Law links and verification status · Blank forms. Citation links are generated from extracted text; unverified links, image-only pages and incomplete citations require review. Reference-book links open publisher resources, not exact definitions.
A guide presenting the author’s explanation or proposed sequence for the subject named in the title. Use it to study the steps, examples and references; distinguish the author’s approach from the official sources it cites.
Introduction based on title and extracted source text.
PDF page numbers count from the first file page; printed labels may differ.
Open document online · Download source file
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
1
CC CCounty SS SSheriff’s
H A N D B O O K
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a
dangerous servant and a fearful master .”
George Washington
“In matters of Power, let no more be heard of
confidence in men, but bind him down from
mischief by the chains of the Constitution .”
Thomas Jefferson
“I swear upon the altar of God, eternal hostility to every form of tyranny
over the mind of man .” – Thomas Jefferson
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempe stuous sea of liberty .” –
Thomas Jefferson
Published March 8, 2021
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 2 National Liberty Alliance gives permission for the copying of this book only in its entirety. This handbook is not to be sold, but only freely distributed for Liberty.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Front Page - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - 2 Introduction - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Duty of the County Sheriff - - - - - - - - 8 Sheriff and the Court - - - - - - - - - 8 Sheriff and Warrants - - - - - - - - - 9 Sheriff and the County Jail - - - - - - - 10 Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the County - - - 10 Law Enforcement - - - - - - - - 11 Just Courts of Law rest upon Six Foundational Truths - - - - 11 The General Rule - - - - - - - - - - 12 Law of the Land - - - - - - - - - - 12 The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God - - - - - - - 13 Legislative Law is Vested Law - - - - - - - - 16 Sheriffs and Statutes - - - - - - - - - - 17 18 USC §241 Conspiracy Against Rights - - - - - - 1 7 18 USC §242 Deprivation of rights under color of law - - - - 17 18 USC §645 Court Officers Generally - - - - - - 18 18 USC §654 Officer or Employee of United States Converting Property of Another 18 18 USC §872 Extortion by Officers or Employees of the United States - - 18 18 USC §1001 Statements or Entries Generally - - - - - 18 18 USC §1503 Influencing or Injuring Officer or Juror Generally - - - 19 18 USC §1512b Engages in Misleading Conduct - - - - - 19 18 USC §2071 Concealment, Removal, or Mutilation Generally - - - 19 18 USC §2076 Clerk is to File - - - - - - - 19 26 USC §7214 Offenses by Officers and Employees of the United States - - 20 42 USC §1983 Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights - - - 20 42 USC §1985(3) Conspiracy to Interfere with Civil Rights - - - - 20 42 USC §1986 Action for Neglect to Prevent - - - - - 20 Oath - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 Political - - - - - - - - - - - 21 Politics - - - - - - - - - - - 21 Rights and Sovereignty - - - - - - - - - 21 Licensing Liberty - - - - - - - - - 22 A Remedy for Every Injury - - - - - - - - - 22 Congress Cannot Alter Rights - - - - - - - - 23 Rights Do Not Come in Degrees - - - - - - - - 23 States Cannot License Rights - - - - - - - - - 23 Interpretation in Favor of the People - - - - - - - - 23 The Preamble to the Bill of Rights - - - - - - - - 24 Amendment I religion, speech, press, to assemble & redress of grievances - - 24 Amendment II militia, keep and bear arms - - - - - 24 Amendment III no soldier to be quartered in any hou se - - - 25 Amendment IV secure in their persons, houses, paper s, warrants - - 25 Amendment V grand jury, double jeopardy, right to remain silent & due process 25 Amendment VI speedy & public trial, jury, right to defend, Assistance of Counsel 25
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 4 Amendment VII right of trial by jury and common law - - - 25 Amendment VIII cruel and unusual punishments - - - - 26 Amendment IX there are many more rights retained by the people - - 26 Amendment X powers not delegated are reserved to t he states and people - 26 The Consent of the Governed - - - - - - - - - 26 The People are entitled to the Laws of Nature’s God - - - - - - 26 Informed Jurors - - - - - - - - - - 27 Only The People can File a Criminal Complaint- - - - - - - 28 Consent of Authority - - - - - - - - - - 28 Consent to Indict - - - - - - - - - - 28 Only The People can Judge - - - - - - - - - 28 Common Law is the Law of the Land - - - - - - - 28 No Emergency is Just Cause to Suppress the Constitution - - - - - 29 Constitutions must be construed to Reference the Common Law - - - - 29 Summary Proceedings are Null & Void - - - - - - - 2 9 Supreme Law is the Basis of all Law, All Fiction of Law is Null and Void - - - 29 No One is bound to obey an Unconstitutional Law and No Court is Bound to Enforce it - 30 Due Process (most abused right) - - - - - - - - 30 Irreconcilable Conflict between Statute and Constitution - - - - - 32 Liberty is a Blessing - - - - - - - - - - 32 No God, No Liberty. Know God, Know Liberty - - - - - - 33 Religion in Law and Government - - - - - - - - 35 The Constitution for the United States of America - - - - - - 36 Preamble - - - - - - - - - - 36 Article I Legislative Powers - - - - - - - - 36 Article II Executive Power - - - - - - - 41 Article III Judicial Power - - - - - - - - 43 Article IV Full faith and credit - - - - - - - 44 Article V No State shall be Deprived of its Equal Suffrage in the Senate. - - 44 Article VI Supremacy Clause - - - - - - - - 45 Article VII Ratification - - - - - - - - 45 Amendments XI - XXVII - - - - - - - - - 46 The Declaration of Independence - - - - - - - - 51 History of the Common Law - - - - - - - - - 54 America is under Common Law - - - - - - - 54 Israel was the First Common Law Nation - - - - - - 54 Anglo-Saxon Limited Government - - - - - - 54 The Common Law Receives Scriptural Stability - - - - - 55 We are a Judeo-Christian Nation - - - - - - - 56 History of the Sheriff - - - - - - - - - - 57 The Beginning, the Middle Ages - - - - - - - 58 The Office Grows - - - - - - - - - 58 The Sheriff Crosses the Atlantic - - - - - - - 58 The Sheriff Today - - - - - - - - - 58
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 5 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this pocket handbook is to “fully in form” the American County Sheriffs, Deputies and Bailiffs as to their authority, duty and the Law. T his handbook is an endeavor to concisely and completely cover the aforesaid in a topical style t o make it easy for reference. A further education, online courses, and many pertinent documents are available at www.NationalLibertyAlliance.org . CONSTITUTION FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ARTICLE VI: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members o f the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial office rs, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution. Sheriffs are judicial officers. SHERIFFS OATH : “I hereby do solemnly swear that I will support and defend this Constitution for the United States of America, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help me God.” COMMON SENSE : Don’t be deceived, the Law is not complex. Thomas Jefferson said that “ Common sense is the foundation of all authorities, of the laws themselves, and of their construction ,” a/k/a maxims. The Law of the Land consists of: (1) the Constituti on, written by We the People, under the authority of God, to empower, control and restrict government servants. (2) Common Law which is written by God in the hearts of men; and, (3) Constitutional Codes, Statutes, and Regulations which are written by Legislators for government agents and commercial activities, not the People! Codes, statutes and regulations are not applicable upon the People. We the People did not, nor could we, give authority to legislators to write law cont rolling the behavior of the People. Samuel Adams said it clearly, “ The natural liberty of man is to be free from any s uperior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule .” If a Sheriff must depend upon a lawyer to determine the Law, it’s no different than giving up their responsibility and breaking their oath. BAR lawyers are not trained in Law they are trained in equity. Whereas “equity ” is manmade law, a/k/a legislative law, and “ Law ” is derived from natures God, a/k/a “Common Law.” Village, town, city, and state police are primarily code enforcement agents and not law enforcement agents. They are trained to identify code violations written for government agents and persons engaged in commercial activities, and applying said code violations upon the People. There is a covert Marxist conspiracy by enemies for eign and domestic to destroy our “ Natural Law Republic ” by substituting “ Common Law ” with “ civil law. ” Today it is becoming more and more evident to the common person that many conspiracy theories are in fact conspiracies. In 1934, Congress unlawfully replaced the “ Rules of Common Law ” with “ rules of civil law ” via the “Rules enabling Act. ” As a result, the traitorous BAR Association wrote the rules of civil law and the United States Supreme Court claimed authorship in 1 938 and thereby abrogated the “Law of the Land ” claiming that natural law was unjust and that the e nabling act of 1934 via “rule 2 ” combined “Law and Equity” under the heading “civil law,” a/k/a municipality law, law of the city, or Babylonian law.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 6 In order to overthrow the “ Law of the Land, ” barristers, a/k/a lawyers, trained in civil law i nfiltrated and took control of our legislative and judicial br anches of government via the “Deep State” as they train swarms of “ code enforcement officers ” to enforce statutes as law upon the People. These BAR lawyers control the law narrative among our legisla tors, judiciary, and code enforcement agents. They have also been successful in removing civics and co nstitutional studies from our education, setting th e stage for a Marxist takeover of our Republic, which is what we are witnessing today. All of this will become more and more obvious as we look at the “Law of the Land” in this handbook. In order for statutes to become Law, the legislator s must first be given authority by We the People which is found under Article I. Section 8 which is restrained by Article I. Section 9 and the Bill of Rights. This is where the Sheriff’s attention should be . If Congress writes statutes outside of Article I. Section 8 or statutes that violate Section 9 the Bill of Rights, or code enforcers, prosecutors, or judges apply statutes upon the People, the followin g “General Rule” of the United States Supreme Court quoting “American Jurisprudence” is to be app lied, and herein is the Power of the County Sheriff. Obviously this also applies to state constitutions. “The general rule is that an unconstitutional statut e, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void and i neffective for any purpose, since its unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enac tment... In legal contemplation, it is as inoperative as if it had never been passed... Since an unconstitutional law is void, the general principles follow that it imposes no duties , confers no right, creates no office, bestows no power or authority on anyone, affords no protection and justifies no acts performed under it... A void act cannot be legally consistent with a valid one. An unconstitutional law cannot operate to supersede an y existing law. Indeed insofar as a statute runs counter to the fundamental law of the land, (the Constitution) it is superseded thereby. No one is bound to obey an unconstitutiona l law and no courts are bound to enforce it .” – Bonnett v. Vallier, 116 N.W. 885, 136 Wis. 193 (1908); NORTON v. SHELBY COUNTY, 118 U.S. 425 (1886). Show us a County Sheriff that does not know the Law and we will show you a Lawless County. Because it is in the nature of unrestrained governm ent servants to seize more and more power and control over the People and this is precisely why w e need a true Lawman who takes pride in the knowledge of the Law. The office of the Sheriff is not to blindly enforce codes, rules and statutes but to enforce the Law a nd constitutional statutes that prevent lawless servan ts from injuring the People. It is up to the Sherif f to “bind the government servant down from mischief by t he chains of the Constitution .” – Thomas Jefferson. The primary purpose of the Sheriff is to protect th e “ sovereign People ” from abusive government agents. What separates the Sheriff from the police is the fact that police are code enforcement office rs that answer to a political servant who has the power to fire them. And if the political servant is lawless, so are the police! Whereas, the Sheriffs’ are Law e nforcement officers, that answer to the People directly at the ballot box. Therefore, the Sheriff will be as Lawful as his knowledge of the same. The re are only four ways a Sheriff can be removed from of fice, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding, (1) the Peop le can vote them out, (2) recall, (3) impeachment and (4) indictment by the Grand Jury. The County Sheriff also has a duty to enforce the C ommon Law which is written by God in the hearts of men. There are two Common Law Principles that gu ide us in knowing the Common Law, (1) In
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 7 order for there to be a crime, there must be an inj ured party and the government in general cannot be the injured party. (2) For every injury there must be a remedy. This is the simplicity of God’s Law, d o not kill, do not steal, do not injure, do not tresp ass, etc.… We all know this, we do not need codes a nd statutes to define a crime! There are four things the Sheriff needs in order to arrest lawless elected or appointed servants, including lawless judges, with impunity and fearlessness. They are: 1) Knowledge of the Law. 2) Knowledge that no agency or elected or appointed servant can remove a Sheriff from office nor can a Sheriff be arrested unless they violate the Common Law such as stealing, killing, etc. 3) The People supporting him/her, and 4) Access to the Grand Jury to get an indictment. The Sheriffs should not be going to the prosecutor for an indictment as all too often they are gatekeepers for the lawless, nor does the prosecuto r have any common law authority to approach the Grand Jury. Prosecutors should be bringing their ca ses to the Sheriff and if the Sheriff finds merit i n the cases then the he is obligated to bring the case before the Grand Jury. It is imperative that the Sheriff have the active s upport of the People. The best place for the Sherif f to find that is in locally controlled citizen and libe rty groups. Go out and talk to them often, ask for their support to help you protect their unalienable right s, because they are the most active and will show u p to support you when you need them. Sheriffs should keep their eye out for Committees o f Safety (COS) which are exploding across the Nation. All 56 signers of the Declaration of Indepe ndence were members of Committees of Safety. Committees of Safety are the most powerful tool the Sheriff can have because they are We the People; learn about them! To see if there are Committees of Safety in your County, you can go to https://www.nationallibertyalliance.org/state-groups . If there are no Committees of Safety in your County, you can contact the National Committee of C orrespondence Director whose job is to help connect to and or start Independent Grassroots Committees of Safety in your County. Sheriffs need to have a “ proper education ” and the support of other “ properly educated ” Sheriffs standing with them and, rarely, if necessary, an ar med posse, especially if they are going up against a federal or state agency or lawless government servants. Most importantly, the Sheriff must have “Grand Jury Access”! The Sheriff has been around for 100’s of years, and like the Coroner, has always had dire ct access to the Grand Jury without a monitor (prosecutor). The only purpose of a gatekeeper is t o protect the guilty, and the only reason they can get away with having all powerful gatekeepers is becaus e of the Sheriff’s and the Peoples’ ignorance of the Law of the Land. Just because there are rules and statutes that prov ide for prosecutors to call the Grand Jury, which i s necessary to empower them to do so, it does not mak e it lawful for them to do so. Neither history nor the Constitution provides for prosecutors to have access to the Grand Jury. The Sheriff and the Coroner have always had and still have the authority to call the Grand Jury themselves. The major problem with prosecutors is that they thi nk that after they get an indictment, they have the power to add or remove chargers or make deals. Only the Grand Jury can add or remove charges and make a deal with the accused, but they can only mak e a deal if they have the consent of the injured party. That is because another Common Law Principle states, “ for every injury there must be a
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
8
remedy ” and only a Trial Jury can render a remedy without the consent of the injured. This is all
Common Sense. This is Common Law, so called because it is common onto all!
Prosecutors usually throw the book at the accused t hereby inflating jail sentences and then later offe r
the accused less time if they plead guilty; that’s called extortion!
The Sheriffs should always know when the Grand Jury is in session so that if they want to ask the
People for an indictment against a person or an ele cted or appointed official or maybe even the
prosecutor or a judge, the Sheriff can go to the co urt and talk to the Grand Jury directly. He need no t
explain himself to anyone, and, if necessary, can a rrest anyone who gets in his way for obstruction of
justice. Once the Sheriff gets an indictment, the p rosecutor cannot reduce or change the charges
because that’s a crime!
“One single object... will merit the endless gratitu de of society: that of restraining the judges from
usurping legislation .” – Thomas Jefferson to Edward Livingston, 1825. ME 16:113.
Sheriffs, whether they be a democrat or republican, liberal or conservative should not indulge in part y
favors, only the Law. That’s your oath! This Compre hensive Handbook was
written to fully inform the Sheriff and deputies of their powers and authorities
that they took an oath to perform. Thereby, support ing and defending the
Constitution for the United States of America. For a higher education go to
www.NationalLibertyAlliance.org
DUTY OF THE COUNTY SHERIFF
We are a nation governed by the common laws of God which makes our Law superior and more Just
than any other nation’s law. Therefore, the Oath of the County Sheriff is a Sacred Oath, which, when
violated, is a direct assault upon God whose judgem ent will not rest forever. 1 Thomas Jefferson
professed America’s covenant between God and We the People when he penned the following:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands which have connected them with anot her, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the s eparation. We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Li fe, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Government s are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
SHERIFF AND THE COURT
The court belongs to the sovereign people. The United States Supreme Court defines the Court as:
“An agency of the sovereign [the People] created by it [the People] directly or indirectly
under its [the People’s] authority, consisting of one or more officers, [magistrate, sheriff,
coroner and prosecutor] established and maintained for the purpose of hear ing and
determining issues of law and fact regarding legal rights and alleged violations thereof,
and of applying the sanctions of the law, authorize d to exercise its powers in the course
1 “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever .” – Thomas Jefferson Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 9 of law at times and places previously determined by lawful authority .” – Isbill v. Stovall, Tex.Civ.App., 92 S.W.2d 1067, 1070. State and County Courts are Courts of Record. In so me cases, city courts are Courts of Record. For instance, New York City Courts are Courts of Record , but all other city courts in New York State are Not Courts of Record. To find out what courts are C ourts of Record, look in your State Constitution which will list these courts. All other courts are called nisi prius courts, also called administrativ e courts. These courts are not Courts of Record. Unle ss your State Constitution says differently all cit y, town and village courts are not Courts of Record. Bouvier’s Law defines nisi prius courts: “ Where courts bearing this name exist in the United States, they are instituted by statutory provision (not Constitutional).” Nisi prius is a Latin term B lack’s Law states: “Prius means first. Nisi means unless. A nisi prius procedure is a procedure to which a party FIRST agrees UNLESS he objects. A rule of procedure in courts is that if a party fails to object to something, then it means he agrees to it. A nisi pr ocedure is a procedure to which a person has failed to object A “nisi prius court” is a court which wil l proceed unless a party objects. The agreement to proceed is obtained from the parties first .” The United States Supreme Court said concerning “ Courts of Record and Courts Not of Record; the former being those whose acts and judicial proceedi ngs are enrolled, or recorded, for a perpetual memory and testimony, and which have power to fine or imprison for contempt. Courts not of record are those of inferior dignity, which have no power to fine or imprison, and in which the proceedings are not enrolled or recorded .” – 3 Bl. Comm. 24; 3 Steph. Comm. 383; The Thomas Fletcher, C.C.Ga., 24 F. 481; Ex parte Thistleton, 52 Cal 225 ; Erwin v. U.S., D.C.Ga., 37 F. 488, 2 L.R.A. 229; Heininger v. Davis, 96 Ohio St. 205, 117 N.E. 229, 231. The Sheriff has a duty to provide Law Enforcement o fficers who are a Sheriff’s Deputy, often called Bailiffs which means guardian or steward, in all co urts of Record. Like the Sheriff, Deputies are to have a “proper education.” It is the duty of the Sh eriff to make sure that his Deputies have a “proper education.” The Bailiff is not in the Courtroom as a private bo dy guard for the judge, he is there to protect the People and the judge who is also one of the People. He is there to keep the peace by making sure the Law of the Land is being adhered to and that unalie nable rights are not being violated. Remember the Sheriff’s duty is to protect the sovereign (People) and ensure Justice. If the Sheriff perceives that the judge, or any oth er elected or appointed official for that matter, i s breaking the law, the best way to proceed is to get an indictment before making an arrest. Don’t trust the prosecutor, because he is likely to help the ju dge. Judges and prosecutors are both elected or appointed, both political, both BAR members, both l awyers and have a close working relationship and are therefore are likely to share a comradery. Go see the Grand Jury directly and secure an indictment. COURT DUTIES – Sheriffs are responsible for maintaining the safet y and security of the court. A Bailiff is required to attend all court sessions, t o take charge of juries whenever they are outside t he courtroom, to serve court papers, to extradite prisoners, and to perform other court-related functions. SHERIFF AND WARRANTS AMENDMENT IV: “The right of the people to be secure in their perso ns, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall n ot be violated, and no Warrants shall issue , but
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 10 upon probable cause , supported by Oath or affirmation , and particularly describing the place to be searched , and the persons or things to be seized .” According to Black’s Law Dictionary, the word oath, in its broadest sense, includes “all forms of attestation by which a party signifies that (s)he i s bound in conscience by “a solemn and formal declaration or asseveration that an affidavit is true. No warrant, including a federal warrant, is to be served without going through the Sheriff’s office. Any warrant without a sworn affidavit and a judge’s wet ink signature (not a stamp) is not an executable warrant. It is the Sheriff’s duty to make sure that all warrants, federal or state, served within thei r county pass constitutional scrutiny. IRS warrants r arely if ever pass constitutional scrutiny. For example, the IRS has a form 4490 called Proof of Claim for Internal Revenue Taxes , which is an affidavit form that must be filled out and sworn to , without which the warrant with the wet ink signature is not executable. SHERIFF AND THE COUNTY JAIL Sheriffs’ offices maintain and operate county jails or other detention centers, community corrections facilities such as work-release, and halfway houses . Sheriffs are responsible for supervising inmates, protecting their rights and providing food, clothing, exercise, recreation and medical services. Before the Sheriff is to accept any prisoner, he is to make sure that due process has been exercised. If a court sends a prisoner sentenced to be incarcerated and there was no indictment and petit jury ( trial by 12 jurists ) before the sentencing, the prisoner is now a vict im who was not given due process. The Sheriff cannot accept that prisoner. Unfortunately, because of ignorance, County Jails are filled with such prisoners. Black’s Law defines an “infamous crime ” as a crime punishable by imprisonment. Amendment V: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury .” Amendment VI: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury…” The Sheriff cannot accept any prisoners that were tried in Courts “Not of Record” because they are nisi prius courts and do not have the power to fine or incarcerate. “Courts not of record are those of inferior dignity, which have no power to fine or imprison, and in which the proceedings are not enro lled or recorded .” – 3 Bl. Comm. 24; 3 Steph. Comm. 383; The Thomas Fletcher, C.C.Ga., 24 F. 481; Ex parte Thistleton, 52 Cal 225; Erwin v. U.S., D.C.Ga., 37 F. 488, 2 L. R.A. 229; Heininger v. Davis, 96 Ohio St. 205, 117 N.E. 229, 231. SHERIFF IS THE CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OF THE COUNTY “The Sheriff is the chief executive and administrati ve officer of a county, being chosen by popular election. His principal duties are in aid of the cr iminal courts and civil courts of record; such as serving process, summoning juries, executing judgme nts, holding judicial sales and the like. He is als o the chief conservator of the peace within his terri torial jurisdiction .” – Harston v. Langston, Tex.Civ. App., 292 S.W. 648, 650. When used in statutes, the term may include a deputy sheriff. Lanier v. Town of Greenville, 174 N.C. 311, 93 S.E. 850, 853.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
11
Justice Scalia, writing for the majority in a 1997 decision said that the “States are not subject to federal
direction ” and that the US Congress only had “ discreet and enumerated powers ” and that federal
impotency was “rendered express ” by the Tenth Amendment. He further confirmed that the Sheriff is
the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the county and also proclaimed that the States “ retained an
inviolable sovereignty .” Scalia went even further in this landmark decisi on, one in which two small-
town sheriffs headed the Feds “ off at the pass ” and sent them on their way. Scalia, in his infini te
obligation to the Constitution, took this entire ru ling to the tenth power when he said, “ The
Constitution protects us from our own best intentio ns... so that we may resist the temptation to
concentrate power in one location as an expedient s olution to the crisis of the day .” Obviously the
Sheriff is the Peoples last line of defense against a government gone rogue.
Law Enforcement – A sheriff always has the power to make arrests wit hin his or her own county.
Some states extend this authority to adjacent count ies or to the entire state. Many sheriffs’ offices also
perform routine patrol functions such as traffic co ntrol, accident investigations, and transportation of
prisoners. Larger departments may perform criminal investigations, and some unusually large sheriffs’
offices command an air patrol, a mounted patrol, or a marine patrol.
Sheriffs still enlist the aid of the citizens. The National Neighborhood Watch Program, sponsored by
the National Sheriffs’ Association, allows citizens and law enforcement officials to cooperate in
keeping communities safe. This is why the new missi on of the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association and their
slogan is “Building Communities of Trust in ALL 92 Indiana Counties.”
As the sheriffs’ law enforcement duties become more extensive and complex, new career opportunities
exist for people with specialized skills: underwate r diving, piloting, boating, skiing, radar technolo gy,
communications, computer technology, accounting, em ergency medicine, and foreign languages
(especially Spanish, French, and Vietnamese.)
JUST COURTS OF LAW REST UPON
SIX FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS
(1) Truths are self-evident, (2) All men are create d equal, (3) We are endowed (gifted) by the Creator ,
(4) We have unalienable Rights, (5) To secure these rights we have a right to institute governments,
(constitution), (6) Governments that derive their j ust powers from the consent of the People wherein
we ordained and established the following:
“We the people of the United States, in order to for m 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 an d our posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States of America .” – Preamble to the Constitution for the
United States of America
Therefore, by the Powers vested in We the People by God, We the People did “Ordain & Establish ”
vested powers to our government servants who are bo und by the chains of the Constitution 2 thru their
oaths, to the following six ends, alone: (1) Form a more perfect union, (2) Establish justice, (3) Insure
domestic tranquility, (4) Provide for the common defense, (5) Promote the general welfare and
(6) Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and ou r posterity. No legislation is to pass that does no t
2 “Put not your faith in men, but bind them down with the chains of the constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
12
in the end serve one or more of the aforesaid six e nds, any legislation to the contrary is “null and
void”3 and the Sheriff is bound to treat it as such under the following General Rule:
THE GENERAL RULE
“The general rule is that an unconstitutional statut e, though having the form and name of
law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void and i neffective for any purpose, since its
unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enac tment... In legal contemplation, it is as
inoperative as if it had never been passed... Since an unconstitutional law is void, the
general principles follow that it imposes no duties , confers no right, creates no office,
bestows no power or authority on anyone, affords no protection and justifies no acts
performed under it... A void act cannot be legally consistent with a valid one. An
unconstitutional law cannot operate to supersede an y existing law. Indeed insofar as a
statute runs counter to the fundamental law of the land, (the Constitution) it is superseded
thereby. No one is bound to obey an unconstitutiona l law and no courts are bound to
enforce it .” – Bonnett v. Vallier, 116 N.W. 885, 136 Wis. 193 (1908); NORTON v.
SHELBY COUNTY, 118 U.S. 425 (1886).
Any Sheriff unable to understand and enforce “The G eneral Rule” violates his oath of office and wars
against God and We the People. For the Sherriff to correct this error, ther e are only two choices: (1)
study and show thyself approved by your oath or (2) resign the office of Sheriff. It is also the duty o f
every Sherriff to train their Deputies in the Law o f the Land. This is the very purpose of this book; to
train our Sheriffs and deputies in the way they should conduct themselves.
It has become agonizingly obvious through communica ting with many Sheriffs and their deputies
across the Nation, that the majority of them are not properly educated and, do not understand their oath
and authority.
LAW OF THE LAND
Law: “That which is laid down, ordained, or established .” – Koenig v. Flynn, 258 N.Y. 292, 179 N. E.
705.
U.S. Constitution Article VI: “ This Constitution, and the laws of the United State s which shall be
made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, o r which shall be made, under the authority of the
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every state shall be bound
thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding .”
In conclusion ; Law is all about the securing of unalienable righ ts. We do not need a PhD to know and
understand the Law. We need not yield our understanding to statutory lawyers, a/k/a BAR attorneys.
The Bible tells us that lawyers reject the counsel of God
4, they lay upon men grievous burdens 5 and
take away the key of knowledge 6. It tells us that God has written his laws in the hearts of all men. We
3 “All laws, rules and practices which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.” – Marbury v. Madison, 5th US
(2 Cranch) 137, 180; “Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation
which would abrogate them.” – Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491; “… that statutes which would depr ive a citizen of
the rights of person or property without a regular trial, according to the course and usage of common law, would not be the
law of the land.” Hoke vs. Henderson,15, N.C.15,25 AM Dec 677.
4 Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
5 Luke 11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye
yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
13
the People can know right from wrong. We do not need leg islators and lawyers to tell us. That is
precisely why We the People never gave our servant legislators authority to write statutes that govern
our behavior. Nor did we give judges and prosecutor s the authority to indict or judge We the People;
that authority we reserved to ourselves via untainted Juries with the power of nullification.
Common Law is built upon logic and reason through “ maxims” and “principles”. Maxims are self-
evident truths such as: “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Libe rty and the pursuit of Happiness .”; “ For every
injury there must be a remedy ” and “for there to be a crime there must be an injured pa rty.” Principles
are a state of mind that always needs to be considered such as Honor, Justice and Mercy.
Likewise, we need not yield our trust in understand ing law to BAR attorneys. Thomas Jefferson told
us: “ Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the
ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is no t to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties
which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure .”7
“The purpose of a written constitution is entirely d efeated if, in interpreting it as a legal document, its
provisions are manipulated and worked around so tha t the document means whatever the
manipulators wish .” Jefferson recognized this danger and spoke out constantly for careful adherence to
the Constitution as written, with changes to be mad e by amendment, not by tortured and twisted
interpretations of the text. A rule of thumb concer ning the constitutionality of any legislation or
interpretation of the Constitution is to ask if the conclusion violates any of our unalienable rights and if
it does its “Null and Void”.
THE LAWS OF NATURE AND OF NATURE’S GOD
The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in la w and equity … U.S. Constitution, Article
III, Section 2. 8
The Laws of nature and of nature’s God is called Na tural Law or Common Law because the Law is
common onto all men and no one can escape its judgm ent which will be applied either in True Courts
of Justice or on the last day. 9 According to Black’s Law 4 th edition, the key phrase “in law” means in
the intendment or contemplation of the law; existing in law or by force of law. It is in fact actual real as
distinguished from implied or inferred.; “ Philosophically, it seems more correct to say that the word
“land” means, in law, as in the vernacular, the soi l ... The term “land” may be used interchangeably
with “property;” it may include anything that may b e classed as real estate or real property .” –
Reynard v. City of Caldwell, 55 Idaho 342, 42 P.2d 292, 297. 10 Law of the land lifted from the Magna
Carta means due process = process due and owing to all concerned, sometime called the paths of the
law.
6 Luke 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them
that were entering in ye hindered.
7 Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 1823. ME 15:4 50.
8 Jurisdiction of law as distinct from jurisdiction of equity; law here is short for common law as distinct from equity
9 2 Pet 3:6-7 “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the eart h,
which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men.”
10 Law of the land lifted from Magna Carta means due p rocess = process due and owing to all concerned, so metime called
the paths of the law Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
14
Therein, the constitutional phrase “Law of the Land ”11 (property) for it is God who created all things 12
for His pleasure!13 and said, “The world is mine 14 , all men are mine 15 , all souls are mine 16 and all gold
and silver is mine.” 17 We the People and all of creation are God’s property. God i s the Lawgiver and
Judge 18 who gave us the Law of Liberty 19 via unalienable rights thereby making us free 20 and We the
People through the Jurys (grand and petit) sit as th e Tribunal 21 on the King’s Bench 22 to exercise the
Law of the Land and no man by way of legislation or decree can take We the Peoples’ Liberty without
consequence.23
Black’s Law states that the phrase “at Law” is used to point out that a thing is to be done according to
the course of the common law. It is distinguished f rom a proceeding in equity. “ Law is that which is
laid down, ordained, or established .”24 Thomas Jefferson was a student of Lord Bolingbroke . He first
began studying Bolingbroke’s writings at the age of fourteen, and he read them again at the age of
11 US Constitution Article VI: This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance
thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of
the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the
contrary notwithstanding.
12 Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of t he mystery, which from the beginning of the world h ath been
hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.
13 Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and hono ur and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created.
14 Psa 50:12 ... the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.; Exo 19:3-6 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called
unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen
what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you o n eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now t herefore, if ye will
obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all peo ple: for all the earth
is mine: Job 41:11 ... whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a n
holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
15 Exo 13:1-2 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify un to me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the wom b
among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.; Exo 34:19 All that openeth the womb is mine.
16 Ezek 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the fat her, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it
shall die.
17 Hag 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
18 LAWGIVER: Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
19 LAW OF LIBERTY: James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judg ed by the law of liberty.; James 1:25
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful he arer, but a doer of the
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.; Gal 5:13-14 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; o nly use not
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love s erve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in o ne word, even in this; Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.; Gal 4:31-Gal 5:1 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the
free. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled aga in with the yoke of
bondage.
20 FREEDOM: John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
21 TRIBUNAL: Bouvier’s Law, 1856 Edition - The seat of the whole body of judges who compose a jurisdiction
sometimes it is taken for the jurisdiction which th ey exercise. (2). This term is Latin, and derives i ts origin from the
elevated seat where the tribunes administered justice.
22 BEFORE THE KING HIMSELF the old name of the court of king’s bench, which w as originally held before the king
in person. 3 Bl.Comm. 41. “The people of this State , as the successors of its former sovereign, are en titled to all the rights
which formerly belonged to the King by his prerogat ive”. Lansing v. Smith, 4 Wend. 9 (N.Y.) (1829), 21 Am. Dec. 89 10C
Const. Law Sec. 298; 18 C Em.Dom. Sec. 3, 228; 37 C Nav.Wat. Sec. 219; Nuls Sec. 167; 48 C Wharves Sec . 3, 7.;
Black’s Law - Before us ourselves, (the king, i. e. , in the king’s or queen’s bench.) [tribunal pre-tr ial] CORAM NOBIS.
[Black’s Law] Before us ourselves, (the king, i. e. , in the king’s or queen’s bench.) Applied to writs of error directed to
another branch of the same court, e. g., from the f ull bench to the court at nisi prius. 1 Archb. Pr. K. B. 234. See Writ of
Error.
23 VENGEANCE: Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
24 Koenig v. Flynn, 258 N.Y. 292, 179 N. E. 705. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
15
twenty-three as he was preparing for a career as a lawyer. Jefferson’s Literary Commonplace Book
contains more quotations from Bolingbroke than from any other author, and all historians have given
Bolingbroke the credit for Jefferson’s famous phras e regarding “ the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s
God .” In a renowned letter to Alexander Pope, Lord Bol ingbroke wrote the following words which
were to become the basis for Jefferson’s opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:
“You will find that it is the modest, not the presum ptuous enquirer, who makes a real, and
safe progress in the discovery of divine truths. One follows nature, and nature’s God; that
is, he follows God in his works, and in his word .”
Here we find a definition from the very individual that all scholars recognize as the source of
Jefferson’s phrase. According to Lord Bolingbroke, the law of nature’s God is the Law which is found
in God’s Word. This was the definition which was in tended by Jefferson, and this was the manner in
which his words were understood by our forefathers. The law of nature’s God upon which our nation
was founded is nothing less than the Bible itself.
“The laws of nature are most perfect and immutable; but the condition of human law is an
unending succession, and there is nothing in it whi ch can continue perpetually. Human
laws are born, live, and die .” – 7 Coke, 25.
As one might expect, the Bible is fairly clear on t he subject of the supremacy of God and his law. It
indicates that there is no God except the Lord God. 25 God is the God of creation and He is the Creator
of all things visible and invisible. 26 God impressed his laws upon creation and he govern s its operation
accordingly. 27 God gave his law so that people would seek after G od and know what God requires of
every person. 28 Of course, the laws of God are right, perfect, and eternal. 29 They apply over the entire
globe and are written in God’s creation because God is the Creator of all the earth. 30 These rules also
apply to all people and are written within each man, woman and child because God is the Creator of all
people. 31 God also reiterated the basic elements of his rules of right and wrong in the Bible. 32
The implications of this situation are straightforward. Since God created all things, he also has the right
to rule them according to his laws. 33 He rules the nations according to his laws. 34 His laws rule the
nations irrespective of whether a given nation beli eves in God or recognizes his laws. 35 This does not
25 Isa 45:22-23 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I hav e sworn
by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righ teousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear. Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
26 Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the ea rth.; Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being under stood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse:; Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in he aven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him,
and for him.
27 Psalm 19:1-3,7-9,11.
28 Genesis 2:16-17. See also, Acts 17:24-28.
29 Psalms 119:128a [right], 142,151 [perfect], 160 [e ternal].
30 Genesis 1:1-2:3 [Account of creation of heavens an d earth]. Acts 4:24 & 14:15; [Affirmation that God made the heavens,
earth, the sea and all therein]. Acts 17:24 [God made the world and dwells in heaven, not in man-made temples].
31 Romans 2:14-15.
32 Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 22:36-40, Romans 5:20 and 13:8-10.
33 Psalm 24:1, 29:10, 90:2. See also, Psalm 2:10.
34 Psalm 2:1-4.
35 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. Compare Exodus 5:2 with Exodus 9:27-28. See also, Exodus 12:31-32. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
16
mean that the nations are perfect nor does it mean that people who do not worship God cannot rule. 36
Nor does it mean that God will judge lawbreakers according to our timetables of justice.
It does mean, however, that God will not let a corr upt government rule forever. 37 God judges justly on
the earth and punishes lawless leaders and nations. 38 Nations which forget God may completely
perish. 39 Nations which honor God and try to follow his laws , however, can expect to receive his care
and protection. 40
LEGISLATIVE LAW IS VESTED LAW
Neither the US Congress nor any State Congress has the authority to write statutes that control
Peoples’ behavior. It’s up to the People to control their own behavior and if they injure someone, the
common law has remedies. Vested authority in our Le gislators is found in Article I. Section 8.
Congress absolutely has no authority to legislate outside of Article I. Section 8.
THE REAL LAW: “The common law is the real law, the Supreme Law of the land, the code, rules,
regulations, policy and statutes are “not the law ,” – Self v. Rhay, 61 Wn (2d) 261. Legislated statutes
enforced upon the people in the name of law are a fraud. They have no authority and are without
mercy. Justice without mercy is Godless and therefore, repugnant to our United States Constitution.
Lawmakers were given authority by the people to legislate codes, rules, regulations, and statutes which
are policies, procedures, and “law” to control the behavior of bureaucrats, elected and appointed
officials, municipalities and agencies. However, they were never given authority to control the
behavior of the people as we read in the US Supreme court decision, “All laws, rules and practices
which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.” – Marbury -v-Madison, 5th US (2
Cranch) 137, 174, 176, (1803).
Legislators simply do not have the authority to rul e make. “ Where rights secured by the Constitution
are involved, there can be no rule making or legisl ation which would abrogate them. ” – Miranda v.
Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491. God breaks down the law as follows: “ And Jesus answered him, The first
of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lor d our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy s oul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy streng th:
this is the first commandment. And the second is li ke, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater th an these.” – Mark 12:29-31. Although it is a sin,
punishable only by the Judge of the Universe, to br eak the commandment to love in your mind, words,
and deeds. It does not become a crime, punishable by man, until your words and deeds are expressed in
“actions” injuring another.
Thomas Jefferson said , “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences att ending too much liberty
than those attending too small a degree of it .” If one of the people exercises his free will to carry a
weapon, travel, practice law, park without depositi ng money in a meter, use hemp, pharmaceuticals,
alcohol, vitamins, minerals or any other substance for medicinal or recreational purposes, the
legislators do not have the authority to impose a fine, license or make a right a crime.
36 Jeremiah 27:4-8.
37 Jeremiah 25:9 and Daniel 4:30-37.
38 Psalm 58:11, 82:1-8, Ezekiel 14:12-14, Job 12:17-2 4.
39 Jeremiah 12:14-17.
40 Daniel 4:30-37, Deuteronomy 11:26-29. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 17 SHERIFF AND STATUTES An important point that all judicial officers shoul d know is that lawful statutes are written to gover n elected, appointed and hired government servants. T he United States Constitution Article 1 Section 8 empowers congress with the following power to write laws: (1) To tax and pay debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; (2) To Borrow money; (3) To make regular commerce w ith foreign nations, and the states; (4) To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and ban kruptcy laws; (5) To coin money, and fix the standard of weights and measures; (6) To provide fo r the punishment of counterfeiting; (7) To establish post offices and post roads; (8) To promo te the progress of science and useful arts; (9) To constitute district courts inferior to the Supreme Court; (10) To define and punish piracies; (11) To declare war; (12) To raise and support armies; (13) To provide and maintain a navy; (14) To make rules for land and naval forces; (15) To provide fo r calling forth the militia; (16) To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia; (17) To exercise exclusive legislation in Washingto n DC and forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and o ther needful buildings; (18) To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying in to execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution. TAKE NOTE : Congress was not given the power to write statute s to control the behavior of “We the People”, nor can they without violating our unalien able rights. Therefore, that power to control our own behavior belongs to each one of us and we are r esponsible for our own actions “to do no harm,” this is the Great American Experiment. The following codes, a/k/a statutes, are examples o f legislation that protect the Peoples’ unalienable rights and impose fines and prison sentences upon e lected and appointed servants who abuse their powers under the color of law . The Jury has the Power and Authority to change fi nes into restitution, and they should because currently the fines are sim ply used to enrich the state. They also have the Power and Authority to make the restitution or puni shment greater or lesser. If the convicted is place d on probation or house arrest, they may and should be required to pay for said services. 18 USC §241 – CONSPIRACY AGAINST RIGHTS: If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or if two or more persons g o in disguise ( police officer acting under color of law ) on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured – They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death resu lts from the acts committed in violation of this sectio n or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to co mmit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or impri soned for any term of years or for life, or both, o r may be sentenced to death. 18 USC §242 – DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER COLOR OF LAW: Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or cust om, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury r esults from the acts committed in violation of this
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 18 section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this titl e or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; a nd if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or a n attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, o r imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death. COLOR OF LAW : “ The appearance or semblance, without the substance, of legal right .” – State v. Brechler, 185 Wis. 599, 202 N.W. 144, 148]. “ Misuse of power, possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because wrongdoer is clothed with authority of state, is action taken under “col or of state law .” – Atkins v. Lanning, 415 F. Supp. 186, 188. 18 USC §645 – COURT OFFICERS GENERALLY: Whoever, being a United States marshal, clerk, receiver, referee, trustee, or other officer of a United States court, or any deputy, assistant , or employee of any such officer, retains or converts t o his own use or to the use of another or after demand by the party entitled thereto, unlawfully re tains any money coming into his hands by virtue of his official relation, position or employment, is g uilty of embezzlement and shall, where the offense is not otherwise punishable by enactment of Congress, be fined under this title or not more than double the value of the money so embezzled, whichever is g reater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the amount embezzled does not exceed $ 1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. It shal l not be a defense that the accused person had any interest in such moneys or fund. 18 USC §654 – OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF UNITED STATES CONVERTING PROPERTY OF ANOTHER: Whoever, being an officer or employee of the Unite d States or of any department or agency thereof, embezzles or wrongful ly converts to his own use the money or property of another which comes into his possession or under his control in the execution of such office or employment, or under color or claim of authority as such officer or employee, shall be fined under thi s title or not more than the value of the money and p roperty thus embezzled or converted, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the sum embezzled is $1,000 or less, h e shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 18 USC §872 – EXTORTION BY OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED STATES: Whoever, being an officer, or employee of the Unite d States or any department or agency thereof, or representing himself to be or assuming to act as su ch, under color or pretense of office or employment commits or attempts an act of extortion, shall be f ined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; but if the amount so extorted or demanded does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 18 USC §1001 – STATEMENTS OR ENTRIES GENERALLY: (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judi cial branch of the Government of the United States, know ingly and willfully (1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a materia l fact; (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, o r fraudulent statement or entry; shall be fined und er this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relat es
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 19 to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117 , or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years. 18 USC §1503 – INFLUENCING OR INJURING OFFICER OR J UROR GENERALLY: (a) Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by an y threatening letter or communication, endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or officer in or of any court of the United States, or officer who may be serving at any examin ation or other proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or other committing magistrate, in the discharge of his duty, or injures any such grand or petit juror in his person or property on account of any verdict or indictment assented to by him, o r on account of his being or having been such juror, or injures any such officer, magistrate judge, or other committing magistrate in his person or proper ty on account of the performance of his official duties, or corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences , obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, o bstruct, or impede, the due administration of justi ce, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). If the offense under this section occurs in connectio n with a trial of a criminal case, and the act in vio lation of this section involves the threat of physi cal force or physical force, the maximum term of impris onment which may be imposed for the offense shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by l aw or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case. 18 USC §1512B – ENGAGES IN MISLEADING CONDUCT: (b) Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades ano ther person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with inte nt to - (1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding; (2) cause or induce any person to - (A) withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding; (B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability f or use in an official proceeding; (C) evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in an official proceeding; or (D) be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned b y legal process; or (3) hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation [1] supervised release, [1] parole, or release pending judicial proceedings; shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. 18 USC §2071 – CONCEALMENT, REMOVAL, OR MUTILATION GENERALLY: (a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts t o do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries a way any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with a ny clerk or officer of any court of the United Stat es, or in any public office, or with any judicial or pu blic officer of the United States, shall be fined u nder this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. (b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or dest roys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States. 18 USC §2076 – CLERK IS TO FILE: Whoever, being a clerk of a district court of the United States, willfully refuses or neglects to make or fo rward any report, certificate, statement, or docume nt as required by law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 20 26 USC §7214 – OFFENSES BY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES O F THE UNITED STATES: (a) Unlawful acts of revenue officers or agents Any officer or employee of the United States acting in connection with any revenue law of the United State s - (1) who is guilty of any extortion or willful oppression under color of law; or (2) who knowingly demands other or greater sums than are authorized by law, or receives any fee, compensatio n, or reward, except as by law prescribed, for the performance of any duty; ... shall be dismissed fro m office or discharged from employment and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1 0,000, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both . The court may in its discretion award out of the fi ne so imposed an amount, not in excess of one-half thereof, for the use of the informer, if any, who s hall be ascertained by the judgment of the court. T he court also shall render judgment against the said o fficer or employee for the amount of damages sustained in favor of the party injured, to be collected by execution. ... 42 USC §1983 – CIVIL ACTION FOR DEPRIVATION OF RIG HTS: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom , or usage, of any State or Territory or the Distri ct of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or ot her proper proceeding for redress, except that in any a ction brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory reli ef was unavailable. For the purposes of this secti on, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the D istrict of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia. 42 USC §1985(3) – CONSPIRACY TO INTERFERE WITH CIVI L RIGHTS: Depriving persons of rights or privileges: If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire or go in disguise on the highway or on the premises of another, for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly , any person or class of persons of the equal protect ion of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws; or for the purpose of pr eventing or hindering the constituted authorities o f any State or Territory from giving or securing to a ll persons within such State or Territory the equal protection of the laws; or if two or more persons c onspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threa t, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector for President or Vic e President, or as a Member of Congress of the United States; or to injure any citizen in person or property on account of such support or advocacy; in any case of conspiracy set forth in this section, if one or more persons engaged therein do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance of the object of such conspiracy, whereby another is injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of t he United States, the party so injured or deprived may have an action for the recovery of damages occasion ed by such injury or deprivation, against any one or more of the conspirators. 42 USC §1986 – ACTION FOR NEGLECT TO PREVENT - Every person who, having knowledge that any of the wrongs conspired to be done, and mentioned in section 1985 of this title, are about to be committed, and having power to prevent or aid in pr eventing the commission of the same, neglects or refuses so to do, if such wrongful act be committed , shall be liable to the party injured, or his lega l representatives, for all damages caused by such wro ngful act, which such person by reasonable diligence could have prevented; and such damages ma y be recovered in an action on the case; and any number of persons guilty of such wrongful neglect or refusal may be joined as defendants in the action; and if the death of any party be caused by any such wrongful act and neglect, the legal representative s of the deceased shall have such action therefor, an d may recover not exceeding $5,000 damages
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
21
therein, for the benefit of the widow of the deceased, if there be one, and if there be no widow, then for
the benefit of the next of kin of the deceased. But no action under the provisions of this section shall be
sustained which is not commenced within one year after the cause of action has accrued.
OATH: “Any form of attestation by which a person signifies that he is bound in conscience to perform
an act faithfully and truthfully .” – Vaughn v. State, 146 Tex.Cr.R. 586, 177 S.W.2d 59, 60.
“A solemn appeal to the Supreme Being in attestation of the truth of some statement .” – State v. Jones,
28 Idaho 428, 154 P. 378, 381; Tyler, Oaths 15.
“An external pledge or asseveration, made in verific ation of statements made, or to be made, coupled
with an appeal to a sacred or venerated object, in evidence of the serious and reverent state of mind of
the party, or with an invocation to a supreme being to witness the words of the party, and to visit hi m
with punishment if they be false .” – June v. School Dist. No. 11, Southfield Tp., 2 83 Mich. 533, 278
N.W. 676, 677, 116 A.L. R. 581.
POLITICAL: “Pertaining to the exercise of the functions vested in those charged with the conduct of
government; relating to the management of affairs o f state; as political theories; of or pertaining to
exercise of rights and privileges or the influence by which individuals of a state seek to determine o r
control its public policy; having to do with organi zation or action of individuals, parties, or intere sts
that seek to control appointment or action of those who manage affairs of a state. ” – State ex rel.
Maley v. Civic Action Committee, 238 Iowa 851, 28 N.W.2d 467, 470.
POLITICS: “ The science of government; the art or practice of a dministering public affairs. ”
[Comment: Unfortunately empty campaign promises along with e xaggeration and lies launched
against ones political opponent seems to have robbe d the said term of its true meaning and when
compounded by the “so called news” media has made i t impossible for the general public to discern
the truth. This is why our government is occupied b y mostly sleazy lawless servants who act as our
masters and abuse the People, not unlike the King of Great Britain in 1776.]
RIGHTS AND SOVEREIGNTY
SOVEREIGN is defined in Blacks Law as: “ A person, body [jury] , or state in which independent and
supreme authority is vested; a chief ruler with sup reme power; a king or other ruler with limited
power .” Whereas sovereign authority was vested in We the People through unalienable rights by
natures God and sovereign authority was vested in t he state through the Constitution by We the
People.
41
Only people are sovereign, subject onto God alone and have rights vested by God.
Rom 13:1–2 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. F or there is no power but
of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resis t shall receive to themselves
damnation .”
41 We the people of the United States, in order to for m a more perfect union, establish justice, insure d omestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ou rselves and our
posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America . – Preamble of the Constitution. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 22 Sovereignty is superlative and thus admits to no de grees of sovereignty by definition. Sovereignty resides only in that one (God) deriving no authorit y from another – Romans 13: 1–2. In earth, men are ordained sovereign and subject only to God. Bureauc rats, in their capacity, are not sovereign and have no rights. They have authority given by the people, subject to the Constitution and have a duty to speak when demanded by the People to give an account. “ The state cannot diminish rights of the people .” – Hurtado v. People of the State of California, 110 U.S. 516. “The assertion of federal rights [Bill of Rights] , when plainly and reasonably made, is not to be defeated under the name of local practice.” – Davis v. Wechsler, 263 US 22, 24. “Where rights secured by the Constitution are involv ed, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them.” – Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436, 491. “There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon on e because of this exercise of constitutional rights.” – Sherer v. Cullen, 481 F 946. “Sovereignty itself is, of course, not subject to la w, for it is the author and source of law ;” – Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 US 356, 370 (Undersigned is Soverei gn and no court has challenged that status/standing. Thus man, being no source or spring of law, is no s overeign. Therefore, God is Sovereign and man is vested by God to self-govern and thereby the author of the Constitution, the Law of the Land by which all government servants are bound. This is what mak es the United States of America different than any other Nation. If we lose these truths, we lose our Liberty. LICENSING LIBERTY “No state shall convert a liberty into a license, an d charge a fee therefore .” – Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105. “If the State converts a right (liberty) into a priv ilege, the citizen can ignore the license and fee a nd engage in the right (liberty) with impunity .” – Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, Alabama, 373 U.S. 262. A REMEDY FOR EVERY INJURY William Blackstone – a legal maxim – Every right wh en with-held must have a remedy, and every injury its proper redress. In the third volume of h is Commentaries, page 23, Blackstone states two cases in which a remedy is afforded by mere operati on of law. “In all other cases,” he says, “it is a general and indisputable rule that where there is a legal right, there is also a legal remedy by suit or action at law whenever that right is invaded.” And afterwards, page 109 of the same volume, he says, “I am next to consider such injuries as are cogniza ble by the Courts of common law. And herein I shall for the present only remark that all possible injur ies whatsoever that did not fall within the exclusi ve cognizance of either the ecclesiastical, military, or maritime tribunals are, for that very reason, wi thin the cognizance of the common law courts of justice, for it is a settled and invariable principle in th e laws of England that ‘ every right, when withheld, must have a remedy, and every injury its proper redress.” – 5 U.S. 137, Marbury v. Madison. “ The Government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws, and not o f men. It will certainly cease to deserve this high
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 23 appellation if the laws furnish no remedy for the v iolation of a vested legal right .” – Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803). “…that statutes which would deprive a citizen of the rights of person or property without a regular trial, according to the course and usage of common law, would not be the law of the land. ” – Hoke vs. Henderson,15, N.C.15,25 AM Dec 677 . “... the right to be let alone the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. To protect that right, every unjustifiable int rusion by the government upon the privacy of the individual, whatever the means employed, must be de emed a violation of the Fourth Amendment. ” – Olmstead v. U.S., 277 U.S. 438, 478 (1928 ). CONGRESS CANNOT ALTER RIGHTS “On the other hand it is clear that Congress cannot by authorization or ratification give the slightest effect to a state law or constitution which is in c onflict with the Constitution of the United States .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 258. RIGHTS DO NOT COME IN DEGREES “Although it is manifested that an unconstitutional provision in the statute is not cured because included in the same act with valid provisions and that there is no degree of constitutionality .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 260. STATES CANNOT LICENSE RIGHTS “A state may not impose a charge for the enjoyment o f a right granted by the Federal Constitution and that a flat license tax here involves restraints in advance the constitutional liberties of Press and Religion and inevitably tends to suppress their existence. That the ordinance is non-discriminatory and that is applies also to peddlers of wares and merch andise is immaterial. The liberties granted by the first amendment are and in a preferred position. Si nce the privilege in question is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and exists independently of th e state’s authority, the inquiry as to whether the state has given something for which it cannot ask a return, is irrelevant. No state may convert any secured liberty into a privilege and issue a licens e and a fee for it .” – Mudook v. Penn. 319 US 105:(1943). “If the state does convert your right into a privile ge and issue a license and a fee for it, you can ig nore the license and a fee and engage the right with imp unity .” – Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham AI. 373 US 262:(1962). INTERPRETATION IN FAVOR OF THE PEOPLE Any constitutional provision intended to confer a b enefit should be liberally construed in favor in th e clearly intended and expressly designated beneficia ry. “ Then a constitution should receive a literal interpretation in favor of the Citizen, is especial ly true, with respect to those provisions which wer e designed to safeguard the liberty and security of t he Citizen in regard to person and property .” – 16Am Jur 2d: Sec. 97; Bary v. United States – 273 US 128. “Various facts of circumstances extrinsic to the con stitution are often resorted to, by the courts, to aid them and determining its meaning, as previously not ed however, such extrinsic aids may not be resorted to where the provision in the question is clear and unambiguous in such a case the courts
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 24 must apply the terms of the constitution as written and they are not at liberty to search for meanings beyond the instrument .” – 16Am Jur 2d: Sec. 117. THE PREAMBLE TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS The Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, 1789 one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine. The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruc tion or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added : And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution. RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the U nited States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concu rring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendmen ts to the Constitution of the United States, all, o r any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourt hs of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all int ents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz. ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatu res of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution. [COMMENT: Courts are to interpret the Peoples veste d rights in the understanding of the common law. Unalienable rights are the ruler that l imits all statutes and all court decisions. If they don’t measure up, they are null and void.] AMENDMENT I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishm ent of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [COMMENT: for government servants to designate area s called “Free speech zones” are absurd and must be disobeyed] AMENDMENT II A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the se curity of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. [COMMENT: Militia Act of 1792, passed May 8, 1792, provided for the organization of the state militias. It conscripted “every free able-bodied male citizen between the age s of 18 and 45 into a local militia company. ” New York State Constitution ARTICLE XII Section 1 : “ The defense and protection of the state and of the Unit ed States is an obligation of all persons within the state .” Therefore, it is clear that it is the right of a ll People to own arms and nothing is to infringe upon that. Licensing a right is an i nfringement, running a background check before selling a firearm is not. But background che cks are infringements if one must wait for the result before being able to get his firearm.]
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 25 AMENDMENT III No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. AMENDMENT IV The right of the people to be secure in their perso ns, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonab le searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue , but upon probable cause , supported by Oath or affirmation , and particularly describing the place to be searched , and the persons or things to be seized . [COMMENT: According to Black’s Law Dictionary, the word oath, in its broadest sense, includes “all forms of attestation by which a party signifies that (s)he is bound in conscience by “a solemn and formal declaration or asseveration that an affidavit is true. No warrants, including federal warrants, are to be served without going through the Sheriff’s office. Any warrant without a sworn affidavit and a judge’s wet ink signature (not a stamp) is not an executable warrant. It is the Sheriff’s d uty to make sure that all warrants, federal or state, served within their county pass constitution al scrutiny; IRS warrants rarely pass constitutional scrutiny. For example the IRS has a form 4490 called Proof of Claim for Internal Revenue Taxes , which is an affidavit form that must be filled ou t and sworn to, without which the warrant with the wet ink signature is not executable.] AMENDMENT V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury , except in cases arising in the land or naval forc es, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public dan ger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, with out due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. [COMMENT: no one can be sentenced to jail without f irst having due process which means being indicted and tried by a jury (12 jurists) and not trial by judge or tainted jury] AMENDMENT VI In all criminal prosecutions , the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor , and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. [COMMENT: all criminal trials MUST BE BY an untaint ed well informed jury, it does not say Assistance of a BAR attorney it says Counsel which can be anyone the accused feels can best advise him/her.]
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 26 AMENDMENT VII In suits at common law , where the value in controversy shall exceed twent y dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved , and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise r eexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law . [COMMENT: all Jury trials are Common Law Trials, a/k/a Courts of Record] AMENDMENT VIII Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. [COMMENT: solitary confinement, dieseling and refus al of medical needs are psychologically and physically destructive and are therefore cruel and unusual punishments] AMENDMENT IX The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rig hts, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. AMENDMENT X The powers not delegated to the United States by th e Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, ARE RESERVED TO THE STATES RESPECTIVELY, OR TO THE PEOPLE. [COMMENT: we have many unalienable rights not menti oned above such as the right to travel without license, take medicinal or recreational dru gs, deny courts not of record, carry firearms and etc…] THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED That to secure these rights, Governments are instit uted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed , – Declaration of Independence We the People consent to government by exercising the follo wing seven (7) unalienable rights: (1) when we freely elect committeemen who choose the ca ndidates who will be on the ballot, (2) when we cast our vote at the ballot box, (3) when we exerci se our right of recall, (4) when we exercise our ri ght as Grand Jurists to indict or not, (5) when we exer cise our right as Petit (trial) Jurists to convict or not, (6) when we exercise our right of nullification, an d (7) when we exercise our right of denying Courts Not of Record. By the aforesaid rights, We the People have total control and consent of government and the exercising of our Liberties. Any infringement upon any of these unalienable rights is an act of war against the People, against the Constitution and against God. THE PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO THE LAWS OF NATURE ’S GOD “When in the Course of human events, it becomes nece ssary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with anot her, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to whi ch the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
27
God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation .”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all m en are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable R ights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secu re these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers fr om the consent of the governed, --That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on
such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
affect their Safety and Happiness .” – Declaration of Independence
INFORMED JURORS
A Common Law Court is one that carries out the will of the tribunal, a/k/a the Jury, under the
principles of the Common Law. And consists of (1) a free, untainted and fully informed Jury, (2) a
Magistrate who administrates the will of the jury a nd not his own, (3) a Prosecutor who represents the
People and not the government and (4) a Constitutio nal Bailiff, a/k/a sheriff’s Deputy. 42 Jurist and
Bailiffs must be under the Peoples control and not political control.
It is the duty of Jury administrators to fully inform jurists of the following:
1) Jurists must act with a sense of Honor,
2) Jurists must act with a sense of Justice,
3) If Jurists find the defendant guilty, they must consider Mercy,
4) People have a right to see the Grand Jury without a monitor,
5) Grand Juries must consist of 25 People,
6) Petit (trial) Juries must consist of 12 People,
7) Jurists must refuse to enforce unjust laws,
8) Jurists cannot be required to ignore their consciences,
9) Jurists cannot be punished for their verdicts,
10) Jurists have the power of nullification,
11) Jurists decide both facts and law,
12) Jurists must restore and or compensate the injured party,
13) With the exception of dangerous people, jail should be the last resort. The convicted must be
able to pay restitution. If the jurists are concerned with the convicted escaping their
punishment, their movements can be monitored electronically,
14) There is no such thing as a hung jury, jurists must remain in deliberation until they reach a
verdict,
15) If Jurists are absolutely deadlocked, they must acquit,
16) In order to convict, it must be a unanimous decision,
17) Jurists are the King’s Bench and must do their best to exercise the will of the King (God) of
the court.
42 1 Bl.Comm. 344. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 28 ONLY THE PEOPLE CAN FILE A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT In order for a court to hear a criminal complaint t here must first be an indictment. Only the Sheriff or Coroner can summon the Grand Jury for an indictment . A prosecutor on behalf of the government can seek an indictment by bringing evidence to the Sher iff or Coroner who may at his discretion bring the evidence before a Grand Jury for consideration of a n indictment. Additionally the People can request to bring information directly to the Grand Jury thr ough the Jury Administrators, who can first attempt to solve the people’s concerns before providing a person access to the Grand Jury. There are only three ways a court can hear a crimin al complaint: (1) One or more of the people sign a sworn affidavit that they have been injured and see k a Grand Jury indictment through the Sheriff, (2) The Sheriff or Coroner can directly ask the Grand J ury for an indictment, (3) The Grand Jury, by its “own will”, can investigate merely on suspicion that the law is being violated, or even because it wan ts assurance that it is not, and if it finds wrongdoin g it can present it to the court and it must go to trial. No one can second guess the Grand Jury, unless the Grand Jury’s actions violate another person’s unalienable rights. CONSENT OF AUTHORITY – We read in the Declaration of Independence, “We hol d these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certai n unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Libe rty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Any authority our servants have is by ou r consent, if they act outside their authority, the y are subject to criminal charges under US Codes 42 a nd 18 and liable for damages under US Codes and common law. CONSENT TO INDICT – The Fifth Amendment states, “No person shall be hel d to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a p resentment or indictment of a Grand Jury … ” Therefore, our servant government requires the peop le to get an indictment (grand jury). Judges (servants) have no authority to make a ruling or a judgment on People (master) without the Peoples’ consent. In legal terms, when the judge of a court not of record asks you do you understand, he means do you stand under the authority of this court? So if you say yes, you just gave him/her jurisdiction over you. Nevertheless, if the person standing befo re the judge is not informed of the courts intent, the judge would be subject to charges of fraud. ONLY THE PEOPLE CAN JUDGE – Our US Constitution only authorizes “common law cou rts,” a/k/a “courts of record”. A court of record removes the power of the Judge to make a ruling. His/her role is that of the “administrator of the court”. T he final decision maker is the “tribunal” who is th e “sovereign people,” a/k/a the “jury.” Remember, the servant cannot rule over the master, Can the clay rule over the potter? “…, every man is independent of all laws, except those prescribed by nature. He is not bound by any institutions formed by his fellowman w ithout his consent .” – [[[Cruden v. Neale]. Therein is Liberty. If a person is accused by a cou rt without a Grand Jury indictment, they are not in a “Court of Law, a/k/a “Court of Record” and that court has no Jurisdiction over the person!” Judges may judge in equity courts. Equity courts ar e contract disputes. If the dispute is over twenty dollars, both parties must agree to an equity court. Judges in equity courts must proceed under the rules
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 29 of Common Law governed by American Jurisprudence an d United States Supreme Court decisions. All courts of record proceed under Natural Law with a Jury and a magistrate, not a judge. COMMON LAW IS THE LAW OF THE LAND All cases which have cited Marbury v. Madison case, to the Supreme Court have never been overturned. See Shephard’s Citation of Marbury v. Madison. The constitution was ordained and established by th e people “for” the United States of America, a/k/a government. Thus government was created by an act o f the people. Therefore, the creation cannot trump the creator. “If any statement, within any law, which is passed i s unconstitutional, the whole law is unconstitutional .” – Marbury v. Madison: 5 US 137 (1803). Therefore, … “that statutes which would deprive a citizen of the rights of person or proper ty without a regular trial, according to the course and usage of common law, would not be the law of th e land .” – Hoke vs. Henderson,15, N.C.15,25 AM Dec 677 . “Where rights secured by the Constitution are invol ved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them” – Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491. NO EMERGENCY IS JUST CAUSE TO SUPPRESS THE CONSTITUTION “While an emergency cannot create power and no emerg ency justifies the violation of any of the provisions of the United States Constitution or Sta tes Constitutions. Public emergency such as economic depression for especially liberal construc tion of constitutional powers and it has been declared that because of national emergency, it is the policy of the courts of times of national peril , so liberally to construed the special powers vested in the chief executive as to sustain an effectuate th e purpose there of, and to that end also more liberal ly to construed the constituted division and classification of the powers of the coordinate bran ches of the government and in so far as may not be clearly inconsistent with the constitution .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 98. CONSTITUTIONS MUST BE CONSTRUED TO REFERENCE THE COMMON LAW, SUMMARY PROCEEDINGS ARE NULL & VOID “As to the construction, with reference to Common La w, an important cannon of construction is that constitutions must be construed to reference to the Common Law.” The Common Law, so permitted destruction of the abatement of nuisances by summar y proceedings and it was never supposed that a constitutional provision was intended to interfere with this established principle and although there is no common law of the United States in a sense of a national customary law as distinguished from the common law of England, adopted in the several state s. In interpreting the Federal Constitution, recourse may still be had to the aid of the Common Law of England. It has been said that without reference to the common law, the language of the Fe deral Constitution could not be understood .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 114.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 30 SUPREME LAW IS THE BASIS OF ALL LAW, ALL FICTION OF LAW IS NULL AND VOID Nisi prius courts rely on statutes, which is fictio n of law, which seek to control the behavior of the sovereign people, who are under common law, not sta tutes, and who ordained and established the law. Therefore, legislators cannot legislate the behavior of the people. “No provision of the Constitution is designed to be without effect, Anything that is in conflict is nul l and void of law, Clearly, for a secondary law to co me in conflict with the supreme Law was illogical, for certainly, the supreme Law would prevail over a ll other laws and certainly our forefathers had intended that the supreme Law would be the basis of all law and for any law to come in conflict would be null and void of law, it would bear no power to enforce, in would bear no obligation to obey, it would purport to settle as if it had never existed, for unconstitutionality would date from the enactm ent of such a law, not from the date so branded in an o pen court of law, no courts are bound to uphold it, and no Citizens are bound to obey it. It operates as a near nullity or a fiction of law .” – 16Am Jur 2d. “The common law is the real law, the Supreme Law of the land, the code, rules, regulations, policy and statutes are not the law,” – Self v. Rhay, 61 Wn (2d) 261. NO ONE IS BOUND TO OBEY AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND NO COURTS ARE BOUND TO ENFORCE IT “The general rule is that a unconstitutional statute , whether Federal or State, though having the form and name of law as in reality no law, but is wholly void and ineffective for any purpose since unconstitutionality dates from the enactment and no t merrily from the date of the decision so braining it. An unconstitutional law in legal contemplation is as inoperative as if it never had been passed. Such a statute lives a question that is purports to sett le just as it would be had the statute not ever bee n enacted. No repeal of an enactment is necessary, si nce an unconstitutional law is void. The general principles follows that it imposes no duty, convers e no rights, creates no office, bestows no power of authority on anyone, affords no protection and just ifies no acts performed under it. A contract which rests on an unconstitutional statute creates no obl igation to be impaired by subsequent legislation. N o one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law. No courts are bound to enforce it. Persons convicted and fined under a statute subsequently held unconstitut ional may recover the fines paid. A void act cannot be legally inconsistent with a valid one and an unc onstitutional law cannot operate to supersede an existing valid law. Indeed, in so far as a statute runs counter to the fundamental law of the land, it is superseded thereby. Since an unconstitutional statu te cannot repeal, or in any way effect an existing one, if a repealing statute is unconstitutional, th e statute which it attempts to repeal, remains in f ull force and effect and where a statute in which it at tempts to repeal remains in full force and effect a nd where a clause repealing a prior law is inserted in the act, which act is unconstitutional and void, t he provision of the repeal of the prior law will usual ly fall with it and will not be permitted to operat e as repealing such prior law. The general principle sta ted above applied to the constitution as well as th e laws of the several states insofar as they are repu gnant to the constitution and laws of the United States .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 256. DUE PROCESS The Russian Constitution provides the following rig hts for their citizens, the right to work, the righ t to rest, the right to maintenance, the right to educat ion, the freedom of conscience, the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and the freedom of assembly. But, what the
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 31 Russian Constitution lacks is the right of due proc ess. Due Process is the right to be heard in courts of Justice. “Due course of law, this phrase is synonymous with “ due process of law” or “law of the land” and means law in its regular course of admini stration through courts of justice .” – Kansas Pac. Ry. Co. v. Dunmeyer 19 KAN 542. “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or pr operty without due process of law. A similar provision exists in all the state constitut ions; the phrases “due course of law”, and the “law of the land” are sometimes used; but a ll three of these phrases have the same meaning and that applies conformity with the a ncient and customary laws of the English people or laws indicated by parliament .” – Davidson v. New Orleans 96 U.S. 97, 24, L Ed 616. Due process is the unalienable right that protects all of our rights. If “due process” is lost, the on ly remedy left the People is the 2 nd Amendment. It is the Sheriff’s duty to make sure i t doesn’t come to that, but it does appear to be close. Due Process requires an indictment before being tri ed. Our County Jails are filled with People who were never indicted. Amendment V: “ No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a G rand Jury.” Black’s Law defines an infamous crime a crime that carries a jail sentence. Due Process requires a trial in a Court of Record. City, town or village courts are not Courts of Record; our County Jails are filled with People who were never tried in a Court of Record. “Due course of law, this phrase is synonymous with “ due process of law” or “law of the land” and means law in its regular course of admini stration through courts of justice .” – Kansas Pac. Ry. Co. v. Dunmeyer 19 KAN 542. The United States Supreme Court said, concerning “ Courts of Record and Courts Not of Record; the former being those whose acts and judic ial proceedings are enrolled, or recorded, for a perpetual memory and testimony, and which have power to fine or imprison for contempt. Courts not of record are tho se of inferior dignity, which have no power to fine or imprison, and in which the proceed ings are not enrolled or recorded .” – 3 Bl. Comm. 24; 3 Steph. Comm. 383; The Thomas Flet cher, C.C.Ga., 24 F. 481; Ex parte Thistleton, 52 Cal 225; Erwin v. U.S., D.C.Ga ., 37 F. 488, 2 L.R.A. 229; Heininger v. Davis, 96 Ohio St. 205, 117 N.E. 229, 231. Due Process requires a trial by jury. Our County Ja ils are filled with People who were never tried by a jury. Amendment VI: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury …” Due Process is not a Summary Conviction, which is a summary proceeding by a judge or magistrate. Our County Jails are filled with People who were sentenced by Summary Conviction. Summary Conviction : “The conviction of a person, (usually for a minor mi sdemeanor,) as the result of his trial before a magistrate or c ourt,- without the intervention of a jury,
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 32 which is authorized by statute in England and in ma ny of the states. In these proceedings there is no intervention of a jury, but the party a ccused is acquitted or condemned by the suffrage of such person only as the statute has app ointed to be his judge. A conviction reached on such a magistrate’s trial is called a su mmary conviction .” – Brown; Blair v. Com., 25 Grat. (Va.) 853. “As to the construction, with reference to Common La w, an important cannon of construction is that constitutions must be construe d to reference to the Common Law.” The Common Law, so permitted destruction of the aba tement of nuisances by summary proceedings and it was never supposed that a consti tutional provision was intended to interfere with this established principle and altho ugh there is no common law of the United States in a sense of a national customary la w as distinguished from the common law of England, adopted in the several states. In i nterpreting the Federal Constitution, recourse may still be had to the aid of the Common Law of England. It has been said that without reference to the common law, the language o f the Federal Constitution could not be understood .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 114. Due Process requires a lawful warrant before a pers on’s property can be searched or property seized. Many people have been abused with unlawful warrants. Amendment IV: “ The right of the people to be secure in their perso ns, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seiz ures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supp orted by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized .” Due Process requires that tax seizures have a warra nt with a wet ink signature of a judge supported by a “Sworn Proof of Claim ( Oath or affirmation ). Many lives have been destroyed by unlawful tax seizures. Non Judicial Foreclosures are without due process. Many homes are taken by unlawful foreclosures. “By the law of the land is more clearly intended the general law, a law which hears before it condemns; which proceeds upon inquiry and renders judgment only after trial .” – Dartmouth College Case, 4 Wheat, U.S. 518, 4 ED 629.” ... no man shall be deprived of his property without be ing heard in his own defense . – Kinney V. Beverly, 2 Hen. & M(VA) 381, 336. If People are going to be incarcerated, if Peoples’ homes are going to be searched, if Peoples’ homes are going to be seized or if peoples’ bank accounts are going to be seized, it must be done Lawfully o r America is no better off than any authoritarian State. It is the sworn duty of the Sheriff, being the chie f conservator of the peace within his territorial jurisdiction and chief executive and administrative officer of the county to know when the Peoples’ unalienable rights are being violated and to protec t them by preventing these acts of lawlessness. Let them get a Lawful warrant if they can.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 33 IRRECONCILABLE CONFLICT BETWEEN STATUTE AND CONSTITUTION IS TO BE RESOLVED IN FAVOR OF THE CONSTITUTIONALITY AND THE BENEFICIARY “In all instances, where the court exercises its pow er to invalidate legislation on constitutional grounds, the conflict of the statute, with the cons titution must be irreconcilable. Thus a statute is not to be declared unconstitutional unless so inconsistent with the constitution that it cannot be enforced without a violation thereof. A clear incompatibilit y between law and the constitution must exist befor e the judiciary is justified holding the law unconsti tutional. This principle is of course in line with the rule that doubts as the constitutionality should be resolved in favor of the constitutionality and the beneficiary .” – 16Am Jur 2d., Sec. 255. LIBERTY IS A BLESSING “We the people of the United States, in order to for m 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 ou r posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America .” – Preamble to the Constitution for the United States of America America has lost her way and only a virtuous people can guide her back. And, so to that end, the People, by the mercy of God, must rediscovered the common [natural] law and with His blessing, return America to her roots again. VIRTUE: maxims of law avow that justice and virtue are syn onymous; therefore justice must mirror the attributes of God. The Bible declares that virtue flows from the Lord alone (Luke 6:19) and defines virtue as whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Phil 4:8). The Lord further expounds saying the wisdom that is from abo ve is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, withou t partiality, and without hypocrisy (James 3:17) and that he that follows after it establishes righteousness, and honor (Prov 21:21) . Thomas Jefferson understood this when he said , “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we hav e removed their only firm basis, a conviction in th e minds of the people that These liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath, indeed, I tremble for my country wh en I reflect that God is just that His justice cann ot sleep forever.” George Washington understood this when he said, “The favorable smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards The eternal ru les of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” Benjamin Franklin understood this when he said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” John Adams understood this when he said, “ Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Patrick Henry understood this when he said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often t hat this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason people s of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 34 James Madison understood this when he said, “ We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves , to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” Noah Webster understood this when he said, “No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.” – (Father of American Scholarship and Education) NO GOD, NO LIBERTY KNOW GOD, KNOW LIBERTY “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed .” – John 8:36. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it e xpects what never was and never will be .” – Thomas Jefferson. “The favorable smiles of Heaven can never be expecte d on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained .” – George Washington “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the l iberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are o f the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my countr y when I reflect that God is just that His justice cannot sleep forever .” – Thomas Jefferson “The worship of God is a duty .” – Benjamin Franklin “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage of this army, our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brav e resistance, or the most abject submission, We have, therefore to resolve to conquer or die .” – George Washington “I am sure that never was a people, who had more rea son to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgo tten that agency, which was so often manifested during o ur Revolution, or That they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them .” – George Washington “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As n ations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters .” – Benjamin Franklin “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and reli gious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other .” – John Adams “Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but It is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freed om can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue; and if this cannot be inspired into our people in a greater measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty. They will only exchange tyrants and tyrannies .”– John Adams “The safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and Essentially depend on the protection and blessing of Almighty God; and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty, which the people owe to him, but a duty whose natur al influence is favorable to the Promotion of that
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 35 morality and piety, without which social happiness cannot exist, nor the blessings of a free government be enjoyed .” – John Adams “Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be tha t good policy does not equally enjoin it?…Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent fel icity of a Nation with its virtue ?” – George Washington “Nothing can contribute to true happiness that is in consistent with duty; nor can a course of action conformable to it, be finally without an ample rewa rd. For, God governs; and he is good .” – Benjamin Franklin “Happiness, whether in despotism or democracy, wheth er in slavery or liberty, can never be found without virtue .” – John Adams “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often t hat this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Gods children; not on religion s, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded a sylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here .” – Patrick Henry “It is the duty of every man to render to the Creato r such homage…Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe …” – James Madison “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our politic al institutions upon the capacity of mankind for se lf- government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves According to the Ten Commandments of God ” – James Madison “Religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and ma nner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence ;” – James Madison “Let it simply be asked where is the security for pr osperity, for reputation, for life, if the sense of Religious obligation desert the oaths, which are Th e instruments of investigation in the Courts of Justice ?” – George Washington “And let us with caution indulge the supposition, th at morality can be maintained without religion .” – George Washington “Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refine d education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both Forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle .” – George Washington “Tis substantially true, that Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government .” – George Washington “Though, in reviewing the incidents of my Administra tion, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to thin k it probable that I may have committed many errors . Whatever they may be I fervently beseech the Almigh ty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend .” – George Washington
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 36 RELIGION IN LAW AND GOVERNMENT Congress and President George Washington in 1789 pa ssed the “United States Annotated Code”, Article III which states, “ Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged .” “In my view, the Christian religion is the most impo rtant and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instr ucted … No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of an y government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people .” – The “Father of American Scholarship and Education.” – Noah Webster “The brief exposition of the constitution of the Uni ted States, will unfold to young person’s the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens shou ld early understand that The genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly t he New Testament or the Christian religion .” – Noah Webster “The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence; which ack nowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Ch ristianity, and to this we owe our free Constitutio ns of Government .” – Noah Webster “The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all of our civil constitutions and laws … All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed fro m their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible .” – Noah Webster “When you become entitled to exercise the right of v oting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that. The preservation of a republican God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty. ” – Noah Webster “If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprin cipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public goo d so much as for the selfish or local purposes .” – Noah Webster “Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven upon a country. As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins, by national calamities .” – George Mason, father of our Bill of Rights, 1787. Common Law is our Heritage! Liberty is our inherita nce! We the people have been lulled asleep; we have been robbed and persuaded to sell our birth ri ght. “Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful he arer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed .” James 1:25. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge …” Hosea 4:6. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom : and with all thy getting get understanding .” Prov 4:7.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 37 T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N FOR THE UNITED STATES Preamble: We the people of the United States, in order to (1) form a more perfect union, (2) establish justice, (3) insure domestic tranquility, (4) provide for the common defense, (5) promote the general welfare, and (6) secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and ou r posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America . [COMMENT : We the People ordained the Constitution to accomplish the above six (6) things. Therefore, all acts of government are to legislate, judge, exercise and enforce only that which will serve one or more of the aforesaid six (6) things.] Article I. 54 LEGISLATIVE POWERS Section 1. ALL LEGISLATIVE POWERS herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of th e United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 2. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, an d the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. No person shall be a Representative who shall not h ave attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, an d who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportion ed among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective nu mbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Person s. The actual Enumeration shall be made within thre e years after the first meeting of the Congress of th e United States, and within every subsequent term o f ten years, in such manner as they shall by law dire ct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshi re shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Pl antations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the Representation from an y state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. The House of Representatives shall choose their spe aker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. Section 3. THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in conseq uence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one th ird may be chosen every second year; and if vacanci es happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the rec ess of the legislature of any state, the executive
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 38 thereof may make temporary appointments until the n ext meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have att ained to the age of thirty years, and been nine yea rs a citizen of the United States and who shall not, w hen elected, be an inhabitant of that state for whi ch he shall be chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be Pr esident of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unle ss they be equally divided. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and a lso a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all imp eachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shal l be on oath or affirmation. When the President of th e United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without t he concurrence of two thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend f urther than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of ho nor, trust or profit under the United States: but t he party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and su bject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment , according to law. Section 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature ther eof; but the Congress may at any time by law make o r alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, re turns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to c ompel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedin gs, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shal l, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a c ompensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privile ged from arrest during their attendance at the sess ion of their respective Houses, and in going to and ret urning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 39 No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civi l office under the authority of the United States, wh ich shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office. Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in t he House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Rep resentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsider ation two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bi ll, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsid ered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and a gainst the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be r eturned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him , the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concu rrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournme nt) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rule s and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Section 8. (clause1) The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises , to pay the debts and provide for the common defen se and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; (clause 2) To borrow money on the credit of the United States; (clause 3) To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states , and with the Indian tribes; (clause 4) To establish a uniform rule of naturalization , and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; (clause 5) To coin money , regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; (clause 6) To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States; (clause 7) To establish post offices and post roads ; (clause 8) To promote the progress of science and useful arts , by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries ; (clause 9) To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 40 (clause 10) To define and punish piracies and felonies committed o n the high seas , and offenses against the law of nations; (clause 11) To declare war , grant letters of marque and reprisal , and make rules concerning captures on land and water; (clause 12) To raise and support armies , but no appropriation of money to that use shall b e for a longer term than two years; (clause 13) To provide and maintain a navy ; (clause 14) To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; (clause 15) To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; (clause 16) To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, t he militia , and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of t he 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; (clause 17) To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoe ver, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of p articular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United Sta tes, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ;--And (clause 18) To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper f or carrying into execution the foregoing powers , and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. [COMMENT : The aforesaid 18 clauses in Article 1 Section 9 i s the extent of Congresses Power to Legislate. Congress has no further legisla tive power outside these 18 clauses and is also restricted by the Bill of Rights and Article 1 Section 9. Congress has no power to legislate our behavior or license our rights.] Section 9. (clause 1) The migration or importation of such pe rsons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. (clause 2) The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended , unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. (clause 3) No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed . (clause 4) No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid , unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. [COMMENT : clause 4 forbids income tax. “ Tax on income derived from property was the equivalent of a direct tax on the income-producing property itself and must be apportioned in accordance with provisions of Article I of the Cons titution.” – Home Mutual Insurance Co v.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 41 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 639 F2d 333. “ Congress cannot by any definition (of income in this case) it may adopt, conclude the mat ter, since it cannot by legislation alter the Constitution, from which alone it derives its power to legislate, and within whose limitations alone that power can be lawfully expressed .” – Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U.S. 189. “ The 16th Amendment does not justify the taxation of persons or things previously immune. It was intended only to remove all occasions for any appor tionment of income taxes among the states. It does not authorize a tax on a salary ” – Evans V. Gore, 253 U.S. 245. “ In numerous cases where the IRS has sought enforcement of its summons pursuant to statute, courts have held that a taxpayer may refuse production of personal books and records by assertion of his privilege against self-incrimination .” – Hill v. Philpott, 445 F2d 144, 146. “ To penalize the failure to give a statement which is self-incriminatory, is be yond the power of Congress ” – United States v. Lombardo, 228 F. 980,981. “ Income means gains/profit from property severed fro m capitol, however invested or employed. Income is not a wage or compensation for any type of labor ” – Stapler v. United States, 21 F.Supp 737 at 739. (clause 5) No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. (clause 6) No preference shall be given by any regu lation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels boun d to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clea r or pay duties in another. (clause 7) No money shall be drawn from the treasur y, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipt s and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. (clause 8) No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any of fice of profit or trust under them, shall, without the c onsent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make an ything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress , lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executi ng its inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of t he United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, la y any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compa ct with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. Article II. EXECUTIVE POWER Section 1. THE EXECUTIVE POWER shall be vested in a President of the United State s of America. He shall hold his office during the term o f four years, and, together with the Vice President , chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows: Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Leg islature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Represent atives to which the State may be entitled in the
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 42 Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or pers on holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for e ach; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of th e United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the p resence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a m ajority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majorit y, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose b y ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President , the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majori ty of all the states shall be necessary to a choice . In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice President. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citiz en of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States. [COMMENT : Natural born is anyone born to parents that are b oth US citizens at the time of birth, if one parent is not a citizen the child is not “Natural Born”. The reason for this is that the child will grow up in a household with a divided allegiance.] In case of the removal of the President from office , or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of rem oval, death, resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what office r shall then act as President, and such officer sha ll act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. The President shall, at stated times, receive for h is services, a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for whic h he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--”I d o solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the A rmy and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called i nto the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal o fficer in each of the executive departments, upon a ny subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 43 He shall have power, by and with the advice and con sent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent o f the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in t he heads of departments. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress inf ormation of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or ei ther of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he m ay adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other publ ic ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officer s of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Article III. JUDICIAL POWER Section 1. THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE UNITED STATES, shall be vested in one Supreme Court , and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to ti me ordain and establish . The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts , shall hold their offices during good behaviour , and shall, at stated times, receive for their servi ces, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. [COMMENT : The inferior courts are Federal District Courts w hich are subservient to the One Supreme Court. District Court decisions cannot be u sed as precedents because they do not have the authority to interpret the Law, they must rule within American Jurisprudence and the rulings of the United States Supreme Court. Judges in bad behavior can be removed from office by Congress through impeachment or by the People through indictment.] Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity , arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and tr eaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting ambassadors, oth er public ministers and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to controvers ies to which the United States shall be a party;--t o controversies between two or more states;--between a state and citizens of another state;-- between citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of diffe rent states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. [COMMENT : Cases in Law are Jury trials. All criminal (infamous) trials must be Jury trials of which there are no appeals except in the course of the common law. Equity cases are trust cases decided by a judge and have an appellate process.] In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public mi nisters and consuls, and those in which a state sha ll be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jur isdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned,
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 44 the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction , both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, an d under such regulations as the Congress shall make. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach ment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be hel d in the state where the said crimes shall have been com mitted; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist o nly in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comf ort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punish ment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. Article IV Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state . And the Congress may by general laws prescribe th e manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. [COMMENT : That foreign statutes are to have force and effec t to which they are entitled in home state. Flahive v. Missouri, K. & T. R. Co., 131 Misc. 586, 227 N.Y.S. 587, 588.] Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all pri vileges and immunities of citizens in the several states . A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and b e found in another state, shall on demand of the exec utive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. No person held to service or labor in one state, un der the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be di scharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into th is union; but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any ot her state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerne d as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and mak e all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government , and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. [COMMENT : A Republican Government is one in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people throu gh a constitution and their consent through
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 45 committees of safety and juries. The everyday affai rs are carried out by elected representatives, bound by the chains of the Constitution, to whom those powers are specially delegated.] Article V The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses sh all deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratifi ed by the legislatures of three fourths of the seve ral states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may b e proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendmen t which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manne r affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate . [COMMENT : The word suffrage means the casting of a vote. Pr ior to the 17 th Amendment the Constitution provided for Senators to be chosen by State Legislators thereby giving power to the States while the People elected Congressman to represent them. Not only was the 17 th Amendment “NOT” ratified, it removed the sovereignt y of the States and thereby upset the checks and balances of power. Having two houses, on e controlled by the Sovereign People and the other controlled by the Vested Sovereign State, allowed for the People to trump the State and the State to trump the People. Many unconstitut ional acts by Congress, Administration and the Judiciary would have been prevented if the Stat es were not clipped of their sovereignty by the UNCONSTITUTIONAL 17 th Amendment.] Article VI All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the laws of the United State s which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, unde r the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every state shall be bound ther eby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. [COMMENT: Supremacy Clause – Thus, the particular phraseology of the constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principl e, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law repugnant to the constitu tion is void, and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument.” - Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. 137 (1803).] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of th e United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. Article VII The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 46 Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof: We have hereunto subscribed our Names, G. Washington President and deputy from Virginia; N ew Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman; Massachus etts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King; Connecticut: Wm: Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman; New York: Alexander Hamilton; New Jersey: Wil: Livingston, David Brearly, Wm. Paterson, Jona: Dayt on; Pennsylvania: B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons, Jared; Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris; Delaware: Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dick inson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom; Maryland: James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, D anl Carroll; Virginia: John Blair--, James Madison Jr.; North Carolina: Wm. Blount, Richd. Dob bs Spaight, Hu Williamson; South Carolina: J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinc kney, Pierce Butler; Georgia: William Few, Abr Baldwin Tyranny AMENDMENT XI Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795. Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11. The Judi cial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, c ommenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. AMENDMENT XII Passed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804. Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amen dment. The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-Pr esident, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinc t lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of th e number of votes for each, which lists they shall si gn and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the Pr esident of the Senate; -- the President of the Sena te shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; -- The person having the gre atest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whol e number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having th e highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Repre sentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpo se shall consist of a member or members from two- thirds of the states, and a majority of all the sta tes shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the Hou se of Representatives shall not choose a President whenev er the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. --]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vic e-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no perso n have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vi ce-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consis t of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligi ble to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. *Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 47 AMENDMENT XIII Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified Decem ber 6, 1865. Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by th e 13th amendment. Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for c rime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2 . Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XIV Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868. Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constituti on was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment. Se ction 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction ther eof, are citizens of the United States and of the S tate wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor sh all any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of pe rsons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to an y of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the Unite d States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the bas is of representation therein shall be reduced in th e proportion which the number of such male citizens s hall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. Section 3. N o person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-Presiden t, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having prev iously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution o f the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comf ort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disab ility. Section 4. The validity of the public debt o f the United States, authorized by law, including deb ts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebelli on, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt o r obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim f or the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all s uch debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. *Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment. AMENDMENT XV Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified Febr uary 3, 1870. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or ab ridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of se rvitude--Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XVI Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913. Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16. The Cong ress shall have power to lay and collect taxes
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 48 on incomes, from whatever source derived, without a pportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. [COMMENT : Article I Section 8 Clause 5 forbids income tax. “Tax on income derived from property was the equivalent of a direct tax on the income-producing property itself and must be apportioned in accordance with provisions of Articl e I of the Constitution. ” – Home Mutual Insurance Co v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 6 39 F2d 333. “ Congress cannot by any definition (of income in this case) it may adopt, c onclude the matter, since it cannot by legislation alter the Constitution, from which alon e it derives its power to legislate, and within whose limitations alone that power can be lawfully expressed .” – Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U.S. 189. “ The 16th Amendment does not justify the taxation of persons or things previously immune. It was intended only to remove all occasion s for any apportionment of income taxes among the states. It does not authorize a tax on a salary.” – Evans V. Gore, 253 U.S. 245. “ In numerous cases where the IRS has sought enforcement of its summons pursuant to statute, courts have held that a taxpayer may refuse product ion of personal books and records by assertion of his privilege against self-incriminati on .” – Hill v. Philpott, 445 F2d 144, 146. “ To penalize the failure to give a statement which is s elf-incriminatory, is beyond the power of Congress.” – United States v. Lombardo, 228 F. 980,981. “ Income means gains/profit from property severed from capitol, however invested or employed. Income is not a wage or compensation fro any type of labor.” - Stapler v. United States, 21 F.Supp 737 at 739.] AMENDMENT XVII Passed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913. Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment. Th e Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the peo ple thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall hav e the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vac ancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State s hall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies : Provided, That the legislature of any State may emp ower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect th e election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. [COMMENT : This Amendment was unconstitutional being in cont radiction to Article IV of the Constitution. Prior to the 17 th Amendment the Constitution provided for Senators t o be chosen by State Legislators thereby giving power to the States while the People elected Congressman to represent them. Not only was the 17 th Amendment “NOT” ratified, it removed the sovereignty of the States and thereby upset the checks and balances of power. Having two houses, one controlled by the Sovereign People and the other controlled by the Vested Sovereign State allowed for the People to trump the State and the State to trump the People. Many unconstitutional acts by Congress, Administrat ion and the Judiciary would have been prevented if the States were not clipped of their s overeignty by the UNCONSTITUTIONAL 17 th Amendment.] AMENDMENT XVIII Passed by Congress December 18, 1917; ratified January 16, 1919. repealed by amendment 21. Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this art icle the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereo f into, or the exportation thereof from the United
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 49 States and all territory subject to the jurisdictio n thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibite d. Section 2 The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3 This article sha ll be inoperative unless it shall have been ratifie d as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislature s of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. [COMMENT : This Amendment was unconstitutional because it re stricted the behavior of the People. The People are sovereign and are therefore responsible for their own behavior and answer to God and not hired government servants. Th e Constitution simply does not authorize government to codify the Peoples’ behavior, nor can it ever because it would violate the Peoples’ unalienable rights.] AMENDMENT XIX Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18 , 1920. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the Unit ed States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XX Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933. Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amen dment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3. Section 1. T he terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and t he terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such t erms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall t hen begin. Section 2. The Congress shall assemble a t least once in every year, and such meeting shall be gin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section 3. If , at the time fixed for the beginning of the term o f the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the tim e fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President unt il a President shall have qualified; and the Congress ma y by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qua lified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be sele cted, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified. S ection 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom t he House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have d evolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them. Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article. Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it sha ll have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution b y the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission. AMENDMENT XXI Passed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified Dece mber 5, 1933. Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Posses sion of the United States for delivery or use there in of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws t hereof, is hereby prohibited. Section 3. This artic le shall be inoperative unless it shall have been rati fied as an amendment to the Constitution by
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 50 conventions in the several States, as provided in t he Constitution, within seven years from the date o f the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. AMENDMENT XXII Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified Februar y 27, 1951. Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more th an once. But this Article shall not apply to any pe rson holding the office of President when this Article w as proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding t he office of President or acting as President durin g the remainder of such term. Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislat ures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress. AMENDMENT XXIII Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29 , 1961. Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoi nt in such manner as Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District w ould be entitled if it were a State, but in no even t more than the least populous State; they shall be i n addition to those appointed by the States, but th ey shall be considered, for the purposes of the electi on of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the Di strict and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. Section 2. The Congre ss shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XXIV Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified Januar y 23, 1964. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other elect ion for President or Vice President, for electors f or President or Vice President, or for Senator or Repr esentative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reaso n of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XXV Passed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967. Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment. Se ction 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vic e President shall become President. Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vi ce President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation b y a majority vote of both Houses of Congress. Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he trans mits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the V ice President as Acting President. Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of eithe r the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may b y law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 51 immediately assume the powers and duties of the off ice as Acting President. Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to dischar ge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in sessio n. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after recei pt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congre ss is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shal l resume the powers and duties of his office. AMENDMENT XXVI Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971. Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or old er, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. Se ction 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XXVII Originally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992. No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes nece ssary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and t o assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitl e them , a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that th ey should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all m en are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness .--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed , --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it , and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect t heir Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should no t be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing inva riably the same Object evinces a design to
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 52 reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their r ight, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their fut ure security .--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the n ecessity which constrains them to alter their forme r Systems of Government. The history of the present K ing of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of imme diate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommoda tion of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them an d formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole pu rpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolut ions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise ; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass othe rs to encourage their migrations hither, and raisin g the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a juri sdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishme nt for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 53 For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most v aluable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of for eign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumst ances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captiv e on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, a nd has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitio ned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repea ted injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Britt ish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and set tlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrup t our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consa nguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united St ates of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Ind ependent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all polit ical connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
54
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Allianc es, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts
and Things which Independent States may of right do . And for the support of this Declaration, with a
firm reliance on the protection of divine Providenc e, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The 56 signatures on the Declaration: Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton ;
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn; South Carolina: Edward Rutledge,
Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, Massachusetts: John Hancock; Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles C arroll of Carrollton; Virginia: George Wythe,
Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee;
Carter Braxton; Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjam in Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton,
George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wi lson, George Ross; Delaware: Caesar Rodney,
George Read, Thomas McKean; New York: William Floyd , Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis
Morris; New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Withersp oon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham
Clark; New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whip ple; Massachusetts: Samuel Adams, John
Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry; Rhode Is land: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery;
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, Will iam Williams, Oliver Wolcott; New
Hampshire: Matthew Thornton.
HISTORY OF THE COMMON LAW
The following are Excerpts from “Excellence of the Common Law” by Brent Winters. You can
find Brent and his books at www.commonlawyer.com/ . He also teaches and answers questions
every Monday night 9PM – Midnight Eastern for detai ls to join our open forum visit
www.nationallibertyalliance.org/mondaycall .
We in America have escaped the fascination of total itarianism because we have in our tradition
other elements – the refusal of the Hebrews to conf use God with the world ... We also have, in
our tradition, Christ ... And we have in our tradit ion the Church where clearly human values
were neither united nor total, and were opposed to the state.
AMERICA IS UNDER COMMON LAW: The common law tradition has neither emerged out
of nor evolved from the Roman civil law. The notion that the common law evolved from the
civil law is a hidden danger to common law libertie s and protections. The foundations of these
two legal traditions are wholly distinct, producing vastly different results; inevitably
fulminating persistent conflict among nations. The common law traces its roots as far back as
the Anglo-Saxon tribes. Beyond these tribes, eviden ce can be scant, rendering tracing of the
common law’s ancient principles difficult.
ISRAEL WAS THE FIRST COMMON LAW NATION: The earthly ruler as king was
required to be subject – as an individual as well as king – to God and the law. Judicial
supremacy, ultimately, was vested in God. The law u nder the guardianship of the priests at the
central sanctuary was so vital to the king in Israe l that he was instructed to make a written copy
for himself. By his observance of this law, he woul d learn to fear and revere God in his own
life.
ANGLO-SAXON LIMITED GOVERNMENT: “ The root idea of our Constitution is that
man can be free because the state is not .”43 The Anglo-Saxon earls elected each of their kings
43 Dean Rostow. Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 55 and permitted these kings to rule only with their c onsent and by their advice. The modern British have abandoned these standards: the British monarchy, although relatively powerless, has become decidedly hereditary. America’s Founders , on the other hand, harked back to Anglo-Saxons’ ancient standard requiring election o f her President and allowing his authority only within the advice and consent of the Senate. O ur American common law tradition also harks back to the Saxons: we also elect sheriffs, c oroners, tax assessors, and judges locally, and cast votes for state governor and national president. History has preserved the minutes of council meetin gs of kings and earls during the times of Alfred the Anglo-Saxon. Consequently, we are not ig norant concerning the nature of common law principles practiced in Anglo-Saxon England. Wh en an Anglo-Saxon king died, the assembly of earls called the Witan, often, but not always, appointed a member of the deceased king’s family to succeed him. The Witan was an asse mbly of wise men and the precursor of the British Parliament and the United States Congress. The name Witan is the abbreviated form of the Anglo-Saxon Witanagemot: the assembly of the wh ite-headed (wise) elders. Witan derives from the Anglo-Saxon whiten, referring to the hoary heads of the mature men. The Witan-age- mot was a board of elders and (at least in theory) wiser men. The Anglo-Saxons called their early tribal law the Volkriht; translated into literal English, “folkright,” “people’s law,” or “folk law.” The Vol kriht was held in common among the Germanic tribes; and more particularly, for purpose s of the common law, the Volkriht tradition was the law of the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes (D anes), and even the Celts, all having migrated, at various times, from the continent. The advent of the written Word of God among the Ang lo-Saxons in England brought a desire to read and then to write. Reading was necessary in order to discern the mind of God through His written Scriptures. God’s Word encouraged writi ng that men may copy and translate the “Scriptures.’’ Writing also enabled the production of the Lex Salica – the earliest known record of Anglo-Saxon folk law issued on the European cont inent under King Clovis following his conversion to Christianity in A.D. 496. The earlies t written compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Volkriht (folk law) in England was issued by Ethelb ert, the Christian king of Kent, about A.D. 865. THE COMMON LAW RECEIVES SCRIPTURAL STABILITY The pagan Anglo-Saxons discovered and put in to practice the elements of t he common law. Following their migration to the British Island, the Word of God nurtured these precepts and replaced their false gods with the God of Scripture. The mind of fallen man is dar k; but even so, man can discern what is right, although he is powerless of himself to pract ice it persistently. C.S. Lewis observed that when men demand right behavior in others, even thou gh they neglect to behave right themselves, they prove that the potential to know t he law dwells naturally in their unregenerate nature. God has stamped the natural law upon the na tural consciousness of the natural man: fallen man possesses the ability to know God’s stan dards of law and government. Winston Churchill observed that the American War fo r Independence was an extension of the English Revolution, the subsequent signing of the E nglish Petition of Rights in 1629, and the English Bill of Rights of 1689. The English Revolut ion was an attempt to preserve the rights earlier sustained at Runnymede Meadow with the sign ing of Magna Carta; but reaching back even further, the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 re inforced common law rights as they had existed in old Anglo-Saxon England. As important as all these events are, none are the source
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
56
of our common law liberties. God is sovereign over the affairs of men. He is the source of
liberties that emanate, by His grace, from the foun tainhead of His Person and eternal Word,
with which the ideals of the common law tradition a re consonant.
After the Norman invasion of 1066, Rome devised sch emes and attempted to manipulate or
force England to adopt civil law. Impelled by diffe rent forces, the struggle continues even
today in common law jurisdictions, such as England and the United States, through persistent
encroachment of administrative law.
WE ARE A CHRISTIAN NATION: The battle we fought and continue to fight today is a
spiritual one. At the time of the American War of Independence , the population of the American
Colonies was approximately 3,000,000 souls 44 while some 8,000,000 resided in England. Of
the roughly 3,000,000 persons residing in the Colonies, about one-third w ere English
Anglicans, Puritans, or Congregationalists; another third were Scots-Irish Presbyterians;
another third were German and Dutch of Lutheran and Reformed churches. Roman Church
devotees constituted approximately one and one-half percent of the colonial population; about
two tenths of one-percent was Jewish. Traces of oth er Protestant groups made up the remaining
population.
Because of Protestant culture ’s pervasive scriptural influence throughout the Ame rican
Colonies, the Colonists held natural affinity for t he common law’s fundamental principles.
Owing to their scriptural influence, the reformed P rotestant tradition advanced a government
similar in kind to the common law ’s Witan: a plurality of elders or assembly of men ( eldership
or presbyters) to which an executive or administrat ive officer must answer and independent
judges. Moreover, both the Protestant and the commo n law traditions demanded adherence to
law as an eternal ideal, as opposed to any contempo rary and capricious decrees of mere men.
Consequently, Americans have traditionally believed that the rules of law and their measured
applications are discoverable through seeking them, not manufactured by the mind of man.
Both traditions held that governments administered by men are limited, since only God is
sovereign in the true sense of unlimited jurisdicti on: i.e., they believed that opportunities for
appeal must not only exist within government, but a lso, as a matter of individual conscience
and practice, beyond the state. In other words, eac h individual is free and responsible to appeal
directly to his Creator for justification of his in tentions and actions. 45 Further, both maintained
the importance of distinguishing and separating the fundamental offices of governments’’ and
of a general decentralization and distribution of authority.
In order to understand Anglo-American common law, a tolerable under-standing of the English
legal profession is necessary. 46 Leaders of the colonial American bar were English barristers
trained in the English Inns of Court. At the time o f American independence in 1776,
44 Justic e Story, appar entl y referring to the first census , writes “In 1 790 the whole population of the United States was
about three million s nine hundred and twent y nine thousand. ” STORY, supra note 34 7, at 242 (plural form millions in
origin al).
45 America is founded upon the appeal of our forefath ers beyond the state, directly to the personal Crea tor: “We, therefore,
the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions ... with firm Reliance on the Protectio n of divine
Providence ... “ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE pa ra. 32 (1776) (emphasis added, capitalization in or iginal).
Judging from the words, this solemn appeal and reli ance-as are all acts of true faith in reliance upon divine Providence. as
opposed to reliance upon self-justifying morality-is personal. 538.
46 See generally §3.12-§3.12.5 of Excellence of the C ommon Law (discussing the education of the English common lawyer
in the Inns of Court and the development of the English legal profession). Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance
57
approximately one hundred Americans were studying c ommon law in the English Inns of
Court: 47 more American than English students and their infl uence in America has been
substantial. Compared with the mother country of ap proximately 8,000,000, the American
Colonies of approximately 3,000,000 were training a nd bringing home common lawyers in a
greater proportion. Through these men the common la w exerted a significant impact upon our
inception as a nation. John Rutledge, among the Jus tices appointed to the first United States
Supreme Court in 1789, obtained his legal training in the English Inns of Court. 48
Twenty-five common lawyers signed the Declaration o f Independence and thirty-one of the
fifty-five signers of our Constitution were common lawyers. Moreover, at least fifty-one and
possibly fifty-two of these fifty-five signers were evangelical Protestants.
American Colonials were sensitive to common law dig nities to a degree that some in England did not
appreciate. About the time of American independence , Blackstone’s Commentaries on the common
law appeared, selling more copies in the American Colonies than were sold in England.
During America’s eighteenth century colonial days, the common law had reached a zenith of
integration and expression in conscious consonance with Scripture. The motivation inspiring the
American War for Independence is attributable to th e high level of American interest in common law
precepts as the biblical worldview of relationships and political government. This intensity of
American interest, informed and sustained by Willia m Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of
England, continued for many decades following her i ndependence. Blackstone’s Commentaries remain
the best source available for the common law’s development at the middle of the eighteenth century.
Therefore, it is the duty of the Sheriff to protect and support the “Law of the Land,” a/k/a the Commo n
Law, failure to do so is a violation of their oath.
HISTORY OF THE SHERIFF
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. I f we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be
because we destroyed ourselves .” – Abraham Lincoln .
The county sheriff is the last line of defense when it comes to upholding and defending the
Constitution. The sheriff’s duties and obligations go far beyond arresting criminals and operating jai ls.
The Sheriff also has an obligation to protect the C onstitutional rights of the citizens in our countie s.
This includes the right to free speech, the right to assemble and the right to bear arms.
Today Liberty and our very way of life are under at tack. Because We the People are ignorant to the
true Law of the Land and our history, we have lost our way! It’s not until we start to read about what
we have inherited from our founding fathers that we start to realize how far we have drifted from the
blessings of Liberty.
But there is hope; there’s a grassroots movement ac ross America building Committees of Safety to
restore our American way of life. And if we can rea ch our 3100+/- American County Sheriffs to work
47 540 See 17 A.B .A.J. 740.
48 Some of the English-trained American colonial lawy ers chose to be Tories, becoming refugees in the Ca ribbean. See 35
NOTRE DAME LAWYER 48, 76 (1959). Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 58 with the People to restore our Constitution, we can save America from self-destruction. Remember your oath! Sheriffs took an oath to uphold and defend the Cons titution, from enemies foreign AND domestic. In the history of our world, it is government tyranny that has violated the freedoms granted to us by our Creator more than any other. And it is the duty of the sheriff to protect their counties from those t hat would take away our freedoms, both foreign AND dome stic – whether it is a terrorist from Yemen or a bureaucrat from Washington, DC. While most people in America recognize the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) for the county, they would be surprised to know that th e office of sheriff has a proud history that spans well over a thousand years, from the early Middle Ages to our own “high-tech” era. THE BEGINNING: THE MIDDLE AGES – More than 1,300 years ago in England, small grou ps of Anglo-Saxons lived in rural communities similar to modern day towns. Often at war, they decided to better organize themselves for defense. Sometime be fore the year 700, they formed a system of local self-government based on groups of ten. Each of the towns divided into groups of ten families, called tithings. Each tithing elected a leader called a ti thing man. The next level of government was a group of ten tithing’s (or 100 families), and this group elected its own chief. The Anglo-Saxon word for chi ef was gerefa, later shortened to reeve. During the ne xt two centuries, groups of hundreds banded together to form a new, higher unit of government c alled the shire. The shire was the forerunner of th e modern county. Each shire had a chief (reeve) as we ll, and the more powerful official became known as a shire-reeve. The word shire-reeve became the m odern English word sheriff – the chief of the county. The sheriff maintained law and order within his own county with the assistance of the citizens . When the sheriff sounded the ‘hue and cry’ that a c riminal was at-large, anyone who heard the alarm was responsible for bringing the criminal to justic e. This principle of citizen participation survives today in the procedure known as posse comitatus. THE OFFICE GROWS – English government eventually became more centrali zed under the power of a single ruler, the king. The king distributed h uge tracts of land to noblemen, who governed the la nd under the king’s authority. The office of sheriff w as no longer elected but appointed by the noblemen for the counties they controlled. In those areas no t consigned to noblemen, the king appointed his own sheriffs. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Eng land’s rule fell to the Normans (France) who seized and centralized all power under the Norman king and his appointees. The sheriff became the agent of the king, and among his new duties was tax collecti on. This dictatorial rule by a series of powerful kings became intolerable, and in 1215, an army of r ebellious noblemen forced the despotic King John to sign the Magna Carta. This important document re stored a number of rights to the noblemen and guaranteed certain basic freedoms. The text of the Magna Carta mentioned the important role of the sheriff nine times. THE SHERIFF CROSSES THE ATLANTIC – The first American counties were established in Virginia, and records show that the first American Sheriff was a Virginia Sheriff, beginning a continuing tradition when the Virginia House of Bur gesses appointed the first eight Sheriffs in the fi rst eight Counties of the New World in 1634, one of the se counties elected a sheriff in 1651. Most other colonial sheriffs were appointed. Just as the noble men in medieval England, large American landowners appointed sheriffs to enforce the law in the areas they controlled and to protect their lan ds. American sheriffs were not expected to pay extraord inary expenses, however, and some actually made money from the job. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, colonial and state legislatures
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 59 assigned a broad range of responsibilities to the s heriff which included the familiar role of law enforcement. Other duties were new, such as overseeing jails, houses of corrections and work houses. As Americans moved westward, so did the office of s heriff and the use of jails. Settlers desperately needed the sheriff to establish order in the lawles s territories where power belonged to those with th e fastest draw and the most accurate shot. Most weste rn sheriffs, however, kept the peace by virtue of their authority. With a few exceptions, sheriffs resorted to firepower much less often than we have seen depicted in movies and on TV. THE SHERIFF TODAY – There are over 3,100 counties in the United States , and almost every one of them has a sheriff, except for Alaska. Some citi es, such as Denver, St. Louis, Richmond and Baltimore, have sheriffs as well. The office of she riff is established either by the state constitutio n or by an act of state legislature. There are only thre e states in which the sheriff is not elected by the voters. In Rhode Island, sheriffs are appointed by the governor; in Hawaii, deputy sheriffs serve in t he Department of Public Safety’s Sheriff’s Division and Connecticut. There is really no such thing as a “typical” sheriff. Some sheriffs still have time to drop by the town coffee shop to chat w ith the citizens each day, while others report to an office in a skyscraper and manage a department whose budget exceeds that of many corp orations. However, most sheriffs have certain roles and respo nsibilities in common. W E T H E P E O P L E “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just powers from the consent of the governed ”
Sheriff’s Handbook Prepared by National Liberty Al liance 60 Visit www.nationallibertyalliance.org for more information, FREE Civics and Militia Cour ses, Government by Consent Course and more. Also available – /head2right Committee of Safety Handbook.pdf /head2right Committeeman Handbook.pdf /head2right Militia Handbook.pdf /head2right Grand and Petit Jurist Handbook.pdf /head2right Jury Administrative Handbook.pdf /head2right Sheriffs Handbook.pdf /head2right Government by Consent Book “Only the People can Save Our Republic ” Learn how to have Government by Consent !