Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 13:51:34 -0800
From: Jon Roland  
Subject: ComLaw> Constitutionalist Platform
To: misc-activism-militia@moderators.uu.net
Sender: owner-commonlaw@teleport.com

Constitutionalist Plaform

The following principles should be considered planks in the platform of
any candidate who calls himself or herself a "constitutionalist":

- The rights recognized in the Bill of Rights are rights that precede
the Constitution, that apply to all persons everywhere and all times,
and considered as restrictions on the actions of government officials or
agents, apply to all officials or agents at all levels of government,
federal, state, and local, and even to the treatment of any persons
anywhere outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

- The right to keep and bear arms, like other rights in the Bill of
Rights, is an individual right, at all levels of government, and covers
all weapons or other tools or supplies that might be used for defense,
riot control, personal protection, law enforcement, or emergency
response.

- No right, including the right to keep and bear arms, may be disabled
by any process other than a due process proceeding in which the burden
of proof is on the government that either the disablement is an
appropriate punishment for a crime proven to have been committed by the
subject, or that if the right is not disabled it would be exercised in a
way that would threaten the rights of others or be a danger to himself.

- Legislative restriction of any right constitutes a prohibited bill of
attainder, and perhaps also a prohibited ex post facto statute, and as
such is null and void from inception. This includes statutes restricting
purchase, possession, or use of a weapon, or the exercise of any other
right, by persons convicted of a crime if the restriction is not made
part of the sentence or occurred prior to passage of the restrictive
statute. It also includes statutes requiring carry permits for a weapon.
The only credential permitted in regard to any right is a certificate
that the right has not been disabled, but the carrying of such a
certificate may not be required.

- In all references to the power to "regulate", that power does not
include the power to prohibit, and it does not include the power to
impose criminal penalties (disablement of life, limb, or liberty), but
only civil (fines, loss of privileges).

- The "commerce" among the states and with foreign nations which the
Congress has the power to regulate (Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 3) consists only
of exchanges of goods or services for a valuable consideration that
commence in one state and terminate in another, or in one state and
terminate in a foreign nation, or in a foreign nation and terminate in a
state. It does not include "traffic", except insofar as it is necessary
to identify commercial traffic subject to regulation. It does not
include primary production, such as mining, agriculture, herding, or
hunting. It does not include manufacturing, retail sales, possession,
use, or transport of one's personal possessions not part of an exchange.
It does not include anything that "affects" commerce, substantially or
otherwise.

- The only crimes committed on state territory over which the national
government have jurisdiction are (1) counterfeiting, (2) treason, (3)
piracy and felonies on the high seas, (4) offenses against the laws of
nations, (Art. 1 Sec. 8) or (5) deprivations of rights by a government
agent (14 Amendment).

- The location of a crime governing the territorial jurisdiction for its
prosecution is the location of the perpetrator's head at the moment the
criminal act is performed, not where the effects of the act occur.

- The powers "necessary and proper" (Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 18) to a
delegated power are only those powers essential to the administration of
the delegated power, not any power that might serve the same purpose as
such a delegated power. In particular, it does not include the power to
impose criminal penalties for violation of a regulation.

- The "general welfare" clause (Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 1) is not the
delegation of a power, but a restriction of the power to raise taxes
(and spend the funds raised) to only those things that benefit the
national generally, and not just some region or group.

- It is unconstitutional to impose a tax for a regulatory or
confiscatory purpose, or for any purpose other than the raising of
revenue.

- Secret budgets and expenditures are prohibited by Art. I Sec. 9 Cl. 7,
and are not permitted on grounds of "national security". This includes
any funds administered by public officials or government agents even if
derived from other sources than taxes or fees.

- There is no concurrent jurisdiction of the national government and the
state governments over any offense other than deprivation of rights by a
government agent, and for purposes of the double jeopardy protection
(5th Amendment) the "same offense" is an act of the accused, and
multiple prosecution is prohibited for the same physical act under
different charges, statutes, or sovereigns.

- The U.S. Congress has general legislative jurisdiction over a
territory only if (1) it has been purchased by the national government
with the consent of the legislature of the state of which it is a part;
(2) it has been purchased and is being used only for a public purpose;
(3) the state legislature has explicitly ceded exclusive legislative
jurisdiction over that specific parcel, described by metes and bounds,
in a act according to that state's constitution; and (4) the national
government has clear title and effective possession of the parcel.
Concurrent jurisdiction is not permitted, except that residents of the
parcel may retain their citizenship in the ceding state for purposes of
voting for national and state office. Jurisdiction reverts to the state
if any of the conditions of its cession terminate. Such territories
include the District of Columbia, U.S. coastal waters, U.S.-flag vessels
at sea, and the grounds of U.S. embassies abroad. It does not include
possessions such as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Guam, over which
the national government may have civil but not criminal jurisdiction.

- Citizenship of any political subdivision of the United States is based
only on residence address, and a person is a citizen of a federal
territory and subject to its jurisdiction only if he or she is a
voluntary resident of that territory.

- All persons present within the territorial jurisdiction of the United
States have the duty to not only obey constitutional statutes and other
official acts, but to help enforce them, and to train and equip
themselves, alone and in combination with others, to do so. All persons
in their capacity as defenders of the community are the militia, any
person aware of a threat has the authority and the duty to call up the
militia to meet it, and any person receiving a credible call up has the
duty to respond to it.

- In any situation in which laws are in conflict, any person has the
inalienable duty to make an independent determination of which law is
superior, and to enforce the superior law. When that superior law is the
Constitution, the duty is called constitutional review, and judicial
review when done by a court. It may not be delegated to superiors,
judges, or legal advisors.

- Unless a criminal statute explicitly limits who may enforce it, it is
equally enforceable by any person, and enforcement authority is derived
from the law and from a warrant, not from a title or employment status.
Government agents have no criminal law enforcement authority that
civilians don't also have. However, law enforcement officials, such as
sheriffs and U.S. marshals, may have command rank in situations where
they are present. The title of "federal agent" carries no command rank.

- Any protection of government agents or other persons from criminal or
civil liability for their actions, or special penalties for offenses
against them, not enjoyed by others, constitutes the granting to them of
a title of nobility, which is prohibited.

- Based on available evidence, and until it can be proven otherwise, the
Income Tax Amendment shall be considered not to have been ratified. Even
if it was, the "income" which is taxable under it is only "unearned"
income such as interest, dividends, and rents, and not wages for labor.

- Federal reserve notes are not legal tender for the payment of debts
within, to, or from a state.

- A constitution is a complete agreement among the people, and there are
no "implied contracts" in which a government is a party.

- Common law crimes are prohibited by the Constitution. In particular,
the national government has no authority to punish for perjury or fraud
any act not committed on federal territory.

- A jury has the power to decide the law as well as the facts in a case,
and the defendant in any case in which the government is a party has the
right to have all legal arguments made in the presence of the jury, and
to have the jury receive copies of all pleadings in the case.

- The right of an accused to counsel is a right to counsel of his
choice, including persons not otherwise licensed to practice law.

- Prosecution of persons accused of a crime may not be limited to public
prosecutors.

- Courts and prosecutors are not permitted to obstruct access of any
person to a grand jury to present evidence or a petition, but only to
regulate the timing and manner of it to make such access orderly and
expeditious.

- Only a natural person or aggregate of natural persons may be a party
to a legal proceeding. In particular, "civil forfeiture" is prohibited
except for piracy on the high seas or except to the extent necessary to
pay a specific fine imposed by the ruling of a court, may not include
any assets not exclusive owned or, if the ownership cannot be
determined, in the exclusive possession of the accused, and any surplus
from a public sale of the asset over that needed to pay such fine shall
be returned to the owner or possessor.

- The President or other public official may not direct any offensive
action by the military or militia without congressional authorization in
the form of a declaration or war or letters of marque or reprisal, and
any such unauthorized direction shall constitute a criminal violation
under the law of nations clause (Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 10) and an
impeachable offense.

- The offenses covered under the authority to punish offenses against
the law of nations (Art. 1 Sec. 8 Cl. 10) include only the following:

(1) Attacks on foreign nations, their citizens, or shipping, without
either a declaration of war or letters of marque and reprisal.

(2) Dishonoring of the flag of truce, peace treaties, and boundary
treaties.

(3) Depredation of wrecked ships, their passengers and crew, and their cargo, 
by those who might find them.

(4) Piracy on the high seas, even if those making the capture or their
nations had not been victims.

(5) Mistreatment of prisoners of war.

(6) Attacks on foreign embassies, ambassadors, and diplomats, and on
foreign ships and their passengers, crew, and cargo while in domestic
waters or in port.

(7) Dishonoring of extradition treaties for criminals who committed
crimes in a nation with whom one has such a treaty who escape to one's
territory or are found on the high seas.

(8) Enslavement of foreign nationals and international trading in
slaves.

It does not include any other treaties or violations thereof, and no
treaty provisions are permitted or enforceable which would require the
exercise of powers not delegated by the Constitution.

- Limits on campaign contributions, except when accepted in exchange for
public funding, are prohibited by the 1st Amendment, but any such public
funding must be of general benefit to the nation and not to any region
or group.

- Religious observances may not be supported by government agents or
public funds, but neither may they be reasonably restricted on public
premises when initiated and funded by private persons, provided that
this is not done in a way that is disruptive or offensive.

- The monitoring of communications by government agents, which the
participants have the reasonable expectation of being private, is
prohibited without a specific search warrant and notification of the
parties involved if such notification is feasible.

- Any search warrant must be served on the owner or possessor of the
premises, and such person must have the reasonable opportunity to verify
the validity of the warrant, unless such person cannot be found within a
reasonable time. It is not permitted to wait until such person is absent
to search his premises.

- "No knock" search or arrest warrants are not permitted under any
circumstances, and it is not permissable to prosecute any person for
resisting an improper execution of a warrant with deadly force or for
any death or injuries that might result therefrom.

- Legislative and judicial powers may not be delegated, and executive
powers may not be delegated to the agents of a different sovereign. No
official may make a decision adversely affecting a privilege or immunity
of a person in his jurisdiction based on the lack of a determination or
designation by an agent of a different sovereign.

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Constitution Society, 1731 Howe Av #370, Sacramento, CA 95825
916/568-1022, 916/450-7941VM         Date: 01/19/98  Time: 13:51:34
http://www.constitution.org/         mailto:jon.roland@the-spa.com
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