UNDERSTANDING CASE LAW.

Caselaw to use in court, support your case, exercise your rights
From: Marcel Bendshadler KC7AQK@worldnet.att.net

Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137
"The Constitution of these United States is the supreme law of the land. Any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is null and void of law."

Murdock v. Penn., 319 US 105
"No state shall convert a liberty into a privilege, license it, and attach a fee to it."

Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham, 373 US 262
"If the state converts a liberty into a privilege, the citizen can engage in the right with impunity."

U.S. v. Bishop, 412 US 346
If you have relied on prior decisions of the supreme Court, you have the perfect defense for willfulness.

Owen v. Independence, 100 S.C.T. 1398, 445 US 622
"Officers of the court have no immunity, when violating a Constitutional right, from liability. For they are deemed to know the law."

Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 1974 Expounds upon Owen

Byers v. U.S., 273 U.S. 28
Unlawful search and seizure. Your rights must be interpreted in favor of the citizen.

Boyd v. U.S., 116 U.S. 616
"The court is to protect against any encroachment of Constitutionally secured liberties."

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436
"Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation, which would abrogate them."

Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425
"An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed."

Miller v. U.S., 230 F.2d. 486, 489
"The claim and exercise of a Constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime."

Brady v. U.S., 397 U.S. 742, 748
"Waivers of Constitutional Rights, not only must they be voluntary, they must be knowingly intelligent acts done with sufficient awareness."

"If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being a gift of ALMIGHTY GOD, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave."
Samuel Adams, 1772

United States v. Sandford, Fed. Case No.16, 221 (C.Ct.D.C. 1806)
"In the early days of our Republic, 'prosecutor' was simply anyone who voluntarily went before the grand Jury with a complaint."
Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1, 78 S.Ct. 1401 (1958).
"No state legislator or executive or judicial officer can war against the Constitution without violating his undertaking to support it."

United States v Dougherty, 473 F 2d 1113, 1122.
The court states, "...Judge Miller, joined by Judges Prettyman, Danaher And Bastian, stated that the pro se right is statutory only, and therefore (a) defendant must assert the right in order to be entitled to it and (b) in any event no reversal was required since no prejudice could be discerned" "The Government says the pro se right is statutory and subject to 'extensive qualifications,'discerning in the decisions seven 'factors' on the basis of which the pro se right may be partially or entirely denied."

"A bill of attainder is defined to be 'a legislative Act which inflects punishment without judicial trial'"
"...where the legislative body exercises the office of judge, and assumes judicial magistracy, and pronounces on the guilt of a party without any of the forms or safeguards of a trial, and fixes the punishment."
In re De Giacomo, (1874) 12 Blatchf. (U.S.) 391, 7 Fed. Cas No. 3,747, citing Cummings v. Missouri, (1866) 4 Wall, (U.S.) 323.

US v Will, 449 US 200,216, 101 S Ct, 471, 66 LEd2nd 392, 406 (1980) Cohens V Virginia, 19 US (6 Wheat) 264, 404, 5LEd 257 (1821)
"When a judge acts where he or she does not have jurisdiction to act, the judge is engaged in an act or acts of treason."

Mattox v. U.S., 156 US 237, 243.
"We are bound to interpret the Constitution in the light of the law as it existed at the time it was adopted."

S. Carolina v. U.S., 199 U.S. 437, 448 (1905).
"The Constitution is a written instrument. As such, its meaning does not alter. That which it meant when it was adopted, it means now."

United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1876).
"The people of the United States resident within any State are subject to two governments: one State, and the other National, but there need be no conflict between the two."

Grosjean v. American Press Co., 56 S.Ct. 444, 446, 297 U.S. 233, 80 LEd 660
"Freedom in enjoyment and use of all of one's powers, faculties and property."

ARGERSINGER v. HAMLIN, 407 U.S. 25 (1972)
"The right of an indigent defendant in a criminal trial to the assistance of counsel, which is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment is not governed by the classification of the offense or by whether or not a jury trial is required. No accused may be deprived of his liberty as the result of any criminal prosecution, whether felony or misdemeanor, in which he was denied the assistance of counsel."
U.S. v. Prudden, 424 F.2d. 1021; U.S. v. Tweel, 550 F. 2d. 297, 299, 300 (1977)
Silence can only be equated with fraud when there is a legal and moral duty to speak or when an inquiry left unanswered would be intentionally misleading. We cannot condone this shocking conduct... If that is the case we hope our message is clear. This sort of deception will not be tolerated and if this is routine it should be corrected immediately.

Morrison v. Coddington, 662 P. 2d. 155, 135 Ariz. 480(1983).
Fraud and deceit may arise from silence where there is a duty to speak the truth, as well as from speaking an untruth.

In regard to courts of record: "If the court is not in the exercise of its general jurisdiction, but of some special statutory jurisdiction, it is as to such proceeding an inferior court, and not aided by presumption in favor of jurisdiction." 1 Smith's Leading Cases, 816

In regard to courts of inferior jurisdiction, "if the record does not show upon its face the facts necessary to give jurisdiction, they will be presumed not to have existed." Norman v. Zieber, 3 Or at 202-03

It is interesting to note the repeated references to fraud in the above quotes. Therefore the meaning of fraud should be noted:

Fraud. An intentional perversion of truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance upon it to part with some valuable thing belonging to him or to surrender a legal right. A false representation of a matter of fact which deceives and is intended to deceive another so that he shall act upon it to his legal injury. It consists of some deceitful practice or willful device, resorted to with intent to deprive another of his right, or in some manner to do him injury (Emphasis added) Black's Law Dictionary Fifth Edition, page 594.

Then take into account the case of McNally v. U.S., 483 U.S. 350, 371-372, Quoting U.S. v Holzer, 816 F.2d. 304, 307
Fraud in its elementary common law sense of deceit includes the deliberate concealment of material information in a setting of fiduciary obligation. A public official is a fiduciary toward the public, and if he deliberately conceals material information from them he is guilty of fraud.