Woman claiming to be ‘sovereign citizen’ appears in court – ktlo.com

Photo: Elizabeth Violet Sanders

When a car in which a Bull Shoals woman was a passenger got pulled over on a minor traffic violation in late-December, she refused to provide any identification based on her claimed status as a sovereign citizen.

Twenty-eight-year-old Elizabeth Violet Sanders appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.

She entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her and was ordered to reappear Jan. 24.

THE TRAFFIC STOP

When a Baxter County sheriffs deputy stopped the vehicle in which Sanders was a passenger on Dec. 22 in the Midway area, she said as a sovereign citizen she was not required to provide any identifying information to the deputy.

Members of the sovereign citizen (SC) movement believe in a somewhat convoluted, alternate system of law.

When she was asked to get out of the vehicle, she refused, again saying that would violate her rights as a sovereign citizen.

As she was being assisted from the vehicle she is alleged to have kicked one of the deputies involved in her arrest.

After she was brought to the Baxter County Detention Center, she was processed through the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) database and identified.

It was determined Sanders had an active arrest warrant at the time.

METHAMPHETAMINE FOUND

During the process of determining Sanders identity, the booking officer at the jail reported a white powder-like substance had been found in the bottom of her bag.

The substance field tested positive for methamphetamine.

As her charges were being read to her, she refused to listen or sign any paperwork.

VEHICLES NOT SUBJECT TO LAWS

One of the beliefs attributed to SC members is that any vehicle they happen to be in is not subject to rules, acts, statutes, or legislation that apply to everyone else.

When involved in a traffic stop, they often claim they are traveling, not driving, and that traveling is a God given right that cannot be infringed on in any way by any agency of government.

Many SC members refuse to buy insurance for their vehicles, do not have a drivers license and wont buy or display license plates.

REFUSE TO PAY TAXES

Some sovereign citizens also refuse to pay taxes. One SC member was reported to have sent in a blank return to the IRS. He claimed that providing the information would violate his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

As a broad protest against paying taxes, a majority of courts have ruled that the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination argument does not stand up.

A 1921 Supreme Court case is often cited in cases dealing with refusing to file a tax return on Fifth Amendment grounds.

In that case, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that if a defendant truly believed information required on the tax form would be incriminating, the taxpayer should raise that issue on the form, but could not simply refuse to file.

A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THE LAW

The SC movement members often use arguments based on erroneous readings of the law, or laws seemingly plucked from thin air.

They tend to employ a confusing, quasi-legal vocabulary during encounters with law enforcement officers and the courts.

WebReadyTM Powered by WireReadyNSI

Excerpt from:
Woman claiming to be 'sovereign citizen' appears in court - ktlo.com