Jun 23 2010
Freeman – Common Law Right to Travel
Ok, if you don’t have a few minutes to kill then you should just skip over this, it’s a bit involved and for all the wrong reasons.
A little while ago I came across a reference to “Freeman on the land” and did a bit of reading and internet’ish research. I was fascinated, because the proponents of this exhibited all the attributes of UFOers and conspiracy theorists, and those people I can watch as long as the popcorn lasts.
The basic premise is that you do not have to submit to societies rules if they are inconvenient to you. Don’t want to pay those pesky tickets and renew your drivers licence and registration? Don’t bother, those statutes do not apply to a free man.
There is some legal mumbo jumbo explaining why this is, but they don’t seem to hold any water even to a lay person like me (I did however email the closest thing to a lawyer I know, Boydfish, and he advised me – for free even – that this was total bunk, although he used several many syllable words to do it).
But enough rhetoric, lets let deeds speak Here is what seems to be the chronology of a fairly typical Freeman on the land.
In London, Ontario lives a Freeman by the name of Terry Nicholas Bouffard. In August 2009 Terry posted a youtube clip of him driving around town with a “deregistered personal conveyance”, exercising his common law right to travel.
Things seemed to be going good for Terry, he’s saving money left (licence), right (registration and fines) and center (insurance).
In January, 2010 he runs afoul of an alert London Police Officer, who does not accept the Freeman Rap, and issues 9 provincial offences notices and seizes Bouffards vehicle.
This appears to be an obvious outcome, obvious to all but Bouffard and the Freemen. After lengthy discussions on the World Freeman Society Forum Terry attends court. Causes some disruption resulting the courtroom being cleared and police preventing spectators from entering the court.
Seems the court did not recognize the brand of mumbo jumbo either, and the outcome at this point is uncertain, but certainly does not seem to be an affirmation of the FOTLers assertions as to how the court operates.
Some more research shows that this rap is not new at all. In fact the whole sovereign/Freeman thing can be traced back to the Sovereign Citizen Movement and Posse Comitatus. It didn’t seem to revolutionize government then, and is having a similar effect now.
The legal mumbo jumbo has been discredited long ago, and in fact the Anti-Defamation League has a rather lengthy reference titled (appropriately enough) the Idiot Legal Arguments: A casebook for dealing with extremist legal arguments.
You have to admit however, it’s entertaining reading.
Well, OK … good luck to them! LOL!
There are always some fool who believes frontal assault against a heavily emplaced position is a good strategy
Well, having been a law enforcement officer dealing with one of these wing nuts, plus being very near a law degree, I’d have to say that crazy people make the legal system stupid.
For those who care on a totally unrelated subject, I ate kangaroo wrapped in crocodile this week. Law school in Australia is awesome.
u think its good that a public court room was made private, and that someone got charged with tresspassing on private property in the public court room? u are a person, and u deserve all government benefits and privileges.
I think it’s good that a disorderly mob intent on disrupting the preceedings was prevented from doing so. Those that had business before the court were allowed to conduct it, and spectators intent on creating a circus were kept outside.
I think the video suggests the kind of nonsense those kept outside the courtroom were intent on spewing.
Which reminds me, how did that freeman fare? Did the magic woo make the charges disappear?
Didn’t think so.