Freedom Domain
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.......(07/24 Ed.)
By Wynn Miller
National Law Journal (p. A09, col. 1)
July 16, 1995
- A LOOSE COALITION of farmers who call themselves "freemen" is
legal documents," according to judges and state officials.
- In addition, the freemen -- whose ideology is an amalgam of
judges, law enforcement officers and other public officials; accused
them of conspiracy; and issued "warrants" for their arrest by
"freemen's common-law courts." In the past year, freemen have been
arrested on charges of terrorism and have had property seized for
non-payment of taxes.
- In response, the Montana Legislature this year strengthened the
raising the crime to a felony and increasing penalties. Using those
statutes, judges have fined the freemen for abusing the court
system, and prosecutors have added threatening public officials to
the list of charges that often accompany freemen's arrests.
- In a case in April, John Connor, head of the Montana attorney
at the arraignment of Joe Holland, director of the American
Volunteer Militia and a self-described freeman who tried to help
another flee Montana to avoid prosecution. Before he was charged,
Mr. Holland made a mass mailing, on official-looking stationery,
accusing judges and other officials of conspiracy and collusion.
- Mr. Connor, who works with three deputy attorneys general, said
common-law courts. "We just have drawers full of this crap," he said.
- Mr. Connor estimated that he spends one-quarter of his time
that I have spent so much time on in the last year."
- They're Rambling Diatribes.
- The freemen's court documents, submitted attached to standard
coin. The freemen prefer specie over paper currency, which they deem
worthless because it's a product of the government.
- The documents contain long, rambling diatribes against the
February by Rodney O. Skurdal of Roundup, Mont., demanded that the
state attorney general and his staff renounce their offices and
admit that the state is a corporation in breach of contract with the
- "Preamble People," a term he uses to describe Montanans who share
town of Roundup as "without" the United States, and demands $500
million in gold or silver coins.
- In response to one of Mr. Skurdal's court filings, Montana
from filing "frivolous, irrelevant, immaterial, unlawful, invalid or
vexatious actions, pleadings, liens or other documents" and imposed
a $5,000 fine for abusing the judicial system.
- According to Will Hutchison, chief of the Montana Justice
division, Mr. Skurdal and his sympathizers have filed so many
actions against the government or officials that the cases have made
up more than half of the division's caseload.
- "We've had tremendous amounts of pleadings," Mr. Hutchison said,
30 of the agency's 40 open cases.
- Many of the documents claim the freemen were induced fraudulently
in families for generations, Mr. Hutchison said. Montana Attorney
General Joseph P. Mazurek said the group "comes out of the
agricultural community. When they get into financial trouble and
can't pay back their loans, they blame it on government, saying the
money's no good since we went off the gold standard."
- Mr. Hutchison said that most of the cases involved protesting
to freemen because they live unencumbered by the state.
- Though the suits are dismissed on summary judgment, they
accusing government officials of malfeasance or treason, often
seeking deportation and sometimes death by hanging. Usually the
cases are filed pro se; most attorneys won't take the litigation for
fear of inability to recover their costs.
- "It becomes extremely frustrating," Mr. Hutchison said, "because
pleadings."
Copyright 1995, The New York Law Publishing Company. All rights reserved.