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==Legal status and membership==
==Legal status and membership==

Variations of the argument that an individual is "sovereign" have been rejected by the courts, especially in tax cases such as: ''United States v. Hart'',<ref>701 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1983) (''per curiam'').</ref> ''Risner v. Commissioner'',<ref>Docket # 18494-95, 71 T.C.M. (CCH) 2210, T.C. Memo 1996-82, United States Tax Court (Feb. 26, 1996).</ref> ''Maxwell v. Snow'',<ref>409 F.3d 354 (D.C. Cir. 2005).</ref> ''Rowe v. Internal Revenue Serv.'',<ref>Case no. 06-27-P-S, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (May 9, 2006).</ref> ''Heitman v. Idaho State Tax Commission'',<ref>Case no. CV-07-209-E-BLW, U.S. Distr. Court for the District of Idaho (June 29, 2007).</ref> ''Cobin v. Commissioner'',<ref>Docket # 16905-05L, T.C. Memo 2009-88, United States Tax Court (April 28, 2009).</ref> and ''Glavin v. United States''.<ref>Case no. 10-MC-6-SLC, U.S. Distr. Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (June 4, 2010).</ref> The [[Internal Revenue Service]] has included "free born" or "sovereign" citizenship in its list of [[frivolous]] claims that may result in a $5000 penalty when used as the basis for an inaccurate tax return.<ref>[http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159853,00.html The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments]</ref>
Black's Law Dictionary defines a United States "citizen" as "One who, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of a particular state, is a member of the political community, owing allegiance and being entitled to the enjoyment of full civil rights. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."<ref>Black's Law Dictionary, p. 221 (5th ed. 1979).</ref>Black's Law Dictionary defines a "sovereign" as: "A person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; a chief ruler with supreme power; a king or other ruler with limited power."<ref>Black's Law Dictionary, p. 1252 (5th ed. 1979).</ref> Variations of the argument that an individual is "sovereign" have been rejected by the courts, especially in tax cases such as: ''United States v. Hart'',<ref>701 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1983) (''per curiam'').</ref> ''Risner v. Commissioner'',<ref>Docket # 18494-95, 71 T.C.M. (CCH) 2210, T.C. Memo 1996-82, United States Tax Court (Feb. 26, 1996).</ref> ''Maxwell v. Snow'',<ref>409 F.3d 354 (D.C. Cir. 2005).</ref> ''Rowe v. Internal Revenue Serv.'',<ref>Case no. 06-27-P-S, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (May 9, 2006).</ref> ''Heitman v. Idaho State Tax Commission'',<ref>Case no. CV-07-209-E-BLW, U.S. Distr. Court for the District of Idaho (June 29, 2007).</ref> ''Cobin v. Commissioner'',<ref>Docket # 16905-05L, T.C. Memo 2009-88, United States Tax Court (April 28, 2009).</ref> and ''Glavin v. United States''.<ref>Case no. 10-MC-6-SLC, U.S. Distr. Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (June 4, 2010).</ref> The [[Internal Revenue Service]] has included "free born" or "sovereign" citizenship in its list of [[frivolous]] claims that may result in a $5000 penalty when used as the basis for an inaccurate tax return.<ref>[http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159853,00.html The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments]</ref>


The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) estimates that approximately 300,000 Americans consider themselves "sovereign citizens".<ref>J.J. MacNab, "'Sovereign' Citizen Kane," Intelligence Report, Issue 139, Fall 2010, Southern Poverty Law Center, at [http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/fall/sovereign-citizen-kane]</ref>
The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) estimates that approximately 300,000 Americans consider themselves "sovereign citizens".<ref>J.J. MacNab, "'Sovereign' Citizen Kane," Intelligence Report, Issue 139, Fall 2010, Southern Poverty Law Center, at [http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/fall/sovereign-citizen-kane]</ref>

Revision as of 02:58, 11 March 2011

The sovereign citizen movement is a loose network of American litigants, commentators and financial scheme promoters. Self-described "sovereign citizens" believe that they are answerable only to English common law and are not subject to any statutes or proceedings at the federal, state or municipal levels. They especially reject most forms of taxation as illegitimate.[1] Participants in the movement argue this concept in opposition to "federal citizens" who, they believe, have unknowingly forfeited their rights by accepting some aspect of federal law.[2]

History

This "sovereign citizen" concept originated in the Posse Comitatus movement as a teaching of Christian Identity minister William P. Gale. The concept has influenced the tax protester movement, the Christian Patriot movement, and the Redemption movement[2]—the last of which includes claims that the U.S. government has enslaved its citizens by using them as collateral against foreign debt. Supporters sell instructions explaining how to "free" oneself by filing particular government forms in a particular order using particular wording.

Gale identified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as the act that converted sovereign citizens into federal citizens by agreeing to a contract to accept benefits from the federal government. Other commentators have identified other acts, including the Uniform Commercial Code,[3] the Emergency Banking Act,[3] the Zone Improvement Plan,[4] and the supposed suppression of the Titles of Nobility Amendment.[5]

Black's Law Dictionary defines a United States "citizen" as "One who, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of a particular state, is a member of the political community, owing allegiance and being entitled to the enjoyment of full civil rights. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."[6]Black's Law Dictionary defines a "sovereign" as: "A person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; a chief ruler with supreme power; a king or other ruler with limited power."[7] Variations of the argument that an individual is "sovereign" have been rejected by the courts, especially in tax cases such as: United States v. Hart,[8] Risner v. Commissioner,[9] Maxwell v. Snow,[10] Rowe v. Internal Revenue Serv.,[11] Heitman v. Idaho State Tax Commission,[12] Cobin v. Commissioner,[13] and Glavin v. United States.[14] The Internal Revenue Service has included "free born" or "sovereign" citizenship in its list of frivolous claims that may result in a $5000 penalty when used as the basis for an inaccurate tax return.[15]

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) estimates that approximately 300,000 Americans consider themselves "sovereign citizens".[16]

Robert H. Churchill has asserted that the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have attempted to categorize the behavior and ideologies of Sovereign Citizens as deviant, and that the SPLC and ADL have asserted that the political and legal ideas of adherents of Sovereign Citizens ideology are somehow unacceptable. After asserting that militia groups were racist, the SPLC and ADL attempted, according to Churchill, to place the Sovereign Citizen into this new extremist category of anarchists.[17]

References

  1. ^ What is a Sovereign Citizen?, Message to Students, Militia Watchdog archives, Anti-Defamation League website.
  2. ^ a b Carey, Kevin (July 2008). "Too Weird for The Wire". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-07-19. Cite error: The named reference "carey" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Hall, Kermit (2002). The Oxford Companion to American Law. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Fleishman, David (Spring 2004). "Paper Terrorism: The Impact of the 'Sovereign Citizen' on Local Government". The Public Law Journal. 27 (2).
  5. ^ Smith, William C. (November 1996). "The Law According to Barefoot Bob". ABA Journal.
  6. ^ Black's Law Dictionary, p. 221 (5th ed. 1979).
  7. ^ Black's Law Dictionary, p. 1252 (5th ed. 1979).
  8. ^ 701 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1983) (per curiam).
  9. ^ Docket # 18494-95, 71 T.C.M. (CCH) 2210, T.C. Memo 1996-82, United States Tax Court (Feb. 26, 1996).
  10. ^ 409 F.3d 354 (D.C. Cir. 2005).
  11. ^ Case no. 06-27-P-S, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (May 9, 2006).
  12. ^ Case no. CV-07-209-E-BLW, U.S. Distr. Court for the District of Idaho (June 29, 2007).
  13. ^ Docket # 16905-05L, T.C. Memo 2009-88, United States Tax Court (April 28, 2009).
  14. ^ Case no. 10-MC-6-SLC, U.S. Distr. Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (June 4, 2010).
  15. ^ The Truth about Frivolous Tax Arguments
  16. ^ J.J. MacNab, "'Sovereign' Citizen Kane," Intelligence Report, Issue 139, Fall 2010, Southern Poverty Law Center, at [1]
  17. ^ Robert H. Churchill, "Arming for the Last Battle: Secular and Religious Millennial Impulses within the Militia Movement," 1999 Annual Conference of the Center for Millennial Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA, November 9, 1999 http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/CHURCHILL/CMS_Paper.pdf
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