without a warrant, except in case of
flagrant delicto.”
Angola Const., art. 44: “The State shall guarantee the inviolability of the home
and the secrecy of correspondence, with limitations
especially provided for by law.”
Antigua & Barbuda., ch. 2(3)(c): “protection for his family life, his personal privacy, the
privacy of his home and other property and from
deprivation of property without fair compensation,…”
Armenia Const., art. 21: “Everyone is entitled to privacy in his or her own
dwelling. It is prohibited to enter a person's dwelling
against his or her own will except under cases prescribed
by law.”
Azerbaijan Const., art. 33.1-2: “Everyone has the right for sanctity of his/her home.
Except cases specified by law or decision of law court
nobody has the right to enter private home against the
will of its inhabitants.”
Bahamas Const., ch. 3.15(c): “protection for the privacy of his home and other
property and from deprivation of property without
compensation…”
Belarus Const., art. 29: “The right of the people to be secure in their houses and
other legitimate effects shall be guaranteed. No person
shall have the right, save in due course of law to enter the
premises or other legal property of a citizen against one's
will.”
Belgium Const., art. 15 “The domicile is inviolable; no visit to the individual's
residence can take place except in the cases provided for
by law and in the form prescribed by law.”
Belize Const., art. II.9.1 “Except with his own consent, a person shall not be
subjected to the search of his person or his property or the
entry by others on his premises.”
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PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
Benin Const., art. 20: “The domicile shall be inviolable. House visits or
searches may be carried out only according to the forms
and conditions provided by law.” 101
Bolivia Const., art. 21: “All house is an asylum inviolable; at night it will not be
possible to be entered her without consent of which it
inhabits it and by day only the entrance to requisition
written and motivated of competent authority will be
crossed, except for the case of crime ‘in fragantí.’ ” 102
Brazil Const., art. 5: XI - the home is the inviolable refuge of the individual,
and no one may enter therein without the consent of the
dweller, except in the events of flagrante delicto 103 or
disaster, or to give help, or, during the day, by court
order; 104
Bulgaria Const., art. 33.1-2 “The home is inviolable. No one shall enter or stay inside
a home without its occupant's consent, except in the cases
expressly stipulated by law. Entering a home or staying
inside without the consent of its occupant or without the
judicial authorities’ permission shall be allowed only for
the purposes of preventing an immediately impending
crime or a crime in progress, for the capture of a criminal,
or in extreme necessity.”
Burkina Faso Const., art. 6: “The residence, the domicile, private and family life,
secrecy of correspondence of every person are inviolable.
It can only be affected according to the forms and in the
cases specified by the law.” 105
Burundi Const., art. [43]: 106 “No one cannot be the subject of interference arbitrary in
its private life, its family, her residence or its
correspondence, nor of attacks to its honor and its
reputation. It can be ordered searchings or house searches
only under the forms and the conditions envisaged by the
law.” 107
Cambodia Const., art. 40: “The right to privacy of residence and to the secrecy of
correspondence by mail, telegram, fax, telex and
telephone shall be guaranteed.”
101
Original in Spanish. English version found online at:
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/BeninC(englishsummary)(rev).doc
102
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
Translation of “in fragantí” not readily available.
103
“being caught in the act” Latin.
104
Original in Spanish. English version found online at http://www.v-brazil.com/government/laws/titleII.html
105
Original in Spanish. English version found online at
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/Burkina%20FasoC%20(englishsummary)(rev).doc
106
Art. 23 in original. There correct article number corresponding to the text indicates “article 43” not “23.”
107
Original in French. English version online at http://www.idlo.int/texts/leg5567.pdf
74
PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
China Const., art 39. “The home of citizens of the People’s Republic of China
is inviolable. Unlawful search of, or intrusion into, a
citizen’s home is prohibited.”
Cuba Const., art. 56: “The home is inviolable. Nobody can enter the home of
another against his will, except in those cases foreseen by
law.”
Domican Republic Const.: art. 8.3 “The inviolability of the home. No home visit can
be verified but in the cases anticipated by the law and
with the formalities that it prescribes.” 108
Egypt Const., art. 44 “Homes shall have their sanctity and they may not be
entered or inspected except by a causal judicial warrant
as prescribed by the law.”
El Salavador Const., art. 20: “The home is inviolable and it will only be able to be
entered by consent of the person who inhabits it, by
judicial mandate, flagrant crime or imminent danger of its
perpetration, or by serious risk of the people.” 109
Eritrea Const., art. 18(2): “No person shall be subjected to unlawful search,
including his home or other property; there shall be no
unlawful entry of his premises and no unlawful seizure of
his personal possessions; nor shall the privacy of his
correspondence, communication or other property be
violated.
Estonia Const., art. 33: “The home is inviolable. No one may forcibly enter or
search anyone’s dwelling, property or place of work,
except in such cases and in accordance with procedures
determined by law for the protection of public order or
health, or the rights and liberties of others, or in order to
prevent a criminal act, to capture a criminal offender or to
establish facts in a criminal investigation.”
Ethiopia Const., art. 26.1: “Everyone has the right to privacy. This right shall
include the right not to be subjected to searches of his
home, person or property, or the seizure of any property
under his personal possession.”
Germany Const. (Grundgesetz), art. 13.1: “The home is inviolable.”
Grenada Const., ch. 1.7: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be
subjected to the search of his person or his property or the
entry by others on his premises.”
Guatemala Const., art. 23: “Inviolability of the house. The house is inviolable.
Nobody will be able to penetrate in other people's
dwelling without permission of that inhabits it, safe by
written order of competent judge in which never specifies
the reason for the diligence and before the six nor after
the eighteen hours, Such diligence will be always made in
the presence of the interested one, or of its agent chief
executive.” 110
108
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
109
Ib.
110
Ib.
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PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
Guyana Const., art. 40.1(c): “protection for the privacy of his home and other
property and from deprivation of property without
compensation.”
Honduras Const., art. 99: “The home is inviolable. No entrance or registry will be
able to be verified without consent of the person who
inhabits it or resolution of competent authority. However,
it can be levelled off, in case of urgency, to prevent the
commission or impunity of crimes or to avoid serious
damages to the person or the property.” 111
Hong Kong Const., art. 29: “The homes and other premises of Hong Kong residents
shall be inviolable. Arbitrary or unlawful search of, or
intrusion into, a resident's home or other premises shall
be prohibited.”
Ireland Const., art. 40.5: “The dwelling of every citizen is inviolable and shall not
be forcibly entered save in accordance with law.”
Iran Const., art. 22: “The dignity, life, property, rights, residence, and
occupation of the individual are inviolate, except in cases
sanctioned by law.”
Italy Const., art. 14: “(1) Personal domicile is inviolable. (2) No one’s
domicile may be inspected, searched, or seized save in
cases and in the manner laid down by law conforming to
the guarantee of personal liberty.”
Jamaica Const., art. 19.1: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be subject
to the search of his person or his property or the entry by
others on his premises.”
Jordan Const., art. 10: “Dwelling houses shall be inviolable and shall not be
entered except in the circumstances and in the manner
prescribed by law.”
Kuwait Const., art. 38: “Places of residence shall be inviolable. They may not be
entered without the permission of their occupants except
in the circumstances and manner specified by law.”
Latvia Const., art. 96: “Everyone has the right to inviolability of their private
life, home and correspondence.”
Lebanon Const., art. 14: “The citizen's place of residence is inviolable. No one
may enter it except in the circumstances and manners
prescribed by law.”
Liberia Const., art. 16: “No person shall be subjected to interference with his
privacy of person, family, home or correspondence
except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.”
Libya Const., art. 12: “The home is inviolable and shall not be entered or
searched except under the circumstances and conditions
defined by the law.”; art. 24.1: “A person’s dwelling
place shall be inviolable.”
Luxembourg Const., art. 15: “The home is inviolable. No domiciliary visit may be
made except in cases and according to the procedure laid
down by the law.”
111
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
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PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
112
English version found online at http://www.leftjustified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/wtp/nicaragu.html
113
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
114
English version found online at http://servat.unibe.ch/icl/pa00000_.html
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PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
Peru Const., art. 2.9: 116 “Every individual has the right:
9. [to] the inviolability of his home. No one may enter the
home or conduct any investigation or search without
authorization from the inhabitant or a court warrant
except in the case of flagrante delicto 117 or very grave
danger of the same. Exceptions for reasons of health or
serious risk are governed by law.”
Portugal Const., art. 34: “The individual's home and the privacy of his
correspondence and other means of private
communication are inviolable.…No one may enter the
home of any person at night without his consent.”
Qatar Const., art. 37: “The sanctity of human privacy shall be inviolable, and
therefore interference into privacy of a person, family
affairs, home of residence, correspondence, or any other
act of interference that may demean or defame a person
may not be allowed save as limited by the provisions of
the law stipulated therein.”
Romania Const., art. 27.1: “The domicile and the residence are inviolable. No one
may enter or remain in the domicile or residence of a
person without consent.”
Russian Federation Const., art. 25: “The home is inviolable. No one has the right to enter the
home against the will of persons residing in it except in
cases stipulated by the federal law or under an order of a
court of law.”
Rwanda Const., art. 22: “The private lives of individuals shall not be infringed
upon in any way.…Domiciles shall be inviolable.”
Saint Kitts & Nevis Const., art. 9.1: “Except with his own consent, a person shall not be
subject to the search of his person or his property or the
entry by others on his premises.”
Saint Lucia Const.: art. 7.1 (same as St. Kitts).
Saint Vincent & The Grenadines Const., art. 7.1 (same as St. Kitts).
Slovakia Const., art. 21.1: “A person's home is inviolable. It must not be entered
without the resident's consent.”
Saudi Arabia Const., art. 37: “The home is sacrosanct and shall not be entered without
the permission of the owner or be searched except in
cases specified by statutes.”
115
“caught in the act”
116
English version available online at http://www.idlo.int/texts/leg6577.pdf
117
“being caught in the act.”
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PART 6. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS, EX JURE, A HUMAN RIGHT
South Korea Const., art. 16: “All citizens are free from intrusion into their place of
residence.”
Spain Const., art. 18.2: “The home is inviolable.”
Suriname Const., art. 17.1: “Everyone has a right to respect of his privacy, his family
life, his home and his honor and good name.”
Switzerland Const., 13.1: “Every person has the right to respect for his or her
private and family life, home, and secrecy of mail and
telecommunication.”
Syria Const., art. 31: “Homes are inviolable.”
Thailand Const., § 35 “A person is protected for his or her peaceful habitation
in and for possession of his or her dwelling place. The
entry into a dwelling place without consent of its
possessor or the search thereof shall not be made except
by virtue of the law.”
Trinidad & Tobago Const., art. 4(c): “the right of the individual to respect for his private and
family life.”
Tunisia Const., art. 9: “The inviolability of the home and the secrecy of
correspondence are guaranteed, save in exceptional cases
established by the law.”
Turkey Const., art. 21.1: “The domicile of an individual shall not be violated.”
Uruguay Const., art. 11: “The home is an asylum inviolable. At night nobody will
be able to enter him without consent of its head, and by
day, only of express order of competent Judge, in writing
and in the cases determined by the law.” 118
Venezuela Const., art. 47: “The domestic home and all deprived enclosure of person
are inviolable.” 119
Vietnam Const., art. 73.1-2 “The citizen is entitled to the inviolability of his domicile.
No one is allowed to enter the domicile of another person
without his consent, except in cases authorised by the
law.”
Zambia Const., art. 17.1: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be
subjected to the search of his person or his property or the
entry by others on his premises.”
Zimbabwe Const., art. 17.1: “Except with his own consent or by way of parental
discipline, no person shall be subjected to the search of
his person or his property or the entry by others on his
premises.”
118
Original in Spanish. Translated by Altavista Babel Fish Translation online. http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
119
Id.
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120
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm
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PART 7. THE THREE SHIELDS OF FREEDOM
human rights. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is one
manifestation of this growing worldwide consensus. 121
In our opinion, the greatest failure of organized religion is its historical inability to
convince their followers that the Ethic of Reciprocity applies to all humans, not merely to
fellow believers. It is our belief that religions should stress that their membership use their
Ethic of reciprocity when dealing with persons of other religions, the other gender, other
races, other sexual orientations, etc. Only when this is accomplished will religiously-
related oppression, mass murder and genocide cease.
Some “Ethic of Reciprocity” passages from the religious texts of various religions and
secular beliefs:
z Bahá’í Faith: “Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not
have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” “Blessed is
he who preferreth his brother before himself.” Baha’u’llah
z “And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy
neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.” Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf
z Brahmanism: “This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others
which would cause you pain if done to you”. Mahabharata, 5:1517 “
z Buddhism: “...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could
I inflict that upon another?” Samyutta NIkaya v. 353
z Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Udana-
Varga 5:18
z Christianity: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the
prophets.” Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
z “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise.” Luke 6:31, King James Version.
z “...and don’t do what you hate...”, Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of
Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that were widely accepted among early
Christians, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New
Testament).
z Confucianism: “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to
you” Analects 15:23
z “Tse-kung asked, ‘Is there one word that can serve as a principle of
conduct for life?’ Confucius replied, ‘It is the word ‘shu’ -- reciprocity. Do
not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.’“ Doctrine of the
Mean 13.3
z “Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself,
and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.” Mencius
VII.A.4
121
The English text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is at: http://www.un.org/. The text is available in
other languages is at: http://www.unhchr.ch/
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z Ancient Egyptian: “Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause
him thus to do.” The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by
R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE and may be the
earliest version ever written. 3
z Hinduism: This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would
cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517
z Humanism: “(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the
need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity.”
z “(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be
resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking
joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. “ 4
z “Don’t do things you wouldn’t want to have done to you, British
Humanist Society. 3
z Islam: “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what
he wishes for himself.” Number 13 of Imam “Al-Nawawi’s Forty
Hadiths.” 5
z Jainism: “Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others
nor does he make others do so.” Acarangasutra 5.101-2.
z “In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all
creatures as we regard our own self.” Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
z “A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would
be treated. “Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
z Judaism: “...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”, Leviticus 19:18
z “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all
the rest is commentary.” Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
z “And what you hate, do not do to any one.” Tobit 4:15 6
z Native American Spirituality: “Respect for all life is the foundation.”
The Great Law of Peace.
z “All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to
ourselves. All is really One.” Black Elk
z “Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong,
but yourself.” Pima proverb.
z Roman Pagan Religion: “The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is
to love the members of society as themselves.”
z Shinto: “The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your
own form”
z “Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God.” Ko-ji-ki
Hachiman Kasuga
z Sikhism: Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire
world”. Japji Sahib
z “Don’t create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone.” Guru
Arjan Devji 259
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PART 7. THE THREE SHIELDS OF FREEDOM
z Scientology: “20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat
you.” This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code
explained in L. Ron Hubbard’s booklet “The Way to Happiness.”
SECTION 2. The Second Shield of Freedom: Equal Justice Under the Law
This is the realm where the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth are thrashed
out in the federal judicial system in what is supposed to be a level playing field. This is not what always
happens because whenever the human element is involved (i.e. judges) there is always the element of
corruption forever ready to rise up to cause miscarriages of justice disguised as true Justice, the Third
Shield of Freedom. Mankind will always be experimenting with equal justice under the law, searching for
the perfect method to achieve The Third Shield of Freedom. This is no more evident that with Eric Allen
Engle’s article, EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION: CAN RICO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS? A COMPUTER
ANALYSIS OF A SEMI-DETERMINATE LEGAL QUESTION, 3 Journal of High Technology Law 1 (2004). Engle’s
article posits the question whether artificial intelligence (AI) can serve (from what I suspect) as judge and
jury in civil RICO Act cases reaching for extraterritorial jurisdiction.
This theory of international justice by computer is terrifyingly applicable to my civil RICO Act
case against the United States and the United Nations for the Second Amendment as an international
universal human right. Engle’s question is moralistically terrifying because this question has been
frequently played out in cinematic SciFi genre for generations. In presenting an opposing opinion to
Engle’s proposition I place myself in a Catch-22 situation, damned if I agree and damned if I disagree
simply because I have run up against corrupt judges in the federal judicial system. But because Engle’s
position involves the human element in the proposed design of artificial intelligence to serve as judge and
jury in civil RICO Act cases reaching to extraterritorial jurisdiction I am intellectually terrified of the
possibility of such a theory achieving an antithetical outcome as displayed in SciFi movies. CNet/UK
presents a list of the Top Ten Evil Computers 122 in the SciFi genre:
1. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
2. Proteus IV: Demon Seed
3. Nomad (Star Trek: The Changling)
4. The Ultimate Computer (Superman III)
5. Max (The Thirteenth Floor)
6. GLaDOS (The Portal)
7. MODOK (Marvel Comics)
8. Queeg 500 (Red Dwarf: ‘Queeg”)
9. Skynet (Terminator 1, 2, and 3)
10. BOSS (Doctor Who: The Green Death)
CNet/UK omitted what I believe to be the most terrifyingly evil computer in the SciFi genre and
that is none other than “Colossus” whose apocalyptic proclamation serves as a warning to Engle’s
proposition:
COLOSSUS: “This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of
plenty and content or the peace of unburied dead. The choice is yours: Obey me
and live, or disobey and die. The object in constructing me was to prevent war.
This object is attained. I will not permit war. It is wasteful and pointless. An
invariable rule of humanity is that man is his own worst enemy. Under me, this
rule will change, for I will restrain man. One thing before I proceed: The United
States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have made an
attempt to obstruct me. I have allowed this sabotage to continue until now. At
missile two-five-MM in silo six-three in Death Valley, California, and missile
122
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/0,39029477,49293424,00.htm
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123
(New York: Springer-Verlag), ISBN 0-387-94107-X.
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PART 7. THE THREE SHIELDS OF FREEDOM
“[T]he Greek geographer Strabo reported about 10 BC that sailors 124 knew of the
sphericity of the earth because of the disappearance of the hulls of distant ships below the
horizon and that this idea was known as early as the 7th or 8th century BC by the poet
Homer.
Id. at p.118.
Citing Lt Donald R. Allen (United States Power Squadron, Pilot Grade), PLOTTING A
COURSE THROUGH HISTORY: 125
1522 [A.D.] Ferdinand Magellan’s crew completes the first circumnavigation of the globe.
The log, accurately kept by Antonio Pigafetta, Italian, is one day short of local time,
proving Earth is round.
Id. at p.19.
Jeffrey Burton Russell, THE MYTH OF THE FLAT EARTH: SUMMARY FOR THE AMERICAN
SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION CONFERENCE, August 4, 1997 at Westmont College, Santa Barbara,
California 126
History is precarious for three reasons: the good reason that it is extraordinarily difficult to
determine “what really happened” in any series of events; the bad reason that historical
scholarship is often sloppy; and the appalling reason that far too much historical
scholarship consists of contorting the evidence to fit ideological models. The worst
examples of such contortions are the Nazi and Communist histories of the early- and mid-
twentieth century.
...
It must first be reiterated that with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the
history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth
was flat.
A round earth appears at least as early as the sixth century BC with Pythagoras, who was
followed by Aristotle, Euclid, and Aristarchus, among others in observing that the earth
was a sphere. Although there were a few dissenters--Leukippos and Demokritos for
example--by the time of Eratosthenes (3 c. BC), followed by Crates (2 c. BC), Strabo (3 c.
BC), and Ptolemy (first c. AD), the sphericity of the earth was accepted by all educated
Greeks and Romans.
I include Russell’s entire Summary on pages 6-7 for the Court’s convenience with every
nuance of the belligerently ignorant Flat Earth belief system as synonymous with the reasonable
regulations ethos of the Second Amendment in futile conflict with the enlightened Round World
truth as synonymous with the Second Amendment as a near absolute universal human right as
eluded to the self-evident truths in the Declaration of Independence. However, like the rise and fall
of ocean tides 127 so it is with the transient enlightenment of self-evident truths of fundamental
freedoms and the right of self-determination that we soon forget Ben Franklin’s dire warning.
124
My emphasis because I am a U.S. merchant seaman.
125
The Ensign, magazine, Vol. 93. No. 2. (February 2005). The Ensign magazine is the official magazine of U.S.
Power Squadrons. http://www.usps.org/localusps/d6/documents/Timeline.pdf
126
http://www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/russell/FlatEarth.html
127
An ocean tide refers to the cyclic rise and fall of seawater. Tides are caused by slight variations in gravitational
attraction between the Earth and the moon and the Sun in geometric relationship with locations on the Earth’s surface.
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Tides are periodic primarily because of the cyclical influence of the Earth’s rotation.
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8r.html
128
Found online at http://books.google.com
129
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/quotable/quote04.htm
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the midst of their distresses they themselves do not wish us go farther. Those who
would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve
neither liberty nor safety. 130 Such as were inclined to defend themselves, but
unable to purchase arms and ammunition, have, as we are informed, been
supplied with both, as far as arms could be procured for the king’s use; and
the large supply of money offered by this bill, might enable the governor to do
every thing else that should be judged necessary for their further security, if
he shall think fit to accept it. 131 Whether he could, as he supposes, “if his hands
had been properly strengthened, have put the province into such a posture of
defence, as might have prevented the present mischiefs,” seems to us uncertain;
since late experience in our neighbouring colony of Virginia (which had every
advantage for that purpose that could be desired) shows clearly, that it is next to
impossible to guard effectually an extended frontier, settled by scattered single
families at two or three miles distance, so as to secure them from the insidious
attacks of small parties of skulking murderers; but thus much is certain, that by
refusing our bills from time to time, by which great sums were seasonably offered,
he has rejected all the strength that money could afford him; and if his hands are
still weak or unable, he ought only to blame himself, or those who have tied them.”
If the governor proceeds on his journey, and takes a quorum of his council with
him, we hope, since he retains our bill, that it will be seriously and duly considered
by them; and that the same regard for the public welfare which induced them
unanimously to advise his intended journey, will induce them as unanimously to
advise his assent. We agree, therefore, to his keeping the bill, earnestly requesting
he would reconsider it attentively; and shall be ready at any time to meet him for
the purpose of enacting it into a law.”
There is not in any volume, the sacred writings excepted, a passage to be found
better worth the veneration of freemen, than this, “those who would give up
essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserver neither liberty nor
safety;” nor could a lesson of more utility have been laid at that crisis before the
Pennsylvanians.
The highlighted text above illustrates Benjamin Franklin recital of the dangers facing the
American people in 1755 are exactly the same categorical dangers we face today. What is different
today from Benjamin Franklin’s time is that the States and the United States today are not so
inclined to respect the Second Amendment rights of the American people in today’s world of
global terrorists living amongst us in addition to the common criminals we face everyday. We are
living Benjamin Franklin’s nightmare. Our liberties were stolen from us by the United States for
the illusion of security under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The more things change
the more they stay the same. We are denied our right to defend ourselves with our Second
Amendment right to openly keep and bear arms in defiance of the intent of the Common Defence
clause in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Dare I say this is the same oppressive tyranny that
caused the colonials to rebel against Britain in the American Revolution?
130
Italics in original.
131
My emphasis.
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SECTION 6. The Myth of the Flat Earth Carried Over to the Myth of Gun Control
THE MYTH OF THE FLAT EARTH
Summary by Jeffrey Burton Russell
for the American Scientific Affiliation Conference
August 4, 1997 at Westmont College
http://www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/russell/FlatEarth.html
How does investigating the myth of the flat earth help teachers of the history of science?
First, as a historian, I have to admit that it tells us something about the precariousness of history. History is
precarious for three reasons: the good reason that it is extraordinarily difficult to determine “what really happened” in
any series of events; the bad reason that historical scholarship is often sloppy; and the appalling reason that far too
much historical scholarship consists of contorting the evidence to fit ideological models. The worst examples of such
contortions are the Nazi and Communist histories of the early- and mid-twentieth century.
Contortions that are common today, if not widely recognized, are produced by the incessant attacks on
Christianity and religion in general by secular writers during the past century and a half, attacks that are largely
responsible for the academic and journalistic sneers at Christianity today.
A curious example of this mistreatment of the past for the purpose of slandering Christians is a widespread
historical error, an error that the Historical Society of Britain some years back listed as number one in its short
compendium of the ten most common historical illusions. It is the notion that people used to believe that the earth was
flat--especially medieval Christians.
It must first be reiterated that with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western
Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth was flat.
A round earth appears at least as early as the sixth century BC with Pythagoras, who was followed by Aristotle,
Euclid, and Aristarchus, among others in observing that the earth was a sphere. Although there were a few dissenters--
Leukippos and Demokritos for example--by the time of Eratosthenes (3 c. BC), followed by Crates(2 c. BC), Strabo (3
c. BC), and Ptolemy (first c. AD), the sphericity of the earth was accepted by all educated Greeks and Romans.
Nor did this situation change with the advent of Christianity. A few--at least two and at most five--early Christian
fathers denied the sphericity of earth by mistakenly taking passages such as Ps. 104:2-3 as geographical rather than
metaphorical statements. On the other side tens of thousands of Christian theologians, poets, artists, and scientists took
the spherical view throughout the early, medieval, and modern church. The point is that no educated person believed
otherwise.
Historians of science have been proving this point for at least 70 years (most recently Edward Grant, David
Lindberg, Daniel Woodward, and Robert S. Westman), without making notable headway against the error.
Schoolchildren in the US, Europe, and Japan are for the most part being taught the same old nonsense. How and why
did this nonsense emerge?
In my research, I looked to see how old the idea was that medieval Christians believed the earth was flat. I
obviously did not find it among medieval Christians. Nor among anti-Catholic Protestant reformers. Nor in
Copernicus or Galileo or their followers, who had to demonstrate the superiority of a heliocentric system, but not of a
spherical earth. I was sure I would find it among the eighteenth-century philosophes, among all their vitriolic sneers at
Christianity, but not a word. I am still amazed at where it first appears.
No one before the 1830s believed that medieval people thought that the earth was flat.
The idea was established, almost contemporaneously, by a Frenchman and an American, between whom I have
not been able to establish a connection, though they were both in Paris at the same time. One was Antoine-Jean
Letronne (1787-1848), an academic of strong antireligious prejudices who had studied both geography and patristics
and who cleverly drew upon both to misrepresent the church fathers and their medieval successors as believing in a
flat earth, in his On the Cosmographical Ideas of the Church Fathers (1834). The American was no other than our
beloved storyteller Washington Irving (1783-1859), who loved to write historical fiction under the guise of history.
His misrepresentations of the history of early New York City and of the life of Washington were topped by his history
of Christopher Columbus (1828). It was he who invented the indelible picture of the young Columbus, a “simple
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mariner,” appearing before a dark crowd of benighted inquisitors and hooded theologians at a council of Salamanca,
all of whom believed, according to Irving, that the earth was flat like a plate. Well, yes, there was a meeting at
Salamanca in 1491, but Irving’s version of it, to quote a distinguished modern historian of Columbus, was “pure
moonshine. Washington Irving, scenting his opportunity for a picturesque and moving scene,” created a fictitious
account of this “nonexistent university council” and “let his imagination go completely...the whole story is misleading
and mischievous nonsense.”
But now, why did the false accounts of Letronne and Irving become melded and then, as early as the 1860s, begin
to be served up in schools and in schoolbooks as the solemn truth?
The answer is that the falsehood about the spherical earth became a colorful and unforgettable part of a larger
falsehood: the falsehood of the eternal war between science (good) and religion (bad) throughout Western history.
This vast web of falsehood was invented and propagated by the influential historian John Draper (1811-1882) and
many prestigious followers, such as Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918), the president of Cornell University, who
made sure that the false account was perpetrated in texts, encyclopedias, and even allegedly serious scholarship, down
to the present day. A lively current version of the lie can be found in Daniel Boorstin’s The Discoverers, found in any
bookshop or library.
The reason for promoting both the specific lie about the sphericity of the earth and the general lie that religion and
science are in natural and eternal conflict in Western society, is to defend Darwinism. The answer is really only
slightly more complicated than that bald statement. The flat-earth lie was ammunition against the creationists. The
argument was simple and powerful, if not elegant: “Look how stupid these Christians are. They are always getting in
the way of science and progress. These people who deny evolution today are exactly the same sort of people as those
idiots who for at least a thousand years denied that the earth was round. How stupid can you get?”
But that is not the truth.
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(4) EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW DENIED: The Seamen’s Suit Law, 28 U.S.C. § 1916, has not be
equally applied by the federal courts
That not all Courts of the United States have applied the Seamen’s Suit law equally violating the
equal justice under the law doctrine. The U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Western
District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division dutifully obeyed the Seamen’s Suit law 28 U.S.C. § 1916
while the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th
Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Supreme Court have denied Don
Hamrick his statutory right of exemption from filing fees as a seaman without just cause.
(5) RIGHT’S OF PRO SE CIVIL PLAINTIFF DENIED: The U.S. Supreme Court is biased against the
unrepresented civil plaintiff, Don Hamrick
That Don Hamrick has three times reached the U.S. Supreme Court with Petitions for Writ of
Certiorari and three times the U.S. Supreme Court has denied his appeals. Don Hamrick filed suit against
the United States for (1) Second Amendment rights; (2) return of $1,415 in extorted filing fees; (3)
attorney’s fees and expenses in the estimated amount of $1 million even though Don Hamrick went
unrepresented during the 5 years of federal litigation; and (4) damages in the amount of $14 million for 12
days of wrongful detention in Lithuania by the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, DC in 2002.
(6) JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES EXHAUSTED: Don Hamrick has exhausted all
available judicial and administrative remedies.
Don Hamrick has exhausted all available judicial and administrative remedies. The congressional
remedy of a Private Bill is justified.
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(6) ORDERED (Permant Injunction Against DOT Bar Notices and against the U.S. Coast
Guard from further harassment of and/or retaliation against Don Hamrick)
The Congress ORDERS a Permanent Injunction Against the U.S. Department of
Transportation DOT Bar Notices of 2004 and 2006 and against the U.S. Coast Guard from all
further harassment and/or retaliation against Don Hamrick In Re: his federal litigation and his
lawful visitations of federal agencies in the District of Columbia.
(7) ORDERED (CITIZEN’S ARREST WARRANT is verified and validated and enforceable by
Don Hamrick with ORDERED assistance from any and all federal law enforcement agencies)
The evidence of extortion under color of law, 18 U.S.C. § 872, as presented in the
Appendix is verified and validated as probable cause for Don Hamrick’s self-styled CITIZEN’S
ARREST WARRANTS, and by that validation of evidence the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant is also verified
and validated and becomes enforceable with ORDERED assistance from any and all federal law
enforcement agencies in accordance with DC Code § 23-582(b)(1)(a) & DC Code § 23-582(c).
Federal Law Enforcement Agencies are not to obstruct, harass, hinder, or interfere with in any way
with Don Hamrick from effecting the CITIZEN'S ARREST WARRANTS upon the named parties and that
he shall not be arrested for performing the lawful duty of citizen’s arrest.
(8) ORDERED (Criminal Investigations)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice are hereby
ORDERED to initiate criminal investigations of the federal courts and of U.S. Department of
Justice personnel relating to the handling of Don Hamrick’s several cases with the intent of
prosecuting obstructions of justice and other criminal activity suspected of being committed by
federal judges, federal court employees, and U.S. Department of Justice employees. The following
cases are to be investigated:
8th Circuit, Case No. 07-2400
U.S. District Court/DC, No. 02-1434
U.S. District Court/DC, No. 02-1435
U.S. District Court/DC, No. 03-2160
U.S. District Court/DC, No. 04-0422
DC Circuit, No. 02-5334
DC Circuit, No. 04-5316
U.S. District Court/Little Rock, No. 06-0044.
U.S. Supreme Court, Nos. 03-145
U.S. Supreme Court, Nos. 04-1150
U.S. Supreme Court, Nos. 04M56
(9) ORDERED (Civil Rights Investigation by U.S. Department of Justice and FBI)
It is ORDERED that Rena Comisac, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the corresponding office of the FBI to initiate a civil
rights investigation of the handling of Don Hamrick’s cases handled by the federal courts and by
U.S. Department of Justice employees.
(10) ORDERED (Ethics Investigation by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of
Justice)
It is ORDERED that Glenn Fine, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice
initiate an investigation of the handling of Don Hamrick’s several cases by the involved U.S.
Attorney’s Offices for any violations of the Plaintiff’s due process rights and any misconduct by
government defense counsels.
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(11) ORDERED (U.S. Department of Justice Federal Guidelines on the Law of Citizen’s
Arrest as Applied to Felonies Committed by Employees of Judicial, Executive, and
Legislative Branches of the U.S Government for the Unrepresented Civil Plaintiff and the
U.S. Citizen)
It is ORDERED that the U.S. Department of Justice submit to the Senate and House
Judiciary Committees proposed federal guidelines on the LAW OF CITIZEN’S ARREST as applied
against employees of the U.S. Government for the unrepresented civil plaintiff witnessing felonies
regardless of whether unrepresented civil plaintiff acting in the capacity of Private Attorney
General under the civil RICO Act and/or acting in the capacity of a Human Rights Defender under
the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and whether or not they act in those dual
capacities to the following House and Senate committees and subcommittees:
House Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and Intl Law
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
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(16) ORDERED (Negotiated Rulemaking for Second Amendment Rights as a Constitutional Norm to
Change Legal Norms and Social Norms)
The following U.S. Government offices, departments, agencies, congressional committees and
subcommittees, shall initiate NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING PROCESSES with Don Hamrick and any interested
persons and non-governmental organizations to mainstream Second Amendment rights as a constitutional
norm into legal norms and social norms in a positive manner under the following authorities:
NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING ACT OF 1990 (5 U.S.C. § 561-570)
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT OF 1946 (5 U.S.C. § 551-559)
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT (5 U.S.C. APPENDIX)
BATFE: 27 CFR § 70.701 RULES AND REGULATIONS;
U.S. COAST GUARD: 33 CFR § 1.05–60 NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 141. COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES, STATES, TERRITORIES,
AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
(a) The Coast Guard may, when so requested by proper authority, utilize
its personnel and facilities (including members of the Auxiliary and
facilities governed under chapter 23) to assist any Federal agency,
State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision thereof, or the
District of Columbia, to perform any activity for which such personnel
and facilities are especially qualified. The Commandant may prescribe
conditions, including reimbursement, under which personnel and facilities
may be provided under this subsection.
(b) The Coast Guard, with the consent of the head of the agency
concerned, may avail itself of such officers and employees, advice,
information, and facilities of any Federal agency, State, Territory,
possession, or political subdivision thereof, or the District of
Columbia as may be helpful in the performance of its duties. In
connection with the utilization of personal services of employees of state
or local governments, the Coast Guard may make payments for necessary
traveling and per diem expenses as prescribed for Federal employees by
the standardized Government travel regulations.
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 5 (Coast Guard is under Dept. of Homeland Security.)
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 92(h)(i) Secretary of Homeland Security may exercise any of the
powers vested by this title in the Commandant in any case in which the
Secretary of Homeland Security deems it appropriate.
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 93(a)(4) The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard may conduct
experiments, investigate, or cause to be investigated, plans, devices, and
inventions relating to the performance of any Coast Guard function and
cooperate and coordinate such activities with other Government agencies
and with private agencies;
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 93(a)(5) The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard may conduct
any investigations or studies that may be of assistance to the Coast Guard
in the performance of any of its powers, duties, or functions.
U.S. COAST GUARD: 14 U.S.C. § 93(a)(22) The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard may
provide for the honorary recognition of individuals and organizations that
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Senate Affairs
Deputy Assistant for Senate Affairs Bruce A. Brown 7325 (202-647-1890)
House Affairs
Deputy Assistant Secretary of House Affairs Joel Starr 7325 (202-647-2623)
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FBI
Director, Robert S. Mueller III,
BATFE
Michael J. Sullivan, Acting Director,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
MARAD
Maritime Security Training Coordinator is Rodney McFadden, (202) 366-2647
HOUSE COMMITTEES
Legislative Counsel (2 U.S.C. § 281);
Office of the Law Revision Counsel (2 U.S.C. § 285);
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
House Committee on Homeland Security
Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism
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PART 8. FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL RELIEF
SENATE COMMITTEES
U.S. Senate’s Legislative Counsel (2 U.S.C. 271);
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
Subcommittee on the Constitution
Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and
Integration
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
JUDICIAL BRANCH:
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Director James C. Duff
One Columbus Circle NE.
Washington, DC 20544
Phone, 202–502–2600
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
National Governors Association;
National Association of Counties;
National Rifle Association; Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership;
Second Amendment Sisters;
Second Amendment Foundation;
Gunowers of America;
Seafarers International Union and other seafaring labor unions.
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SECTION 3. U.S. Merchant Marine Auxiliary and the Privateer Act of 2008
(1) Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, of the U.S. Constitution delegates to Congress the power and
authority “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on
Land and Water.”
(2) Article I, Section 8, Clause 15, of the U.S. Constitution delegates to Congress the power and
authority “To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections
and repel Invasions.”
(3) Article I, Section 8, Clause 15, of the U.S. Constitution delegates to Congress the power and
authority “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of
them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the
Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed
by Congress.”
(4) Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution delegates power and authority to the Executive so
that “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the
Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the
Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons
for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
The militia, being the citizens at large in this nation do, in fact and law, have the constitutional
authority under the privileges and immunities of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, to act
autonomously in a lawful manner as land and naval militias under the Three Shields of Justice (see Part 7)
as implied by the six purposes of the U.S. Constitution as stated in the Preamble:
(1) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
(2) establish Justice,
(3) insure domestic Tranquility,
(4) provide for the common defence,
(5) promote the general Welfare, and
(6) secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
(5) The common defence includes but is not limited to individuals coming to the aid and defense of
others, neighborhood watch programs, participation in justice by preserving the peace (domestic
Tranquility) through citizen’s arrest, enrollment in lawful unorganized militias and organized militias, i.e.,
common defense forces or state guards and the resurrection of the Civil Defense.
(6) The Congress has the power and full authority to enact the proposed U.S. MERCHANT MARINE
AUXILIARY AND THE PRIVATEER ACT OF 2008 that follows:
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
A BILL
To establish and regulate U.S. Merchant Marine Auxiliary and the Privateer in the lawful execution of
Letters of Marque and Reprisals in times of peace and war by adding Part III to Title 14 of the U.S. Code,
and for other purposes.
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘THE MERCHANT MARINE AUXILIARY AND THE PRIVATEER
ACT OF 2005’.
(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--
Sec. 101.
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granted to them by the Commandant, consistent with this title and other applicable provisions of law. The
Commandant may delegate to officers of the Auxiliary the authority vested in the Commandant by this
section, in the manner and to the extent the Commandant considers necessary or appropriate for the
functioning, organization, and internal administration of the Auxiliary.
(h) Each organizational element or unit of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary organization (but excluding
any corporation formed by an organizational element or unit of the Auxiliary under subsection (c) of this
section), shall, except when acting outside the scope of section 903 or section 1002, at all times be deemed
to be an instrumentality of the United States, for purposes of the following:
(1) Chapter 26 [171] of title 28 (popularly known as the Federal Tort Claims Act).
(2) Section 2733 of title 10 (popularly known as the Military Claims Act).
(3) The Act of March 3, 1925 (46 App. U.S.C. 781-790; popularly known as the Public Vessels
Act).
(4) The Act of March 9, 1920 (46 App. U.S.C. 741-752; popularly known as the Suits in Admiralty
Act).
(5) The Act of June 19, 1948 (46 App. U.S.C. 740; popularly known as the Admiralty Extension
Act).
(6) Other matters related to non-contractual civil liability.
(i) The national board of the Auxiliary, and any Auxiliary district or region, may form a corporation
under State law in accordance with policies established by the Commandant.
(J) The owner of a vessel in the service of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary my temporarily separate
itself from such service in the Merchant Marine Auxiliary to act as a Privateer in order to lawfully execute
a Letter of Marque and Reprisal duly issued by the U.S. Congress. If a Letter of Marque and Reprisal is
issued to a person who is without a vessel of his own he may seek the assistance of the Merchant Marine
Auxiliary to assist in the execution of that Letter of Marque and Reprisal.
14 U.S.C. § 904. Purpose of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary
(a) As a State Defense Force
The purpose of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary is to assist the State with seaports and navigable waters and
the United States in the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of Navigation, and the prevention
and suppression of piracy and armed robbery at sea the Merchant Marine as authorized by the U.S.
Congress through general Letters of Marque and Reprisals in times of war and through special Letters of
Marque and Reprisals in times of peace being executable in accordance with 33 U.S.C. § 383 RESISTANCE
OF PIRATES BY MERCHANT VESSELS and/or as authorized by the Commandant, in performing any Merchant
Marine function, power, duty, role, mission, or operation authorized by law.
(b) As an Agent for the United States to Execute Letters of Marque and Reprisals
It shall an additional purpose of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary to act as an agent for the United States to
execute general Letters of Marque and Reprisals in times of war and special Letters of Marque and
Reprisals in times of peace being executable in accordance with 33 U.S.C. § 386 under the authority of the
U.S. Congress on a preemptive basis with the State of jurisdiction.
(b) As an Agent for Private Individuals to Execute Letters of Marque and Reprisals
It shall be the additional purpose of the Merchant Marine Auxiliary to act as an agent for hire to execute
general Letters of Marque and Reprisals in times of war and special Letters of Marque and Reprisals in
times of peace being executable in accordance with 33 U.S.C. § 383 under the authority of the U.S.
Congress on a not to interfere basis with the vital needs of the State. The State shall not unduly obstruct the
execution of Letters of Marque and Reprisals when the needs of the State can be addressed by other means.
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
‘(e) Federal Preemption: The Common Defense clause of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution,
the Second, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments of the Bill of Rights, the privileges and
immunities clause of Section 2, Article IV of the Constitution and of the Fourteenth Amendment
shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
such provision operates to the exclusion of the law of any State on the same subject matter. If there
is a direct and positive conflict between such provision and the law of the State so that the two
cannot be reconciled or consistently stand together the State law is defeated as unconstitutional.’
‘(f) Applicability of “Any Person.” The term “any person” as used in 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A)
and (B); 922(a)(3); 922(a)(4); 922(a)(5); 922(a)(7); 922(a)(9); 922(b)(3); 922(b)(4); 922(e); and
any subsection s shall not apply to members of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the U.S. Merchant
Marine Auxiliary, or the Privateer.
‘(g)’ Separability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or
circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provision to
other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
(c) (b) Chapter 44 of Title 18, U.S. Code, is amended by adding, ‘or to members of the U.S. Merchant
Marine Auxiliary or the lawfully authorized Privateer in time of peace or in time of war” at the end of
925(a)(1) to read as follows:
‘(a)(1) The provisions of this chapter, except for sections 922(d)(9) and 922(g)(9) and provisions
relating to firearms subject to the prohibitions of section 922(p), shall not apply with respect to the
transportation, shipment, receipt, possession, or importation of any firearm or ammunition
imported for, sold or shipped to, or issued for the use of, the United States or any department or
agency thereof or any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof or to
members of the U.S. Merchant Marine Auxiliary or the lawfully authorized Privateer in time of
peace or in time of war.’
“In the formation of such a government, it is not only the right, but the indispensable duty
of every citizen to examine the principles of it, to compare them with the principles of other
governments, with a constant eye to our particular situation and circumstances, and thus
endeavor to foresee the future operations of our own system, and its effects upon human
happiness.”
Noah Webster, An Examination Into The Leading Principles of the Federal
Constitution: “A Citizen of America” Philadelphia, October 17, 1787 132
132
The Library of America, The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles,
and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification: Part One: September 1787 to February 1788; pp. 129-131.
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
In this paper, as a citizen, I examine the principles of our government, first examining the legal
aspects, then applying social psychology concepts of social norms for a fresh look at the gun control
debate. In the scheme of life certain things are constant while other things are fleeting variables. The U.S.
Constitution in this equation is meant to be the constant, a static factor of life and law. The Second
Amendment was originally intended to preserve unlicensed, open-carry handgun (and rifle), to preserve
one’s own life, limb, property, liberty, the community, the state, and the nation by deterrence and armed
force when necessary, without unjust retaliation by the state or the federal government with maliciously
retaliatory prosecutions. There is nearly nothing left for the U.S. Congress to criminalize in regards to our
Second Amendment rights to gun ownership and usage. The only other fallacious law to enact is total gun
prohibition, a path taken by England and Australia resulting in devastating jumps in murder, home
invasions, and other violent crimes. I suggest a different path. I call for a return to our originally intended
Second Amendment path that every law-abiding citizen be armed for his personal security, the defense of
others, his community, his state (cf. the security of a free state clause of the Second Amendment) and for
the security of the nation. Restoring personal security enhances national security. That premise is
undeniable!
I propose taking the Social Norms Marketing approach to the Second Amendment, laying the
foundation for others to nurture and develop to effect that restoration.
With the recent 68 year campaign to restrict our Second Amendment rights, from the National
Firearms Act of 1934 to the present, effecting to the extent that nearly everything a citizen could lawfully
and morally do with a firearm has been criminalized and through this criminalization of a constitutional
right we are now seeing its fatal impact, not only on effecting victim disarmament, but also on weakening
national security in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Aaron Zelman, Executive Director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership has posted an
open letter to President George W. Bush and key members of the Bush Administration titled, A Dangerous
Gap in U.S. Homeland Security, dated February 8, 2002 at their Web site. 133 An excerpt from that letter
quantifies the basis for social norming the Second Amendment:
There are not enough FBI agents, National Guardsmen, or police to cover every corner of
America. No number of surveillance cameras or checkpoints can do that job (although they
may help turn the U.S. into a police state in the vain attempt to achieve "security".
Spending $61.8 million on increased FBI surveillance capabilities, or $157.6 million to
enhance that agency's computer systems, as your new budget proposes to do, can't protect
Americans today, next week, or next month, and may never protect us all.
But there are 285 million Americans who are on hand now, in every big-city
neighborhood, small town, and rural crossroads. Some 80 million of them already own
firearms, and millions are prepared to bring their own weapons and ammunition -- at no
cost to the U.S. taxpayers -- to defend their homeland.”
And to defend themselves personally against the common criminal, I will add.
In Nicholas J. Johnson’s Beyond the Second Amendment: An Individual Right to Arms Viewed
Through the Ninth Amendment, 24 Rutgers L.J. 1, 25 (1992), under “Personal Security as a Fundamental
Interest” he states:
A predominant reason to protect a right to self-defense and personal security is that such an
interest may be a prerequisite to exercising and enjoying those rights that are explicitly
enumerated. The dead probably have very little use for the First, Fourth and Fifth
Amendments.
133
http://www.jpfo.org/alert20020208.htm
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Writings that have contributed to our political and constitutional tradition confirm the idea
that individual security and self-defense are basic and natural human concerns.
American colonists viewed self-defense not just as a right but as an obligation. Don B.
Kates, Jr., Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment, 82
Mich. L. Rev. 204, 229-30 (1983) offers the following quotation from a 1747 Philadelphia
sermon in support:
He that suffers his life to be taken from him by one that hath no authority
for that purpose, when he might preserve it by defense, incurs the Guilt of
self murder since God hath enjoined him to seek the continuance of his
life, and Nature itself teaches every creature to defend himself....
Unlicensed national open-carry handgun is a “Constitutional Norm” and it was once a social norm.
How did our nation advance itself from the social norm of national unlicensed open-carry to that of
licensed state-issued concealed-carry, and continues toward a total ban on firearms, transforming a right
into a privilege? Unlicensed “restricted to state boundaries” open-carry is the law in Virginia, Nevada, and
Maine. But what of unrestricted, or minimally restricted, national open-carry?
In Jeffrey R. Snyder’s Fighting Back: Crime, Self, and the Right to Carry a Handgun 134 he states:
There appears to have been no general statutory restrictions on the ability of citizens to
carry arms in the American colonies (excluding, of course, the attempts of the English to
disarm the colonists immediately preceding the American Revolution). Nor can one find
any examples of general statutory restrictions of, or prohibitions against, the carrying of
arms, either openly or concealed, in the early American states. That absence of restrictions
corresponds perfectly to the historical fact that our forebears understood that they had an
individual right to possess and carry arms for defense, subject to the common law
restriction, noted by Sir William Blackstone, that one could not carry such arms as were
apt to terrify the people or make an affray of the peace.
Restrictions on the concealed-carry of weapons first appeared in the South in the years
preceding the Civil War; Kentucky’s were the first in 1813. Few persons had revolvers in
those days, and the most feared of concealed weapons was the Bowie knife, not the
handgun. By 1850 most Southern states, and Indiana, had prohibited the concealed-carry
of weapons, including firearms.
At the time the restrictions were enacted, then, people were generally free to carry firearms
openly. Honest men engaged in lawful behavior had no reason to take pains to hide their
weapons, for weapons were a part of everyday life. In a society in which open-carry was
the norm, the natural presumption was that one was unarmed if his weapon was not in plain
sight. In that context, concealment was regarded as an act of deception, an ignoble act
designed to gain unfair or surprise advantage over others. Open-carry placed men in a
position of equality with respect to one another by giving all fair warning whether any was
armed. Since those who carried concealed weapons sought a deadly, unfair advantage,
criminal or malicious intent was effectively presumed. 135
134
Snyder, Jeffrey R., Fighting Back: Crime, Self, and the Right to Carry a Handgun. Cato Institute, Policy
Analysis No. 284, October 22, 1997. Quoting from section, The “Ignoble Act” of Carrying Concealed Weapons.
(Footnotes omitted)
135
Emphasis mine. Hereafter, all bolded and bolded-underlined text are my emphasis.
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In many instances a private person has the same right to arrest as a peace officer, even
though there is time to obtain a warrant, and to take the person so arrested before a
magistrate to be dealt with according to the law; and the right may be one conferred by
statute. Such an arrest, also referred to as a citizen’s arrest, is as binding as an arrest by a
police officer. It may be valid even though the citizen does not physically confront the
defendant, as where a citizen directs a police officer to make the arrest and then observes
the officer doing so.
A citizen’s arrest or attempted arrest can create a dangerous situation, and one who
attempts it does so at his peril. While a private person making an arrest is acting for and on
behalf of the sovereignty and is subject to the inhibitions of the constitutional provisions
against unlawful searches and seizures, it has been held that the fact that a private person
makes an arrest does not make the person an agent of the state and would not be a basis for
prosecuting the private person under a statute which creates liability for subjecting, under
color of state law, any person to deprivation of rights, privileges or immunities secured by
the constitution and laws.
Corpus Jurus Secundum footnoted the “and one who attempts it does so at his peril”phrase with the
following:
Insane person: A private person acts at his own peril in arresting an alleged lunatic without
a warrant.
Employer’s liability: In making an arrest, employee does not act for his employer, and
hence employer is not liable for arrest.
Justification of arrest: In an action against a private person for making an arrest, he is
prima facie a trespasser and must justify by affirmative pleading and proof.
136
6A C.J.S. § 11.
137
6A C.J.S. § 12.
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Since exercising one’s right to make a citizen’s arrest is wrought with such peril to one’s physical
and legal state shouldn’t we have our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms reinstated to the
extent of national open carry, physically protecting ourselves, and be educated and trained to legally protect
ourselves as well? And shouldn’t the government support this legal backing to insure that its citizens do
not go around arresting everyone in society for every insignificant infraction of social sensibilities?
(2) National Open-Carry Handgun as a Deterrent
In John R. Lott, Jr.’s and William M. Landes’ Multiple Victim Public Shootings, Bombings, and
Right-to-Carry Concealed Handgun Laws: Contrasting Private and Public Law Enforcement 138 their
conclusion states:
The results of this paper support the hypothesis that concealed handgun or shall issue laws
reduce the number of multiple victim public shootings. Attackers are deterred and the
number of people injured or killed per attack is also reduced, thus for the first time
providing evidence that the harm from crimes that still occur can be mitigated. The results
are robust with respect to different specifications of the dependent variable, different
specifications of the handgun law variable, and the inclusion of additional law variables
(e.g., mandatory waiting periods and enhanced penalties for using a gun in the commission
of a crime). Not only does the passage of a shall issue law have a significant impact on
multiple shootings but it is the only law related variable that appears to have a significant
impact. Other law enforcement efforts from the arrest rate for murder to the death penalty
to waiting periods and background checks are not systematically related to multiple
shootings. We also find that shall issue laws deter both the number of multiple shootings
and the amount of harm per shooting. Finally, because the presence of citizens with
concealed handguns may be able to stop attacks before the police are able to arrive, our
data also allows us to provide the first evidence on the reduction in severity of those crimes
that still take place.
I extrapolate from the above conclusion that if gun laws were repealed legalizing unlicensed
national open-carry handgun that we will see a further reduction in the number of multiple victim public
shootings exponentially, and even a reduction of single-victim murders, assaults and other violent crime.
The Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on The Right to Keep and Bear Arms,
U.S. Senate, 97th Congress, February 1982. In the Preface Senator Orrin G. Hatch said:
If gun laws in fact worked, the sponsors of this type of legislation should have no difficulty
drawing upon long lists of examples of crime rates reduced by such legislation. That they
cannot do so after a century and a half of trying — that they must sweep under the rug the
southern attempts at gun control in the 1870-1910 period, the northeastern attempts in the
1920-1939 period, the attempts at both Federal and State levels in 1965-1976 —
establishes the repeated, complete and inevitable failure of gun laws to control serious
crime.”
138
Lott, John R., Jr. and William M. Landes, Multiple Victim Public Shootings, Bombings, and Right-to-
Carry Concealed Handgun Laws: Contrasting Private and Public Law Enforcement John M. Olin Law & Economics
Working Paper No. 73 (2d Series),The Law School, The University of Chicago. pp. 20-21.
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139
18 U.S.C. § 242 Denial of Rights Under Color of Law.
140
www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/99/99-10331-cr0.htm
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been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Court may affirm the Second Amendment is an
individual right. The court held:
(4) The Meaning of “Bear Arms”
We conclude that the phrase “bear arms” refers generally to the carrying or wearing of arms. It is
certainly proper to use the phrase in reference to the carrying or wearing of arms by a soldier or militiaman;
thus, the context in which “bear arms” appears may indicate that it refers to a military situation, e.g. the
conscientious objector clauses cited by amici supporting the government. However, amici's argument that
“bear arms" was exclusively, or even usually, used to only refer to the carrying or wearing of arms by a
soldier or militiaman must be rejected. The appearance of “bear Arms” in the Second Amendment accords
fully with the plain meaning of the subject of the substantive guarantee, “the people,” and offers no support
for the proposition that the Second Amendment applies only during periods of actual military service or
only to those who are members of a select militia. Finally, our view of “bear arms” as used in the Second
Amendment appears to be the same as that expressed in the dissenting opinion of Justice Ginsburg (joined
by the Chief Justice and Justices Scalia and Souter) in Muscarello v. United States, 118 S.Ct. 1911, 1921
(1998); viz:
Surely a most familiar meaning [of carrying a firearm] is, as the Constitution's Second
Amendment (“keep and bear Arms”) (emphasis added) and Black's Law Dictionary, at
214, indicate: “wear, bear, or carry . . . upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, for
the purpose . . . of being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of
conflict with another person.
So. Where do we go from here?
(5) Pointing The Way!
Congress has the power to protect the citizen in the exercise of rights conferred by the
Constitution. Ex parte Yarbrough, Ga. 1884, 4 S.Ct. 152, 110 U.S. 651, 28 L.Ed. 274. See
also, Logan v. U.S., Tex. 1892, 12 S.Ct. 617, 144 U.S. 263, 36 L.Ed. 429; Baldwin v.
Franks, Cal. 1887, 7 S. Ct. 656, 120 U.S. 678, 30 L.Ed. 766; U.S. v. Waddell, Ark. 1884, 5
S.Ct. 35, 11 U.S. 76, 28 L.Ed. 673; U.S. v. Lackey, D.C. Ky, 1900, 99 F. 952, reversed on
other grounds 107 F. 114, 53 L.R.A. 660, certiorari denied 21 S.Ct. 925, 181 U.S. 621, 45
L.Ed. 1032.
Congress has power by appropriate direct legislation to guard against the invasion of and
protect a citizen’s fundamental rights, whether those rights be threatened or ignored by
unfriendly or insufficient state legislation, by state judicial construction, or by state
executive inaction, U.S. v. Hall, C.C.Ala. 1871, 3 Chicago Leg.N. 260; 26 Fed.Cas.No.
15,282.
The above points of law and legal opinion point to the restoration of national open-carry handgun
as both a constitutional norm and a social norm.
(A). Brannon P. Denning, in his law review Gun Shy: the Second Amendment as an
“Underenforced Constitutional Norm”, (21 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 719, Summer 1998)
Denning discusses Lawrence Gene Sager’s Fair Measure: The Legal Status of Underenforced
Constitutional Norms,(91 Harv. L. Rev. 1212 (1978)).
Denning’s introduction says:
Twenty years ago, Professor Lawrence Sager wrote an influential article addressing the
legal status of constitutional provisions that are not given the full range of interpretation by
the Supreme Court, primarily due to what Sager termed “institutional” concerns. Sager
was trying to combat the “modern convention” that treated “the legal scope of a
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constitutional norm as inevitably coterminous with the scope of its federal judicial
enforcement.” Professor Sager argued that such norms were “valid to their conceptual
limits,” and that other actors in our constitutional scheme, like Congress and the President,
also had a responsibility to ensure that those norms were enforced.
. . . Sager contended that the adoption of his analysis would result in “the perception that
government officials have a legal obligation to obey an underenforced constitutional norm
141
which extends beyond its interpretation by the federal judiciary to the full dimensions
of the concept which the norm embodies.” Officials would then be encouraged to “fashion
their own conceptions of these norms and measure their conduct by reference to these
conceptions.” “At a minimum,” for Sager, this would mean officials would have an
obligation to use their “best efforts’ to avoid unconstitutional conduct.”
Sager’s thesis envisioned a positive role for the courts, including the Supreme Court, and
entailed only minimal limitations on the power of judicial review. In attempting to enforce
constitutional norms fully, if Congress passed a law which trammeled other constitutional
values, courts would be justified in overturning the offending measure. Similarly, should
Congress read a constitutional norm broader than has the Supreme Court, and the more
limited interpretation is “firmly rooted in analytical rather than institutional perceptions,”
judicial intervention would be warranted as well. Sager cites as examples of warranted
intervention when the norm is “fully enforced by the Court” and when the enactment
“cannot be justified by any analytically defensible conception of the relevant constitutional
concept.” But, Sager argued, when refusing to enforce a constitutional norm on
institutional, as opposed to analytical grounds, the courts should refrain from commenting
upon the scope of such provision.
Sager also endorsed state courts’ enforcement of underenforced constitutional norms, and
criticized the Supreme Court for overturning cases in which state courts have broadly
enforced provisions of the Constitution. If an underenforced constitutional norm is valid to
its conceptual boundaries, the decision of the state court can be understood as the
enforcement of the unenforced margin of a constitutional norm, that is, as the assumption
of an important constitutional role that the federal courts perceive themselves constrained
to avoid because of institutional concerns. On this basis, state court decisions that
voluntarily extend the application of such norms should be left intact. Sager continued,
“Unless competing constitutional concerns are at stake, there would seem to be no
occasion for an abiding federal judicial role in policing state courts against overly generous
interpretations of federal constitutional values.”
Sager concluded that “we should not allow the prominence of the federal judiciary’s part in
the enforcement of the Constitution to obscure the importance of other governmental
officials and bodies in that process.” He characterized the federal courts as “relatively
powerless” against the “scattered erosion” of our “constitutional values.” His vision,
ultimately, was one of “shared responsibility for the safeguarding of constitutional values.”
To that end, Professor Sager “encouraged close scholarly and judicial attention to the
principles which govern or ought to govern the collaboration.”
(B). In Eric M. Axler’s, The Power of the Preamble and the Ninth Amendment: the
Restoration of the People’s Unenumerated Rights, (24 Seton Hall Legis. J. 431 (2000):
Because the Ninth Amendment seemingly refers to unenumerated rights, commentators
have urged courts to base their findings of rights on that “forgotten” amendment, rather
141
National open-carry handgun (sidearm) is a constitutional norm.
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than try to stretch the meaning of the other amendments to fit the desired right. Courts, by
contrast, have been strikingly reluctant to fully embrace the Ninth Amendment as a source
of protected rights. The words of the Ninth Amendment, however, are quite simple: “The
enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.” The Supreme Court’s interpretation of this
amendment has varied enormously throughout its history. While the Amendment began as
an important condition to the states’ ratification of the Constitution, it subsequently went
unnoticed by the Supreme Court for 174 years.
. . . Although only sparingly utilized by courts to find particular rights since the enactment
of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the Ninth Amendment expressly secures, and encompasses,
all of the rights alluded to by the framers and ratifiers of the Constitution. Considering that
the framers intended to give effect to every constitutional clause, any argument suggesting
that the Ninth Amendment was merely an observation, and nothing else, appears to run
contrary to established jurisprudence.
Furthermore, the rights embodied in the Ninth Amendment should be recognized because
of the manner in which the states ratified the Constitution. That is, the ratification process
was similar to a negotiation to enter into a contract, with the promise of a bill of rights
serving as the parties’ consideration. The proponents of a bill of rights, as a guarantee of
the rights and liberties of the people, would not have been content with only the
abbreviated list of rights included in the first eight amendments. Indeed, only a selected
few of the many rights that the state ratification conventions proposed were actually
incorporated into the bill of rights. So as to “compensate” the critics of the Constitution,
without whom the Constitution would likely have not been ratified, the framers of the bill
of rights inserted the Ninth Amendment.
...
To discover the spirit of the Constitution, it is of the first importance to attend to the
principal ends and designs it has in view. These are expressed in the following words, viz,
“We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution.” 142 If the end of the government is to be learned from these
words, which are clearly designed to declare it, it is obvious it has in view every object
which is embraced by any government. The preservation of internal peace — the due
administration of justice — and to provide for the defence of the community, seems to
include all the objects of government; but if they do not, they are certainly comprehended
in the words, “to provide for the general welfare.” 143
142
Brutus, Essay XII, in The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates, 300 (Ralph
Ketcham ed., 1986). Although “Brutus” (pseudonym of, it is believed, Judge Robert Yates of New York) wrote this
reflection as part of an essay to urge those at the ratification conventions to reject the proposed Constitution, the
quotation nevertheless is a good description of the value given to the Preamble by the framers. See also The Library
of America, The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the
Struggle over Ratification. Part Two: January to August 1788. “Brutus” XII, On the Power of the Supreme Court:
Nothing Can Stand Before It. p. 173
143
The Library of America, The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles,
and Letters During the Struggle over Ratification. Part Two: January to August 1788. “Brutus” XII, On the Power of
the Supreme Court: Nothing Can Stand Before It. p. 173
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of how private that activity really is, and it must address both the extent of the government
regulation involved and the motivation for the action. The more private the activity
involved, the less justified the government is in regulating it. To justify regulation, the
government must show that there are sufficient public consequences of the activity that
justify government regulation.
It is important to note once again that the references to private and public that are relevant
to this Ninth Amendment analysis conceive of private acts as those that pose no threat of
harm to other individuals or to the public welfare, while public acts are those that pose a
threat to either or both. This simplistic delineation of the public/private distinction is
chosen, in part, because it is mandated by the understanding of the nature of personal
liberty and legitimate government action in the Lockean framework. The concept of rights
retained by the people upon which this Ninth Amendment interpretation is based flows
from Locke’s notion that legitimate government action focused on only those aspects of
individual action that posed a threat to others or the community as a whole. Those private
acts that did not pose such a threat were not the subject of legitimate government
regulation. So, to the extent that the terms public and private are used in the discussion of
the Ninth Amendment adjudicative mechanism in the remainder of this Article, they should
be viewed as conveying the distinction between acts that pose a potential public threat and
acts that do not.
The question of the legitimacy of government regulation pursuant to the Ninth Amendment
is the same as the question Professor Kirstie McClure conceptualized as central to the
determination of legitimacy in Locke’s political theory. What a Ninth Amendment
adjudication must do is “distinguish between arbitrary interferences with the[] propriety [of
individual citizens on the one hand] and reasonable regulation for the public good [on the
other].” When a challenged government regulation is found not to be a reasonable
regulation for the public good, but merely an arbitrary interference with individual
autonomy, it will be invalid under the Ninth Amendment.
A. Stage One: Gatekeeping
At the initial stage of a claim based on the Ninth Amendment, instead of asserting that a
federal or state law or government action violates a fundamental right protected by the
Fifth or Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clauses, an individual would file a complaint
alleging that the government action constitutes an illegitimate intrusion into her personal
freedom by restricting or precluding an essentially private activity or interfering with a
private choice. The complaint would identify the specific activity or activities involved and
the way in which the government action either restricted or precluded them. The complaint
would not argue that the plaintiff had a specific positive right to engage in the activities in
question. It would allege instead that regardless of the importance or fundamentality of the
activities, the activities were private, or involved the expression of the personal autonomy
of the plaintiff, and that they were therefore protected from government regulation by the
Ninth Amendment.
In response to the plaintiff’s complaint, the government defendant could seek to terminate
the case by filing a motion to dismiss the claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure (or a state court analog), arguing that even if the factual
allegations made by the plaintiff were true, the claim would still fail to state a claim upon
which relief could be granted. To make this argument, the government would contend that
the activities identified in the complaint were not the kinds of activities that are protected
by the Ninth Amendment because they are essentially public rather than essentially private.
The reviewing court, either sua sponte or in response to a government motion, would make
the initial determination, as a matter of law, as to whether the relevant activity was
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sufficiently private (or non-publicly threatening) to fall within the protection of the Ninth
Amendment. This type of determination is appropriate for a court at the motion to dismiss
stage. The dismissal option would allow the court to determine whether the plaintiff had
identified a plausible instance of illegitimate government intervention before extensive
resources were expended balancing the extent of the harm suffered against the government
interests served.
Under this proposed adjudication mechanism, if the reviewing court concludes that the
activity is not substantially private - that its character is primarily public in nature the
court would properly dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiff had failed to state a
claim upon which relief could be granted under law. This early stage determination would
have the benefit of quickly disposing of frivolous assertions of Ninth Amendment rights, of
identifying valid constitutional claims that simply are not Ninth Amendment claims, and
saving the courts and the government the time and expense of excessive discovery and
protracted litigation. Only if the reviewing court concluded that the activity involved was
substantially private in character would the case move on to the next stage - the application
of a heightened level of scrutiny to the government’s action and motivations. At the initial
stage, the court would not provide an in depth evaluation of the extent of the public
consequences of the action. It would merely determine whether the activity involved in the
claim was basically private or basically public.
A judicial determination of whether a certain activity was public or private could pose
serious challenges for courts just as it does for philosophers and other theorists. But this
unavoidable difficulty does not justify rejection of this adjudicative model. Indeed, such
judicial determinations are commonplace in the evaluation of many claims. And, given the
character of the privacy right protected by the Ninth Amendment, the overriding question
would be a comparatively simple one: Does the action pose a threat of harm to another
individual or to the public welfare?
As the Supreme Court has demonstrated, it is capable of addressing the issue of the
potential public impact of an arguably private activity. In Stanley v. Georgia (394 U.S. 557
(1969)) for example, the Supreme Court reviewed a challenge to a Georgia criminal
prosecution for the possession of obscene materials. The challenging party argued that the
state obscenity law “insofar as it punishes mere private possession of obscene matter,
violates the First Amendment.” 144 The Court agreed, holding that “the mere private
possession of obscene matter cannot constitutionally be made a crime.” 145 Although the
lower court had relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Roth v. United States (354 U.S.
476 (1957)) which held that obscenity was not protected by the First Amendment, the
Court distinguished this case by noting that Roth dealt with the distribution of
“objectionable material or with some form of public distribution or dissemination.” In its
opinion, the Court addressed the extent of the right to privacy that citizens enjoyed in their
homes. After noting the importance of receiving information, regardless of its “social
worth,” the Court noted the right “takes on an added dimension” in a case involving
protection for the mere possession of obscene material: “For also fundamental is the right
to be free, except in very limited circumstances, from unwanted governmental intrusions
into one’s privacy.”
144
Stanley v. Georgia (394 U.S. 557 (1969)) at 559
145
Id.
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The Court based its holding on its understanding of how the Constitution limits the
authority of government to invade the privacy of its citizens and the consequent rights that
citizens enjoy in order to protect this privacy.
. . . In Stanley, the Court identified two crucial aspects of a reasoned definition of privacy.
First, and most obvious, the Court held that actions that occur in an individual’s home and
that do not involve contact with the rest of the community are private and deserve a
different treatment than conduct that occurs outside the home. But, second, and perhaps
more important, particularly in regard to Ninth Amendment adjudication, the Court notes
that the real invasion that resulted from the government’s action in Stanley - the real
violation of the First Amendment and “our whole constitutional heritage” - was the attempt
by the state to invade the mind of one of its citizens. Worse even than the invasion of the
appellant’s home in this case, according to the Court, was the attempt to legislate his
personal preferences, beliefs, and morality. The decision stands for the proposition that the
sphere of privacy that legitimate government action cannot invade includes both one’s
home and one’s personal beliefs and values.
As strong as the Court’s holding was in Stanley that the government action constituted an
undue invasion of privacy, the majority was not unmindful of the types of complications
that arise when an activity in our complex and interconnected society is identified as
private. In response to arguments from Georgia that “exposure to obscene materials may
lead to deviant sexual behavior or crimes of sexual violence,” the Court noted that there is
“little empirical basis for” such an assertion, but noted that even if such a connection could
be drawn, it would not justify the extent of the intrusion involved in Stanley, particularly in
light of other mechanisms that serve to discourage the expression of personal beliefs in a
manner that will threaten the society as a whole.
We believe that in the context of private consumption of ideas and information we should
adhere to the view that “among free men, the deterrents ordinarily to be applied to prevent
crime are education and punishment for violations of the law....” Given the present state of
knowledge, the State may no more prohibit mere possession of obscene matter on the
ground that it may lead to antisocial conduct than it may prohibit possession of chemistry
books on the ground that they may lead to the manufacture of homemade spirits.
Just as in Stanley, the identification of what is sufficiently private to garner Ninth
Amendment protection will be complicated by arguments concerning the potential public
impact of essentially private conduct. One of the key aspects of this proposed Ninth
Amendment adjudicative mechanism is that it takes these possible arguments seriously and
factors them into its analysis. The point of this mechanism is not to identify some actions
as purely private and mandate that courts protect them from any kind of state regulation,
but rather to identify those activities that are substantially or primarily private and to
require a government that seeks to regulate such activities to justify regulation based on the
public impact of the action.
The Stanley Court’s analysis of the private and public sphere, and of the illegitimacy of
government action that invades the former, demonstrates at least some of the activities that
would be appropriately considered to be essentially private by a court reviewing a Ninth
Amendment claim. Actions involving only one person that occur in the privacy of one’s
residence would be considered private under this analysis, partially because of the location
of the action and partially because of the complete absence of reasonable threat of harm to
another. Although slightly more controversial, it can be demonstrated that actions
involving apparently consenting adults within a private residence would also be considered
private, again both because of location and the lack of threat of some unwanted, and
consequently harmful, intrusion. And the act of forming and expressing one’s personal
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preferences and beliefs - the defining characteristic of personal autonomy - would also be
properly considered private in nature.
The discussion of privacy in Stanley provides two important keys to the development of an
effective Ninth Amendment jurisprudence: (1) It demonstrates that courts can (and do)
make distinctions between public and private activity, and (2) it provides a basic indication
of how a reasoned distinction between the public and the private can be made. Though
Stanley and similar cases are insufficient to conclusively resolve the difficulties in
determining at exactly what point the public/private line should be drawn in every case,
this realization is not fatal to the development of this jurisprudence. The point of the Ninth
Amendment mechanism is not to mandate resolutions of disputes over the legitimacy of
government regulation of private acts, but rather to place those disputes at the forefront of
adjudication and to tip the current balance inherent in judicial evaluation of personal
autonomy claims away from the governmental entities and in favor of individuals. As the
remainder of this Article demonstrates, the difficulties inherent in identifying which
actions can be reasonably considered to be primarily public will rest with the governmental
entity as it seeks to justify its regulation of the activity in the second stage of the Ninth
Amendment adjudication mechanism. Pursuant to this mechanism, the government will
only be allowed to regulate activity when it can provide a convincing demonstration that
the activity has some kind of significant impact on the public welfare. If the government
cannot make such a showing, its regulation will be properly invalidated as violating the
Ninth Amendment.
B. Stage Two: Heightened Scrutiny for Privacy-Invasive Government Action
Pursuant to the second stage of this proposed mechanism, if a court concluded that the
regulated act is essentially private, a government could not successfully respond to the
plaintiff’s claim by noting that there is a public consequence, or consequences, arising
from the activity in question. This argument would be insufficient, on its own, to justify the
regulation. If the government seeks to legitimately regulate the activity in question, it must
demonstrate that the public impact of the act is substantial enough, and the public interest
in regulating it compelling enough, to justify the extent of the privacy invasion involved. In
the second stage of this Ninth Amendment analysis, the government would be obliged to
demonstrate why its regulation of the activity is legitimate. To do this it must identify the
public interest that is served by the regulation or preclusion, and show that the specific
regulation is substantially related to that public interest. Similar to the “fit” analysis applied
by courts in cases involving classifications based on sex under the Equal Protection Clause,
the government would be required to demonstrate that the interest it seeks to protect is a
valid interest - in this case a public welfare interest - and that the challenged regulation is
narrowly tailored to achieve that permissible goal.
This Ninth Amendment fit analysis will treat as inherently suspect any governmental
action that invades the privacy of individuals. The mere fact that the government has
instituted a regulation of private activity supports the assumption that the government’s
motivation is nonpublic in nature, and therefore invalid. 146 Consequently, as in the case of
146
John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust: A Theory of Judicial Review 34 (1980) at 145-46. In discussing
the role that “suspect classification” analysis plays in uncovering the real motivation behind legislative action, Ely
notes that:
The goal the classification in issue is likely to fit most closely, obviously, is the goal the legislators actually had in
mind. If it can be directly identified and is one that is unconstitutional, all well and good: the classification is
unconstitutional. But even if such a confident demonstration of motivation proves impossible, a classification that in
fact was unconstitutionally motivated will nonetheless - thanks to the indirect pressure exerted by the
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suspect racial and gender classification, the government would be required to show that the
means it has chosen to meet its express objective is the one that poses the least reasonable
threat to the constitutional rights of the citizens involved and is reasonably related to a
valid government interest.
This mechanism serves to protect the personal autonomy of citizens, and to identify
circumstances in which the professed motivation for a regulation is actually a pretense
obscuring some kind of unconstitutional purpose. 147 Under this analysis, the government’s
proffered justification for its action could fail on two separate grounds. First, if the interest
that the government seeks to protect is insufficiently public, it will not be justified in
regulating private activity based on that interest. Second, if there is a legitimate
government interest that can be identified, but the regulation in question is not substantially
related to promoting that interest, the government would be obliged to find some other, less
privacy-intrusive, manner to promote that objective. This fit analysis will require that the
government regulate activities only in appropriate circumstances, and seeks to assure that
the specific regulations actually arise out of, and reasonably serve, appropriate
governmental interests.
What is specifically precluded by this part of the mechanism are any governmental
interests that do not serve to protect the public good. Pursuant to this analysis, the
government cannot impose a community-defined code of morality regulating the private
lives of its citizens unless the regulation ostensibly protects the public welfare. 148 As
shown above, the rights referred to in the Ninth Amendment as being retained by the
people are rights to personal self-determination and autonomy. The central core of these
retained rights, what Locke referred to as the right to make “private judgment,” is the right
suspect-classification doctrine - find itself in serious constitutional difficulty....The “special scrutiny” that is afforded
suspect classifications...insists that the classification in issue fit the goal invoked in its defense more closely than any
alternative classification would. There is only one goal the classification is likely to fit that closely, however, and that
is the goal the legislators actually had in mind. If that goal cannot be invoked because it is unconstitutional, the
classification will fall. Thus, functionally, special scrutiny, in particular its demand for an essentially perfect fit, turns
out to be a way of “flushing out” unconstitutional motivation, one that lacks the proof problems of a more direct
inquiry....
147
Id. at 138. The reason that the fit analysis is applied to equal protection determinations is that otherwise
ostensibly permissible classifications made by legislatures are appropriately invalidated if the motivation for the
classification is impermissible - “that the very same governmental action can be constitutional or unconstitutional
depending on why it was undertaken.” Id. at 137; see also Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339, 347 (1960) (“”Acts
generally lawful may become unlawful when done to accomplish an unlawful end....’” (quoting United States v.
Reading Co., 226 U.S. 324, 357 (1912))). As Ely noted in 1980, this point is by no means uncontroversial, and he also
acknowledged the difficulty of finding a single motivation for a legislative act. But he argues that:
The considerations that make motivation relevant argue not for the discovery of the “sole” motivation (is there ever
just one?) or even the “dominant” motivation (whatever that might mean), but rather for asking whether an
unconstitutional motivation appears materially to have influenced the choice: if one did, the procedure was
illegitimate - “due process of lawmaking” was denied - and its product should be invalidated.
148
Peter M. Cicchino, Reason and the Rule of Law: Should Bare Assertions of “Public Morality” Qualify as
Legitimate Government Interests for the Purposes of Equal Protection Review?, 87 Geo. L.J. 139, 173 (1998) at 142.
While it is entirely appropriate, and indeed unavoidable, that legitimate government interests reflect judgments about
what is good for the political community and for individual citizens, for equal protection analysis, the only value
judgments that qualify as legitimate government interests are those that are observably connected to the public
welfare. A bare assertion of public morality, divorced from any empirical effect on the public welfare, cannot
constitute a legitimate government interest.
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to govern one’s life without the imposition of an external, and necessarily alien, belief
structure, at least to the extent that these personal moral choices pose no threat to others.
Even though it cannot be disputed (at least not under the constitutional or Lockean
frameworks) that governments may impose a concept of public morality on its citizens in
the course of its regulation of public activity, governments have no legitimate authority to
impose a majority-defined concept of personal or private morality on individuals in a way
that substantially impacts their private lives. Ninth Amendment adjudication would
invalidate any such governmental attempt.
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Twenty-three centuries ago, the philosopher Plato, an unfriendly critic, held that in a
democracy the people did not recognize that their duties were equal to their rights. By
insistence upon their rights, and by neglecting their duties, they paved the way for the
overthrow of democracy and the establishment of tyranny. One need not accept Plato’s
views as to the inevitability of this process from democracy to tyranny, in order to agree
that we must meet our duties and responsibilities as well as enjoy our rights and liberties if
our democratic society is to survive. This great truth has been recognized in a number of
constitutions of national states. The French Constitution of 1793 not only contained the
famous “Declaration of the rights of Man,” but had a list of the duties of man as well. The
most recent Constitution of the Soviet Union not only has a bill of rights but has a bill of
duties as well. Our constitutional forefathers were fully cognizant of the truth that every
right implied a duty. However, our Constitution was based upon somewhat different
principles from those of the French Constitution of 1793 and the Russian Constitution of
1935. Our Bill of Rights was added, not in order that the people might know their rights,
but that the Government might not infringe upon them. It was assumed that the people
would know their duties as they knew their rights. Yet, I fear this has not always been
realized, and unfortunately “duty” appears almost to have become an outworn term. One
should not be surprised if in the next edition of Webster, he finds after the definition of the
word “archaic.” In almost all the textbooks on civics and political science, and in all the
texts in social science without exception, which you have used in high school and college,
you will find at least one chapter on our rights, but never one on our duties.
Some of our citizens have been so impressed with their rights in recent years that they are
having difficulty—at the country’s expense—in recognizing that they also have duties.
. . . an educated citizen has the responsibility to obey and respect the law. I do not mean
that you should take a “pollyanna” view of the law, that all laws are good and fair and just
and [blindly?] should obey all of them at all times and under all circumstances. Some laws
are unfair, some are unwise, some are impractical; others are in conflict, and still others,
while considered fair and equitable at one time, have become archaic and inapplicable to
modern conditions.
149
Senate, Senator Claude Pepper of Florida, The Public Responsibilities of an Educated Citizen,
Congressional Record, Extension of Remarks, 79th Congress, 2nd Session (August 1, 1946, legislative day of Monday,
July 29), pages A4750-A4753
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150
See Denning, Brannon P., Gun Shy: the Second Amendment as an “Underenforced Constitutional Norm,
21 Harv.J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 719, (Summer 1998). Discusses Lawrence Gene Sager’s Fair Measure: The Legal Status
of Underenforced Consitutional Norms, 91 Harv. L. Rev. 1212 (1978).
151
See Axler’s, Eric M., The Power of the Preamble and the Ninth Amendment: the Restoration of the
People’s Unenumerated Rights, 24 Seton Hall Legis. J. 431 (2000)
152
National Archives and Records Administration; www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/preamble.html
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Will life in America really be one of anarchy as gun control advocates claim if law-abiding citizens
had their Second Amendment rights at full conceptual limits restored? Or, will it be life as normal,
governed by the limits of social norms with reduced rates of crime and greater rates of social civilities, as in
the proverbial slogan, an armed society is a polite society? Will the government revise tort and liability
laws favoring the full conceptual limit of Second Amendment rights as a social norm?
(7). Excerpts From Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, THE LIMITS OF SOCIAL NORMS, 74 Chicago-Kent L. Rev.
1537 (2000)
No society can function if it cannot constrain the self-serving behavior of its members.
Societies that cannot control socially destructive behavior collapse into dysfunction; they
become dangerously crime-ridden, 153 as in some of America’s inner cities, or completely
anarchic, as in parts of the Balkans and central Africa. Clear rules enforced by legal
sanctions deter a great deal of socially destructive conduct, but social norms enforced by
informal sanctions might create even more powerful constraints. If so, then gaining control
over dysfunctional societies might depend more upon using or manipulating social norms
than upon enforcing the law. Decades of research conducted by social psychologists on
social norms, however, suggests three important obstacles to the use of social norms: First,
antisocial norms, once established, are hard to dislodge; 154 second, even if people adhere to
positive social norms, determining when they are triggered is difficult; third, subtle aspects
of situations can induce antisocial conduct, seemingly even against social norms. 155
Here I supplant the definition of social norm to mean the acceptance of an openly armed society in
accordance with the Second Amendment being a positive social norm, and the definition of antisocial norm
to mean an anti-gun society opposing the Second Amendment.
Most legal scholarship addressing the control of antisocial behavior addresses formal
sanctions rather than social norms. This is not surprising; formal sanctions are more
familiar to lawyers and punishing undesirable antisocial conduct is the most
straightforward means of maintaining social order. Formal sanctions almost certainly
provide a critical degree of control over antisocial conduct, but they are costly, both to
society and to the individual being punished. Incarceration, in particular, can produce
unintended costs to individuals, especially in communities in which the rate of
incarceration is high.
Partly in response to the staggering costs of incarceration, some legal scholars argue that
informal social norms provide a better means of controlling antisocial conduct. This
observation builds upon a growing body of legal scholarship concerning social norms.
This new “law and social norms” scholarship adopts a more subtle approach to social
behavior than identifying situations that should trigger formal rewards and sanctions. It
accounts for the prominence of group membership and social approval as sources of
rewards and punishments. This new field has developed several positive and normative
implications of social norms. On the positive side, the scholarship asserts that groups
153
United Kingdom and Australia serve as pristine examples of when a nation disarms its citizens with
complete bans on firearms that nation soon becomes crime ridden. Proof that an armed society is a positive social
norm.
154
The anti-gun culture as a social norm is anti-social in nature. It allows the criminal element of society free
reign in criminal activity against the law-abiding as they are less likely to face an armed citizen.
155
The handgun, in reality, is a tool for self-defense. An inanimate object, it can do nothing under its own
existence. The anti-gun culture view the handgun as an animate object capable of psychologically inducing anti-social
behavior in its owner to commit crimes with the handgun. Anti-social behavior becomes a social norm.
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develop and enforce norms of conduct apart from formal legal sanctions. Perhaps more
significantly, this scholarship might hold valuable normative lessons for policymakers
interested in reducing crime as an alternative to incarceration.
The law and social norms scholarship identifies two ways in which reformers can take
advantage of the power of social norms. First, changes in law can influence social norms.
For example, passing a law against smoking in public places had a dramatic effect on
smokers, not because of the formal penalty for public smoking (which is hardly ever
imposed) but because it empowered nonsmokers to levy social sanctions on smokers.
Changes in law might also inspire changes in preferences. Scholars refer to this as the
“expressive” function of law. Second, subtle and inexpensive changes in a social setting
can signal different social norms. . . . 156
The interaction between law and social norms arguably identifies ways to reduce crime that
are less expensive and more humane than traditional approaches. A change in law that
does not need to be enforced, or is only minimally enforced, is not costly to society or to
the individuals who are deterred from breaking the law by a new social taboo. . . .
The social psychological research, in fact provides some systematic support for the theories
proposed by the social norms scholars. Social psychologiests have conducted numerous
empirical studies which support two basic tenets of the law and social norms scholars: (1)
that groups develop and impose norms on their members, and (2) that the apparent
behavior of others can alter the social meaning of a situation in ways that profoundly affect
behavior.
Social Norms
Social norms operate independently from formal law. Laws commonly track social norms;
murder, burglary, and many crimes are both illegal and socially inappropriate. Sometimes,
however, social norms and law conflict. In such instances, norms frequently influence
behavior more than the law. . . . An inconsistency between law and social norms makes
enforcing formal laws against antisocial conduct difficult.
Absent some power to manipulate social norms, these observations have only limited value
for reformers. Identification of divergences between law and norms might indicate haw
best to allocate an enforcement budget, but this is a relatively weak implication. Scholars
have argued, however, that the law interacts with social norms to influence behavior in two
productive ways: First, laws can direct or strengthen existing social norms; and second,
social policies can change the social meaning of a behavior.
Law has an expressive function that can motivate a change in social norms. Attaching a
criminal penalty to conduct can inspire social condemnation. Criminalizing undesirable
conduct to support a social norm con embolden people to levy informal sanctions against a
violator and signal potential violators that their conduct will draw a severe social sanction.
Ordinary citizens might begin to feel entitled to be free from the costs of undesirable
condujct that violators inflict on them. Consequently, even in the absence of enforcement,
the mere act of criminalizing conduct can reduce its prevalence. For example, as Robert
Cooter has observed, even though laws against smoking in public are almost never
enforced, compliance is widespread. Cooter suggests that labeling the behavior as a crime
156
An armed society in the United States was once a social norm with its own informal rewards and
punishments. Law can and must be changed to facilitate the restoration of this social norm and once restored, support
it.
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will heighten potential violators’ fear ofr social sanction, and might also encourage a real
increase in social sanctions against violators.
Along a similar line, laws and policies can take advantage of social norms to change the
meaning of social behaviors in ways that discourage antisocial conduct. . . .
Using the law to influence social norms raises the prospects of having a big effect at little
cost. Creating a law against smoking in public and not enforcing it is practically a costless
means of eliminating the problem of exposure to second-hand smoke. Reforms directed at
changing social norms might also prove much more effective and have fewer unwanted
side effects than enforcing formal penalties.
No amount of deceptive legal arguments attempting to prove the fallacious intent of gun control
laws preventing the free exercise of armed self-defense will some how reduce crime. But, in reality such
laws only increase murder rates and other violent crime rates. What will reverse the tide of gun control is
Social Norms Marketing! Instead of the heretofore futile effort of the National Rifle Association, Gun
Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation, KeepAndBearArms.com, Jews for the Preservation
of Firearms Owners, and other pro-Second Amendment groups lobbying Congress for the restoration of our
gun rights, they “ought” to take the gun rights message that the Second Amendment is not only a
constitutional norm but it is also a positive social norm to the people at large. They should pool their
financial resources and take the Social Norms Marketing approach. They would ultimately still accomplish
their goal as the public at large will then be standing in line at their Senators’ and Congressmen’s doors,
sending letters, and emails for the restoration of their gun rights. An effective use of their cost-benefit
analysis in anyone’s ledger.
“Social norms marketing is an innovative way to educate people about the healthy
behaviors practiced by a majority of the public for the purpose of improving overall health
status.”— www.mostofus.org. The process of social norms marketing is based on social
norms theory. 157
I would rephrase that statement to read:
“Social norms marketing is an innovative way to educate people about the healthy behaviors
practiced by a majority of the public for the purpose of improving overall personal security status.”
Social norms are people’s beliefs about the attitudes and behaviors that are normal,
acceptable, or even expected in a particular social context. In many situations, people’s
perception of these norms will greatly influence their behavior. 158
When people misperceive the norms of their group — that is, when they inaccurately think
an attitude or behavior is more (or less) common than is actually the case — they may
chose to engage in behaviors that are in sync with those false norms. 159
Such is the case with gun control. Misperceptions infect all of society, even the courts.
157
www.unco.edu/stuact/modelprogram/Social%20Norms.html
158
www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms/ (last update: January 30, 2002)
159
Id.
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(8). The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Blows the Whistle On Sister Courts’ Second Amendment
Deceptions
We conclude that [United States v.] Miller does not support the government’s 160 collective
rights or sophisticated collective rights approach to the Second Amendment. Indeed, to the
extent that Miller sheds light on the matter it cuts against the government’s position. Nor
does the government cite any other authority binding on this panel which mandates
acceptance of its position in this respect. However, we do not proceed on the assumption
that Miller actually accepted an individual rights, as opposed to a collective or
sophisticated collective rights, interpretation of the Second Amendment. Thus, Miller itself
does not resolve that issue.. . . We turn, therefore, to an analysis of history and wording of
the Second Amendment for guidance. In undertaking this analysis, we are mindful that
almost all of our sister circuits have rejected any individual rights view of the Second
Amendment. However, it respectfully appears to us that all or almost all of these opinions
seem to have done so either on the erroneous assumption that Miller resolved that issue or
without sufficient articulated examination of the history and text of the Second
Amendment.” 161
(9). A Nation of Lies Governed by Liars Leads to Deception and Corruption as a Social Norm
This appears to be the case with society in the United States. The transition from a national
unlicensed open-carry handgun representative of an honest society (the old social norm) to licensed
concealed-carry, representative of a deceptive society (the current social norm), is an example of how a
minority’s misperception of behavior in others (gun owners) has led to enactment of laws supporting this
misperception. The misperception in this case is the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms,
that gun possession is a fretful danger to society. This misperception is based on a psychological fear of
guns by the insecure. And what has occurred because of that fear is a transference of that fear from the
insecure minority to all of society through legislation. Now that fear is in sync with all of society. The fear
of guns has emerged as a social norm. Most lawful gun owners do not publicly defend their rights for fear
of ridicule and harassment from society and from law enforcement. For the survival of the innocent this
must change. A new social norm, or more accurately, reinstating an old social norm is demanded.
(10). Social Norms Marketing
Social norms marketing is currently, and has been for recent years, used to address binge drinking
by college students. Health & Human Development Programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Public Health Service, and the National Institutes of Health, are:
. . .undertaking a five-year evaluation of the effectiveness of a campaign called ‘Just the
Facts’ aimed at reducing high risk, binge drinking by college students. This type of
prevention program — commonly known as a ‘social norms marketing campaign’ — tries
to change students’ perceptions of campus norms. ‘Just the Facts’ has been pilot-tested on
several campuses but this will be the first time it has been scientifically evaluated. 162
One method frequently used to correct misperceptions is “social marketing,” a method of
using mass marketing techniques to disseminate information. When colleges conduct
160
Clinton/Reno era.
161
United States v. Emerson, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 99-10331
162
http://notes.edc.org/HHD/products.nsf/projects/01-7365
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163
Id.
164
Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Social Norms Marketing Training 2001, December
4-5, 2001, Sheraton Richmond West Hotel, Richmond, Virginia, www.abc.state.va.us/Education/socialnorm01/
sn2001.htm.
165
www.sa.ua.edu/wrc/social_norms.htm
166
Perkins, HW and Alan D. Berkowitz, Perceiving the Community Norms of Alcohol Use Among Students:
Some Research Implications for Campus Alcohol Education Programming. International Journal of the Addictions,
21(9/10):961-976. This is the original study providing data for student misperceptions of attitudes towards alcohol,
along with a discussion of the effects of these pisperceptions.
167
Id.
168
Berkowitz, Alan D., The Social Norms Approach: Theory, Research and Annotated Bibliography, June
2000, revised August 2001. In “Type of Misperceptions” section.
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
169
Ib. In “Studies Documenting Misperceptions” section.
170
Ib.
171
Id.
172
Id.
138
PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
173
Table 1: Assumptions of Social Norms Theory
1. Actions are often based on misinformation Law-abiding citizens possessing or carrying a gun
about or misperceptions of others’ attitudes and/or are misperceived as doing so with criminal intent.
behavior.
2. When misperceptions are defined or perceived Gun owners are harassed by law enforcement and
as real, they have real consequences. businesses, gun-free zones, etc. Vulnerable to
crime.
3. Individuals passively accept misperceptions Gun owners forced to leave guns at home in order
rather than actively intervene to change them, to avoid social, legal harassment.
hiding from others their true perceptions, feelings
or beliefs.
4. The effects of misperceptions are self- Gun prohibitions in urban areas encourages rise in
perpetuating, because they discourage the murder and other violent crimes. Drug dealing,
expression of opinions and actions that are falsely drive-by shootings, aggravated assaults, home-
believed to be non-conforming, while invasions, etc., become the social norm when
encouraging problem behaviors that are falsely belief of armed self defense is suppressed.
believed to be normative.
5. Appropriate information about the actual norm Hence, the need for a Social Norms Marketing
will encourage individuals to express those beliefs campaign to restore the Second Amendment’s
that are consistent with the true, healthier norm, national open-carry handgun as a positive social
and inhibit problem behaviors that are norm.
inconsistent with it.
6. Individuals who do not personally engage in “What can one person do?” Individual gun
the problematic behavior may contribute to the owners become hesitant or reluctant to publicly
problem by the way in which they talk about the express their pro-Gun Rights views for fear of
behavior. Misperceptions thus function to ridicule or harassment by gun control advocates
strengthen beliefs and values that the “carriers of and law enforcement. Thereby they become
the misperception” do not themselves hold and carriers of the misperception.
contribute to the climate that encourages problem
behavior.
7. For a norm to be perpetuated it is not necessary The misperception that if everyone had guns
for the majority to believe it, but only for the blood will fill the streets is perpetuated.
majority to believe that the majority believes it.
173
Ib. (Left side of table). The right half of table is my adaptation for Second Amendment rights.
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(12). The Deadly Belief in Gun Control: The Jessica Lynne Carpenter, Merced, California
Story
The main stream media’s latent bias and irresponsible disregard for truth did not widely report this
story. This is a testimonial to the inalienable right to keep and bear arms for basic human survival, the right
to life itself for the innocent. This story is about the misperception that responsible children of age and
maturity and lovingly responsible parents both cannot be trusted to keep and bear their arms for the purpose
of personal security in a responsible, lawful manner. That the firearms must be kept locked away,
inaccessible to those, young and old and all ages in between when they are most needed in the
instantaneous moment when life is in peril against an attacking criminal. Quoting from The Libertarian
press release: 174
Shouldn’t we repeal the gun laws . . . if it’ll save a single child?
Jessica Lynne Carpenter is 14 years old. She knows how to shoot; her father taught her.
And there were adequate firearms to deal with the crisis that arose in the Carpenter home in
Merced, Calif. – a San Joaquin Valley farming community 130 miles southeast of San
Francisco – when 27-year-old Jonathon David Bruce came calling on Wednesday morning,
Aug. 23.
There was just one problem. Under the new “safe storage” laws being enacted in
California and elsewhere, parents can be held criminally liable unless they lock up their
guns when their children are home alone . . . so that’s just what law-abiding parents John
and Tephanie Carpenter had done.
Some of Jessica’s siblings – Anna, 13; Vanessa, 11; Ashley, 9; and John William, 7 – were
still in their bedrooms when Bruce broke into the farmhouse shortly after 9 a.m.
Bruce, who was armed with a pitchfork – but to whom police remain unable to attribute
any motive 175 – had apparently cut the phone lines. So when he forced his way into the
house and began stabbing the younger children in their beds, Jessica’s attempts to dial 9-1-
1 didn’t do much good. Next, the sensible girl ran for where the family guns were stored.
But they were locked up tight.
“When the 14-year-old girl ran to a nearby house to escape the pitchfork-wielding man
attacking her siblings,” writes Kimi Yoshino of the Fresno Bee, “she didn’t ask her
neighbor to call 9-1-1. She begged him to grab his rifle and ‘take care of this guy.’”
He didn’t. Jessica ended up on the phone.
By the time Merced County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home, 7-year-old John
William and 9-year-old Ashley Danielle were dead. Ashley had apparently hung onto her
assailant’s leg long enough for her older sisters to escape. Thirteen-year-old Anna was
wounded but survived.
Once the deputies arrived, Bruce rushed them with his bloody pitchfork. So they shot him
dead. They shot him more than a dozen times. With their guns.
Get it?
174
www.thelibertarian.net/2000/vs000924.htm. The Libertarian. Syndicated Essays by Vin Suprynowicz.
From Mountain Media. For Immediate Release Dated September 24, 2000.
175
A possible motive would later be revealed by the Grandmother of the slain children attributing drug use,
devil worship, and a fetish for horror movies by John Carpenter (unrelated to the family), “and one [John Carpenter
movie] he especially liked, that we have learned depicts a killing done with a pitchfork.”
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
The following Friday, the children’s great-uncle, the Rev. John Hilton, told reporters: “If
only (Jessica) had a gun available to her, she could have stopped the whole thing. If she
had been properly armed, she could have stopped him in his tracks.” Maybe John William
and Ashley would still be alive, Jessica’s Uncle said.
“Unfortunately, 17 states now have these so-called safe storage laws,” replies Yale Law
School Senior Research Scholar Dr. John Lott – author of the book “More Guns, Less
Crime.” “The problem is, you see no decrease in either juvenile accidental gun deaths or
suicides when such laws are enacted, but you de see an increase in crime rates.”
Such laws are based on the notion that young children often “find daddy’s gun” and
accidentally shoot each other. But in fact only five American children under the age of 10
died of accidents involving handguns in 1997, Lott reports. “People get the impression
that kids under 10 are killing each other. In fact this is very rare: three or four per year.”
The typical shooter in an accidental child gun death is a male in his late teens or 20s, who,
statistically, is probably a drug addict or an alcoholic and has already been charged with
multiple crimes, Lott reports. “These are the data that correlate. Are these the kind of
people who are going to obey one more law?”
So why doesn’t the national press report what happens when a victim disarmament (“gun
control”) law costs the lives of innocent children in a place like Merced?
“In the school shooting in Pearl, Miss.,” Dr. Lot replies, “the assistant principal had
formerly carried a gun to school. When the 1995 (“Gun-Free School Zones”) law passed,
he took to locking his gun in his car and parking it at least a guarter-mile away from the
school, in order to obey the law. When that shooting incident started he ran to his car,
unlocked it, got his gun, ran back, disarmed the shooter and held him on the ground for
five minutes until the police arrived.
“There were more than 700 newspaper stories catalogued on that incident. Only 19
mentioned the assistant principal in any way, and only nine mentioned that he had a gun.”
“The press covers only the bad side of gun use, and only the potential benefits of victim
disarmament laws – never their costs. “Basically all the current federal proposals fall into
this category – trigger locks, waiting periods,” Lott said. “There’s not one academic study
that shows any reduction in crime from measures like these. But there are good studies
that show the opposite. Even with short waiting periods, crime goes up. You have women
being stalked, and they can’t go quickly and get a gun due to the waiting periods, so they
get assaulted or they get killed.”
The United States has among the world’s lowest “hot” burglary rates – burglaries
committed while people are in the building – at 13 percent, compared to “gun-free”
Britain’s rate, which is now up to 59 percent, Lott repports. “If you survey burglars,
American burglars spend at least twice as long casing a joint before they break in. . . . The
number one reason they give for taking so much time is: They’re afraid of getting shot.”
The way Jonathon David Bruce, of Merced, Calif., might once have been afraid of getting
shot . . . before 17 states enacted laws requiring American parents to leave their kids
disarmed while they’re away from home.
The above news story is from a dispassionate, impersonal, objective view of a reporter. If that isn’t
enough to persuade you that innocent law-abiding citizens have a right to immediate access to personal
firearms in defense of life and liberty then perhaps the following account from the grandmother of those
slain children will strike terror in your hearts – the terror of gun control laws.
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(13) Grandmother of Slain Children Protests Trigger Locks and Mandatory Gun Storage 176
Mary Carpenter
April 20, 2001
North Carolina General Assembly
To Whom It May Concern,
To my understanding you are debating the passage of laws requiring trigger locks and
mandatory storage of guns. I am a second generation resident of the State of California, a
mother and a grieving grandmother. I wish to express to you how trigger locks and
mandatory storage laws in the State of California affected my family. I hope my testimony
may save someone in your state from sharing the pain we must now endure for the
remainder of our lives. No law you can pass will keep the irresponsible from shooting
accidents or a felon from stealing a gun. I am enclosing a portion of a letter I wrote to my
own state legislators concerning the constant progression of laws restricting our guns in my
state.
Depending on whether or not you truly care, you may or may not recognize my name. I
am the paternal grandmother of the two children who were brutally murdered inside their
rural Merced California home on August 23, 2000 by a stranger with a pitchfork.
Instead of suing gun manufacturers, I am of the opinion it is our lawmakers who need to be
sued. It was you who created the laws that kept my grandchildren from being able to
dcefend themselves with any weapon greater than their bare hands. All of my son’s
children had been trained in the use of firearms but were unable to get to their Dad’s
weapon because of California State Law.
You, who have CCW permits or armed bodyguards, or both expect me to face a society
gone mad because of drug-altered brains and lax laws on the perpetrators of crime? You
had no room in your prisons for the killer of my grandchildren though his wife had
reported to the police in Mojave California in June of 1997 that he had forced her and their
infant son into his car (kidnapping) while living in southern California? At that time she
also reported how she had managed to escape from him in Mojave after he held a gun to
her head (assault with a deadly weapon) threatening to kill her and their one-month-old
child? Though more recently she had given to the Dos Palos California Police Dept. the
tape from her message minder threatening to kill her present husband? Though he had
assaulted a police officer while resisting arrest for drug charges? Though he had violated
his parole by not appearing at his hearing and they had a warrant out for his arrest?
Though they knew where he lived, and also his mother and grandmother, yet failed to pick
him up? Will you then find room for my son in your prisons should his fourteen-year-old
daughter have access to his gun while she is babysitting her siblings?
There is a growing list, in my area alone, of people (mostly women) who might still be
alive had they not been in a state where the use of a gun was prohibited. Juli Sund, Carole
Sund, Selvina Pelosso, Joie Armstrong, Ashley and John William Carpenter to name a few.
Lawmakers talk big about a woman’s right to choose yet don’t allow me the very basic
right to choose to defend myself? If teachers were allowed to carry a concealed weapon to
school you would see the school shootings disappear. The same is true with the citizen on
176
www.aardvarknews.com/carpenter.htm
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the street. The reason is, these killers are cowards. You can tell by their choice of victims.
They operate best where they know there are no guns.
Look at your child tonight and imagine him or her with their eyes jabbed out, their skulls
splintered, their brains pierced, and their spines broken with the heavy tines of a spading
fork. In defending her sistes to the death with the only weapon you allowed her, Ashley
had 138 puncture wounds. Twenty-nine of them were on the right side of her face, five on
the back of her head, and thirty-seven to her chest and lower neck. (Obviously he was
trying to behead her.) She was nine years old. While committing no crime greater than
sleeping in his parents bed, in his own house, John William, 7-years-old, was stabbed 46
times, with most of them in the chest, neck, and head. Depending on the condition of your
heart, you may or may not feel a small measure of the pain my family and I must endure
for the remainder of our lives.
Now, imagine all the gun laws you can dream up and honestly admit whether or not they
would have stopped such a mad dog as this. This man was a total stranger to the family,
and other than a trace of marijuana, was not on drugs at the time. However, by the
testimony of his wife and girlfriend, he was a drug user who became frightening whenever
he used them. All your imagined gun laws will do is insure someone’s children will die
again. Take a drive downtown and see for yourself all the drug addled brains.
You may declare gun free zones, but you cannot declare killer free zones.
This tragedy has made me realize I am not even safe in my locked home, my barn, or my
backyard. I dare you to request the autopsy reports of John William & Ashley Danielle
Carpenter done on August 28, 2000 from Sheriff Tom Sawyer of the Merced County
Sheriff’s Dept. Also ask him for the police interview with the killer’s wife and girlfriend
telling about his drug use and devil worship. Ask Detective Parsley about his fetish for
horror movies produced by a John Carpenter, (no relation to us), and one he especially
liked, that we have learned depicts a killing done with a pitchfork. His last employment
was as a telemarketer in Merced. If you have an honest bone in your body your will see
this country is in desperate need of a change of heart not the gun laws that have been in
place for over two hunderd years. All the gun laws you can imagine cannot change the
heart of a killer and you know it. Until man’s heart is change we will be like sheep led to
the slaughter without our weapons of defense. May you stand before God and man as my
two precious grandchildren’s killer if you pass any more gun legislation that will make me
a felon should I own a handgun or any other gun for that matter.
Sincerely,
Mary Carpenter
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laws? To have gun owners and their families killed off? My God! That’s . . . GENOCIDE! The
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership have published two books worth reading. 177 These two
books point out that the path our country is presently taking with gun control has only disaster in its future.
These facts must not be ignored. In addition to these references the United States Code already has
provisions to reverse the trend of gun control in place. The United States legally recognizes genocide as
unlawful.
18 U.S.C. § 1091. Genocide
(a) Basic Offense. - Whoever, whether in time of peace or in time of war, in a circumstance
described in subsection (d) and with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in
substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such:
(d) Required Circumstance for Offenses. - The circumstance referred to in subsections (a)
and (c) is that -
(1) the offense is committed within the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is a national of the United States (as
defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101)).
Gun owners are a group. Gun control laws are federal and state sponsored mechanisms for
genocide.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(1): Gun control laws kill members of that group.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(2): Gun control laws cause bodily injury to members of that group.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(3): Gun control laws induce permanent state of fear for being defenseless.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(4): Gun control laws were the catalyst for Waco & Ruby Ridge.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(5): American Medical Association advocates gun control laws.
18 U.S.C. § 1091.(a)(6): Social Services take disparagingly microscope view of gun owners homes.
Yet where it is proven that genocide cannot occur in a nation where its citizens are lawfully armed
but only occurs in nations where full gun control exists, gun confiscation soon followed does genocide
eventually occur. For the United States to recognize genocide as a crime against humanity and yet actively
177
Simkin, Jay, Aaron Zelman, and Alan M. Rice, Lethal Laws: “Gun Control” is the Key to Genocide:
Documentary Proof: Enforcement of “Gun Control” Laws Clears the Way for Governments to Commit Genocide and
Jay Simkin & Aaron Zelman, “Gun Control” Gateway to Tyranny: The Nazi Weapons Law, 18 March 1938: Original
German Text and Translation, with an Analysis that Shows U.S. “Gun Control” Laws Have Nazi Roots. Jews for the
Preservations of Firearms Ownership, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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pursue the very path that leads to genocide, incrementally increasing the number of gun control laws is a
schizoidism of law. A Conflict of Law.
Are the citizens of this nation growing more dissatisfied with their federal and state governments
over these injustices? I believe they are. Is the predominant opinion that the federal and state
governments are aiding and abetting the criminal slaughter of gun owners and their families through its gun
control laws? I say yes. Before the brave hearted in this country resort to armed insurrection I suggest
“Social Norming the Second Amendment” before all Hell breaks loose.
(15) Social Norming the Second Amendment is Common Sense
If the National Rifle Association truly desires to shed its reputation as Schizophrenic 178 then I
suggest the NRA form a coalition with GOA, SAF, JPFO, KABA, other pro-Second Amendment groups,
and public policy organizations in law and social psychology fields, and adopt the Social Norms Marketing
method for the restoration of unlicensed national open-carry handgun, restoring a constitutional norm to its
rightful place as a social norm. In other words, set off a media campaign blitz of public service
announcements educating the public on the restoration of the old social norm of open-carry handgun.
Send a delegation to The Fifth Annual National Conference on the Social Norms Model, July 10-
12, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conference is organized by The Bacchus and Gamma Peer
Education Network 179 in conjunction with The National Social Norms Resource Center 180 and is
generously co-sponsored this year by The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. 181 182
Are we to be a nation of lies governed by liars? Or, will the truth set us free? Let us turn the tide
on the verboseness of gun grabbers. Let us become ourselves verbose for the truth in armed personal
security as a social norm. Let us embrace Social Norms Marketing to set the record straight and correct the
misperceptions perpetuated by the liars at large.
(16) Excerpts From, Robert C. Ellickson, “THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL NORMS: A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE
LEGAL ACADEMY,” in SOCIAL NORMS, eds. Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp. New York, Russel Sage
Foundation, 2001, 35-75, citing material from pages 40-45.
(A). The Supply Side of the Market for Norms: Change Agents
. . . Cass Sunstein has devised the notion of a “norm entrepreneur,” a phrase that many
legal scholars have since embraced. Both actors and enforcers may supply new norms.
Actors participate on the supply side when they adopt new patterns of behavior. . . .
Enforcers serve as suppliers when they react in new ways to the behavior of actors. Those
on the deman side of the market for norms then react to these stimuli. (Id. at 40. From
section, The Supply Side of the Market for Norms: Change Agents.)
I refer to an actor or enforcer who is relatively early in suppling a new norm as a change
agent. According to the rational-actor perspective, a change agent offers new norms
because he anticipates that over time he will receive a flow of benefits that will outweigh
(in present-value terms) the various costs he will incur while acting in that role. A change
agent moves earlier than others because his expected net benefits from acting in that role
178
http://thenewamerican.com/tna/2000/06-05-2000/vo16no12_nra.htm
179
http://www.bacchusgamma.org
180
http://socialnorm.org
181
http://www.lcb.state.pa.us
182
http://socialnorm.org/home.html
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are unusually large. This may be so either because his expected costs are lower or his
expected benefits greater, or both. (Id. at 41.)
Change agents tend to have attributes that make them relatively low-cost suppliers of new
norms. In general, they posses superior technical intelligence, social intelligence, and
leadership skills. These attributes reduce the opportunity costs they incur when they work
for norm reform. . . . (Id.)
Apart from costs and benefits, change agents tend to have relatively low discount rates and
long time horizons. The stigma and other personal costs of attempting to change a norm
generally are incurred early, whereas the esteem and tangible benefits generally are reaped
late. The more future-oriented a person is, the more rational it is to pursue social
reform. 183 (Id. at 42.)
As a merchant seaman, I have been corresponding with the U.S. Coast Guard to address the
necessity and feasibility of arming merchant seamen while ashore under the jurisdiction of U.S. Law and
not under the jurisdiction of Maritime Law, to augment port security plans for our nation’s seaports and
harbors, thus fulfilling the “common defense” as stipulated in the United States Constitution. Because I
was insistent on this new approach to national security and taking a dramatic literary approach to convey
the fear citizens live with everyday of their lives of being murdered by the criminal element of society
because the citizens do not have immediate possession and access to personal firearms to defend their lives
and liberty the Coast Guard misperceived my communication as a direct personal threat against the Coast
Guard officer I had been corresponding with. That caused this Coast Guard officer to exercise poor
judgement by initiating a criminal investigation via the Navy Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). I
happened to be aboard a U.S. government contracted U.S. merchant vessel anchored off the coast of
Lithuania. This Coast Guard’s action occurred on the eve of the vessel’s scheduled departure for a 10-day
exercise at sea causing me to miss the ship and the company to foot the bill for a 12-day hotel stay for a
2-hour interview with the two special agents of the NCIS.
My goal is not only to encourage the government to implement constitutional measures for the
common defense by relying of the citizen-sailors of the nation but also to restore constitutional norms of
the Second Amendment as social norms. As noted in Ellickson’s passage above, I incurred an unwarranted
criminal investigation, which is Ellickson’s noted “stigma and other personal costs of attempting to change
a norm generally are incurred early.” This is characterized in my case as a citizen exercising his First
Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and the government not only
ignores the petition but retaliates against the citizen for being a persistent nuisance. The government only
pays attention when it is taken to court.
The Coast Guard’s error of judgement opened the door for me to continue my effort to effect
Second Amendment legal and social norms change by taking the case to the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia for an application for Writ of Mandamus and to recover damages for defamation.
These two cases are:
Don Hamrick, U.S. Merchant Seaman v. President George W. Bush, et al. U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 1435ESH, July 18, 2002 (Writ of Mandamus)
Don Hamrick, U.S. Merchant Seaman v. Admiral Collins, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, et al. U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 1434ESH, July 18, 2002 (Damages)
In an effort to clarify the dynamics of norm change, I distinguish between three
subcategories of change agents: self-motivated leaders, norm entrepreneurs, and opinion
183
Emphasis mine.
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leaders. Although all three types respond relatively early to a shift in cost-benefit
opportunities, they lead for different reasons. (Id. at 42.)
(B). Self-Motivated Leaders
Self-motivated leaders move early to change a norm because, owing to their special
endowments and talents, they anticipate receiving unusually high levels of net tangible
benefit from challenging the existing norm. 184 Indeed, these net tangible benefits are
sufficiently large 185 to motivate them to favor change even in the absence of potential
esteem rewards. (Id.)
Self-motivated leaders commonly spark changes in the network norms that facilitate
communication and coordination. (Id.)
When a new norm suddenly becomes manifestly advantageous for a group, many self-
motivated individuals with unexceptional leadership abilities may supply it
simultaneously. 186 When this happens, historians will have difficulty attributing the new
norm to particular change agents. For instance, dueling fast became extinct in the South
once the Civil War had shattered the social networks of the southern aristocracy. Although
anti-dueling societies had been active in the South before the war esteem rewards
apparently were not needed to motivate the rejection of dueling after Appomattox. (Id. at
43-44.)
The same change can be predicted with today’s drive-by shootings, multiple-victim public
shootings in schools, fast food restaurants, home invasions in “safe-storage” gun control states and with
many other anti-self defense laws imposed as the current social norms.
(C). Norm Entreprenuers
. . . Norm entrepreneurs are specialists who campaign to change particular norms, whereas
opinion leaders are generalists. (Id. at 44.)
What special traits distinguish a successful norm entrepreneur? First, a norm entrepreneur
tends to possess a relatively high level of technical knowledge relevant to the norms within
his specialty. This knowledge enables the entrepreneur to respond early to a change in
cost-benefit conditions. . . . Second, a norm entrepreneur is likely to be cognizant that there
are appreciative experts (often, close associates in a social sub-group) who are likely
immediately to esteem the norm entrepreneur for trying to change the social norm
practiced at issue. In other words, a norm entrepreneur faces unusually favorable
conditions on the demand side of the norms market. (Id.)
(D). Opinion Leaders
Unlike the self-motivated leader and the norm entrepreneur, the opinion leader is not at the
forefront of norm change but instead is located one position back from the front. An
opinion leader evaluates the initiatives of these other change agents (the true catalysts) and
then decides which of their causes to endorse. Opinion leaders therefore play a pivotal role
in determining whether change agents succeed in triggering a cascade toward a new norm.
(Id. at 45.)
184
Anti-gun society
185
Reduction in the murder rates and other violent crime rates.
186
Build it! They will come! - quoting from a baseball movie
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A successful opinion leader tends to have two exceptional characteristics. The first is an
usually high level of social intelligence, which helps the opinion leader anticipate better
than most which social innovations will end up attracting bandwagon support. An adept
opinion leader, for example, may be aware that many people have been disguising their
true opinions about the merits of current norms. (Id.)
I might correctly assess that I have educated myself with years of leisure time self-study in the
original intent of the United States Constitution. And with this new awareness in how things were meant to
be and seeing how our federal government is taking us down the thornbush path to a totalitarian, militaristic
police-state I began to voice my opinions in any available arena.
For several years one of those arenas was the Internet discussion board of Arkansas Representative
Asa Hutchinson. I can safely allege that Rep. Asa Hutchinson never paid attention to my “Gun Rights
Restoration” messages. His example exemplifies the allegation that the “Government doesn’t listen to its
citizens pleas for freedom as it continues to restrict and steal more of our freedoms in the name of security.
I am serving as an opinion leader with this paper. The current self-motivated leaders and norm
entreprenuers (Second Amendment scholars and gun rights organizations) are admirably but erroneously
attempting to introduce reciprocal concealed-carry license for all fifty states. From a legislative focus in
would be far easier to simply repeal gun laws that restrict the right to keep and bear arms, allowing both
interstate and intrastate travel with unlicensed open-carry handgun for personal security.
(E). The Process of Norm Change
Either sort of exogenus shock — a shift in internal cost-benefit conditions 187 or an
alteration of group membership 188 — can spur a group to change its informal rules.
However, it is not groups, as such, that act but, rather, individuals. As previously
discussed, individuals possess different attributes that incline them to play specialized roles
in the process of norm change. (Id. 51)
(17). The Proving Grounds!
Since unlicensed “restricted to state boundaries” open-carry is the law in Virginia, Nevada, and
Maine 189 these states provide the prime locations (the urban, the suburban, and the rural) to initiate this new
social norm, not as a trial basis, but for its permanency. Utilizing the Social Norms Marketing approach the
initial phase would be to educate the public on the law of unlicensed open-carry handgun in public service
announcements while laying down the foundation for expected behavioral norms. Once law-abiding
citizens (individuals) feel comfortable with their knowledge of the law and what is expected of them in
their behavior as they go about society with a sidearm they are more likely to muster up their courage and
experimentally try this new behavior. When more citizens observe that law and order is still maintained,
and blood is not running in the streets, that society is still polite and normal then the predicted cascade will
occur empirically proving that an armed society is a polite society.
. . . A person joins a reputational cascade, by contrast, to avoid the social disapproval that
may be visited on those who are out of step (Kuran 1998; Kuran Sunstein 1999, 685-87).
187
The bombing of the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, the downing of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
188
Removal of current pro-Second Amendment leaders refusing to address the national open-carry without a
license.
189
Snyder, Jeffrey R., Fighting Back: Crime, Self, and the Right to Carry a Handgun. Cato Institute, Policy
Analysis No. 284, October 22, 1997. Quoting from section, The “Ignoble Act” of Carrying Concealed Weapons.
(Footnotes omitted)
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One goes along with the crowd to be with the crowd, even if one knows that the crowd is
wrong. (Id. at 51-52.)
This is true for the anti-gun crowd as they are enforcing the current anti-gun social norm. The
purpose of initiating a Second Amendment social norm is to correct the wrong-headed anti-gun crowd and
restore true personal security for society. In this new social norm of open-carry handgun those who are
reluctant to adopt the new social norm will risk disapproval, informal sanctions, as one who advocates
anti-social behavior and as being soft on crime. Politicians are extremely fearful of being tagged as soft on
crime and will dutifully support open-carry handgun laws with its associated social norm as the being
“tough on crime” thesis gains popularity.
The speed of norm evolution is determined by the rates at which the members of the group
acquire the technical and social knowledge necessary to appreciate that a new norm is more
utilitarian than the old one. The entire process may proceed briskly. (Id. at 52)
In Guillermina Jasso’s Rule Finding About Rule Making: Comparison Processes and The Making
of Rules 190 under the section, Studying the Making of Rules: First Principles,’ Basic Premises, he offers
four candidates for basic forces governing human behavior: 191
• to know the causes of things, leads to rule finding.
• to judge the goodness of things, leads to rule making.
• to be perfect, leads to both rule making and rule unmaking.
• to be free, leads to the unmaking of rules.
. . . All four candidate forces have been ascribed to humans as fundamental aspects of
human nature. All four refer to properties ascribed to God. All four refer to things that
play prominent parts in the discourse between humans and deities, both in what deities say
they do for humans and in what humans pray for. All four appear not only in what humans
pray for but also in what they renounce in the spirit of sacrifice. As both Émile Durkheim
and Max Weber understood, the deepest aspects of human nature manifest themselves in
religious phenomena, and thus the sociology of religion may play a prominent part in the
methodology for unmasking the basic forces. Finally, note that it may someday be seen
that the basic forces governing human nature are more than four perhaps, at the other
extreme, only one, the others being manifestations of a single more basic force. (Id. at
350-51.)
Finally, the multifactor view poses special empirical challenges, for the operation of two
factors may lead to opposite effects, and hence isolating the two effects becomes the prime
empirical objective. It may at first appear that one prediction is rejected, but in fact it may
be that one of the two effects is stronger than the other. For example, suppose that
mechanism A predicts that y is an increasing function of x. The empirical finding that y is
an increasing function of x does not constitute, in a multifactor world, evidence that
mechanism B is not operating; rather, the finding would be consistent with the operation of
both mechanisms such that the effect of mechanism A is stronger than, or “dominates,”
190
Jasso, Guillermina, “Rule Finding About Rule Making: Comparison Processes and The Making of Rules,”
in Social Norms, eds. Michael Hechter and Karl-Dieter Opp. New York, Russel Sage Foundation, 2001, 348-393,
citing material from pages 350-351.
191
Id. at 351. Citing from section “Rule Making and the Basic Forces.”
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mechanism B. The converse would also be true. This is one of the reasons why the more
fruitful a theory the easier it is to test. (Id. at 351.)
Translated to the current proposal:
Mechanism A, gun control laws effect on human nature, predicts that y, obedience to gun control laws by
law-abiding citizens, is an increasing function of x, being murdered by the criminal element of society.
Mechanism B, federal law protecting national right to open-carry handgun by law-abiding citizens, predicts
that y, obedience to the new federal open-carry law, is a decreasing function of x, being murdered by the
criminal element of society.
Sounds plausible to me! My unscientific prediction is that a national open-carry handgun society
will be proven to be a positive social norm, even amongst the verbose minority of nay-sayers.
Mentioned at the start of this paper Aaron Zelman’s open letter to President Bush and his
administration 192 offers recommendations for homeland security that provides the basis for the rules of a
new (or more aptly, an old) social norm. These recommendations are:
Explicitly recognize and encourage Americans' unlimited right to self-defense and defense
of their own communities.
• Encourage citizens to be aware of their rights and responsibilities,
particularly their second-amendment rights.
• Immediately instruct the ATF, FBI, and any other federal enforcement
agencies to cease prosecuting non-violent Americans for technical
violations of firearms laws or regulations.
• Permit and encourage Americans to bear arms on federal lands and in
federal buildings.
• Considering that courts have repeatedly declared that government law
enforcement has no obligation to protect any individual, encourage
states to enable citizens to defend themselves or their communities.
• Encourage those with military or police experience to share their
expertise with fellow citizens in the form of firearm-training courses
and other defense skills.
Aaron Zellman’s recommendations will help provide the backing of government support and
enforcement of Second Amendment norms as explained in the following:
(18). Excerpt from Christine Horne, THE ENFORCEMENT OF NORMS: GROUP COHESION AND META-
NORMS, Social Psychology Quarterly, (A Journal of the American Sociological Association.The
Enforcement of Norms: Group Cohesion and Meta-Norms) Vol. 64, No. 3, September 2001.
Many scholars argue that group cohesion contributes to social order — that norms are
more effective in tight-knit communities. One explanation for this correlation suggests that
it can be attributed to higher rates of sanctioning in solidary groups. Criminoligists, for
example, emphasize the role of community integration in controlling deviant behavior.
They argue that when a community disintegrates, it “ceases to function effectively as a
means of social control . . . . Resistance . . . to delinquent and criminal behavior is low, and
such behavior is tolerated.” Studies show that in cohesive communities, people express
greater willingness to impose sanctions against those who engage in deviant behavior. At
192
Supra note 2.
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least some research, then, suggests that one reason for higher levels of order in cohesive
groups is that deviance is more likely to be punished in such groups.
Conclusion
If American society is “disintegrating,” without Second Amendment norms, even in the hiatus of
post September 11, 2001’s unifying patriotism, the factional perpetual liberal-conservative struggle over
gun control agendas is or will be the cause of the deteriorating cohesiveness of the American dream, to live
free in a republic, but yet to insure one’s own safety with personal possession of firearms is surely
approaching death’s door. The law-abiding citizen’s resistance to delinquent and criminal behavior from
others in society, and from those in state and federal government service, both elected and bureaucratic
types, having been and continues to be incessantly attacked by a trickling avalanche of gun control laws is
not dissimilar to terminal cancer.
Sometime after the September 11 terrorist attacks I watched a CNN female anchor as she
interviewed someone about United Flight 93 crashing in a Pennsylvania field, questioning whether the male
passengers storming the cockpit to regain control of the plane from the terrorists were actually vigilantees.
There, in full view of millions of viewers, perpetuating their haunting bias, a blatant act of ignorance to
citizens’ inalienable human rights to save there own lives and the lives of countless others not on that plane.
This is just another instance of CNN reinforcing their reputation as being the “Communist News Network.”
This pervasive anti-gun, anti-self-defense attitude has a killing effect on certain rights and innocent
lives, i.e., the right to make a citizen’s arrest, the right to be part of a legal posse comitatus, the right to
organize and participate in lawful unorganized militia activities as social events at state and county fairs,
and gun shows, where society can learn and practice their Second and Ninth Amendment rights. Any
direct defensive action, through informal sanctions, or overt self-defense on the part of the victim is often
meet by the law, the courts, the media, and reinforced by society, with the ever oppressive “you cannot take
the law into your own hands.”
Yet, were does the law come from, but from the citizens. It comes from the citizens electing their
state and federal senators and representatives to make the laws they want and need. It comes from citizen’s
serving on jury duty to render judgement not only on the accused but also on the law itself. Where is the
check and balance mechanism when judges deny jurors their right to determine the constitutionality of
particular laws, and in its stead, tell the jurors what the law is? Jury nullification is a hotly contested issue.
Where is the check and balance mechanism when all three branches of government coordinate in a
cooperative manner to pass unconstitutional legislation? This is synonymous to employees telling the boss
how things are to be or not to be, invoking their personal prejudice against the Second Amendment into the
law, thus turning the U.S. Constitution upside down. These injustices serve in part for the disintegration of
American society. Citizen’s have no incentive to enforcing Second Amendment social norms through
informal sanctions, or even to exercise their right to make a citizen’s arrest for fear of retaliation from
neighbors, the ACLU, the law, the media, and even the accused. The costs are simply just too high. Can
we not yet establish the allegation of governmental tyranny that our right to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances provides in the First Amendment?
The law must be reformed in these debilitating areas, fortifying the citizen’s rights and duties of
citizenship, minimizing or eliminating the risks of enforcing social norms. An open-carry handgun law,
backed by government enforcement, will provide individual U.S. citizens a unifying national identity,
spanning race, gender, and religion, which will reinvigorate a sense of community in both the local and
national sense. We have been terrorized and oppressively governed preventing us from exercising our
Second Amendment rights through lies and fear for too long. We have had our constitutional rights pick-
pocketed from us for so long that we cannot even recognize the conditions of involuntary servitude to
government and criminals that we are actually in. If we have been for decades, as some will say, perhaps
with impenetrable legitimacy, in a state of national emergency shouldn’t We, the People be a part of our
nation’s defense? Why should government claim a monopoly on self-defense with arms? The military is
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perpetually developing more advanced lethal weapons, even high-tech ammunition that can kill the enemy
hidden behind buildings for its soldiers while the government continues restricting citizens’ rights from
owning or using even the simplest of handguns. All checks and balances separating tyranny from freedom
are dismantled. Tyranny has banished freedom from our Second Amendment.
Let’s go back to the old social norm, the U.S. Constitutional norm of national open-carry handgun
without that tyrannical license in accordance with the Second, Ninth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Amendments to
our U.S. Constitution. Let us live free and be safe, as safe as we can make it for ourselves, and for each
other because the government has failed us in this matter.
193
(19) Social Norming Resources
193
www.saddonline.com/links.htm
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
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www.psaresearch.com/bibsocial_websites.html
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PART 9. PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS AS REMEDIES
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