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Understanding Law in the U.S.
THE LAW OF THE LAND
- The highest law of the land is the
U.S. Constitution which
incorporates the Bill of Rights;
- Underlying the
U.S. Constitution are the State Constitutions / Statutes;
- Underlying the
Constitutions is English Common Law.
Higher law overrules lower
law. Lower laws may not infringe or contradict or be in
conflict with higher laws. Laws must be ratified by "we the people".
(See § 22 of California Civil Procedure for a definition):
The Constitution is pretty straight forward. Most people when
they read it (or if they read it!), can understand what it says.
For example, taking the 1st Amendment which reads as follows:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,"
-[I.e. Congress cannot make a law specific to a denomination or
religion],
"or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" -[however, they also
cannot prevent the practice of religion -so the Court's telling you that
you cannot pray in school or put a cross or the 10 Commandments anywhere
is total bullshit, to put it politely]
"or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press;" -[most people know this one, they
can't stop you criticizing the government, if someone wants to burn a
flag (which does no harm other than send a message) then they can
express themselves. The government cannot tell the press that they
can't show pictures of our soldiers coffins returning from Iraq, the
press can print whatever they want. Recognize that this freedom of
speech is still subject to libel law - you can't tell lies]
"or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
-[The government can also not stop people marching or gathering
peacefully to protest, they certainly cannot prevent someone who is
wearing an anti-war or anti-president tee-shirt from going anywhere!
You are allowed to say what you want when you want and you can do it
with as many people as you like - you can give the government and cops
the 'up-yours sign' any time you want]
That's no so hard. The law is pretty straight forward.
You do not need a lawyer of judge to understand the law, in fact if you
do, then it is not law! See the section on
Common-Law must be understood by
the common man.
There are so many tremendous rights our Founding Fathers embedded
within the constitution to prevent the government from messing with us.
Like the right to bare arms - The government cannot tell us we can't
have pistol grips on our rifles! The right to bare arms was
established so that we the people had just as powerful weapons as the
government (See 2nd Amendment).
Rights can't diminish either, see opposite:
Common Law
Common Law dictates that there are three mandatory elements for every
criminal charge:
- MENS REA - willful intent,
(menz ray-ah) n. Latin for a "guilty or evil mind," or
criminal intent in committing the act.
In order to determine intent, it is necessary for those judging to
understand the mind of the person charged. We need to ask if intent
can be tried by anyone but a jury of peers? i.e. if you form a jury
of people who think completely differently to the person charged,
the jury will not be able to judge whether the person really
intended to commit the crime.
- ACTUS REA - the act or
crime,
- CORPUS DELICTI - the body of
the crime, the actual damage.
The fact of a crime having been actually committed as reflected in
the body of damage caused by the offence. I.e. to charge
someone with murder you need to show that a person has been
murdered, there needs to be a dead body.
The core construct to English Common Law, verses other legal
constructs such as Roman Dutch Las is the construct of "innocent until proven guilty".
Under Roman Dutch Law, which has typically been employed by tyrannical
regimes, you are "guilty until proven innocent".
Criminal vs. Civil Law
The Constitution distinguishes between Criminal and Civil law and
identifies Common Law as the underlying law for both. However the
Constitutions, both Federal and State overrule Common Law.
Civil Law: provides remedy for wrongs
Criminal Law: provides punishment for wrongs
Public Law and Private Law:
Lawyers and Courts tend to differentiate between Public and Private
Law. Public Law is the Law of the Land
Private Law deals with contracts between persons. A person can
either be an human or a corporation. Contracts under Private Law
can effectively enforce almost anything. All law is however under
Public Law.
Contracts
A contract is an agreement that involves the exchange of
legal rights (to money, property, one’s labor, etc.). Anything can be
put in a contract, however, contracts cannot undermine the Law of the
land, you can still be criminally liable/responsible. Failure to perform
one’s part of an agreement can lead to a charge of breach of contract.
It is suggested that much of our government's actions against us are
conducted under the guise of Contract Law - that is they get us to agree
to be subject to contractual obligations, such as in signing a ticket
they get us to agree to appear in "Their Court" under "Their Code" - see
Infractions.
Law of Torts
Tort law is concerned with breaches of legal duty that result in some
kind of injury that merits compensation. Torts are used to
categorize allegations. There are three major Tort categories: Intentional torts, negligence, and
strict liability:
- Intentional Torts: Trespass, defamation (libel/slander), assault
and battery, and false imprisonment.
- Negligence: A breach of the duty of “due care”. Everyone in
society has a duty to refrain from taking unreasonable risks
associated with certain kinds of actions and omissions.
- Strict Liability: Strict liability torts involve narrow classes
of action where the person performing the action is liable for harms
he produces even if the harms are unintentional and could not have
been prevented by exercising reasonable care.
Liability
Strict Liability: (No 'Mens Rea'/'willful intent' requirement):
Criminal Liability: Liable only if actually aware of the harmful or
wrongful nature of his/her conduct.
Objective Liability: Liable if a reasonable person in relevantly similar
circumstances would have been aware of the wrongful nature of or the
harm resulting from his/her act.
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Rights Shall Not Diminish
Remember your rights cannot diminish - any right you are granted
cannot later be taken away by the government
U.S. Const. Amend IX:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
The 9th is critical law which wipes out most of what the government
has passed, including the right to be free of property taxes, including
the Patriot Act, including all the Presidential Executive Orders like
Roosevelt's theft of gold, the
draft, bench warrants, traffic tickets, the governments claim to
sovereign immunity etc. etc.
Again, there is no ambiguity here. The 9th Amendment is
blatantly clear and literal. So what is going on? What on
earth are lawyers, judges, the president and Congress up to? Heloo,
anybody got a brain? Perhaps we have lost our mouth (1st
amendment) and our arms (2nd amendment) and that is the only reason why
we have become slaves to another tyrannical
Police State.
For example in England, the Queen claimed that because God put her on
the throne, she could commit no wrong and she therefore claimed
"sovereign immunity". However, Art. I Sec. 9 of the U.S.
Constitution dictates:
"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And
no Person holding any Office or Trust under them, shall, without the
Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office,
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign
State."
It is impossible for government employees to claim 'sovereign
immunity' for crimes they commit. Trial By Jury or Judge
The U.S. Constitution guarantees any person accused of a crime the
right to choose a Trial by Judge or a Trial By Jury (U.S.
Const. Art III, Sec 2; U.S.
Const. Amend VI) and any party to a civil matter entailing damages
of more than $20 also has the right to choose between a Trial By Judge
or a Trial By Jury (U.S. Const.
Amend VII). And that such trials shall be speedy and follow
due process.
The elements of a Trial By Jury are so critically important we have
placed them on a separate page. The most critically important
element is to realize that you the Jury members decide on both the Law
and the Fact - The Courts are treasonously denying this well established
right.
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