Discretion in the
hands of every government agent = tyranny, by Martin Armstrong, 8/25/18.
There has been an
interesting case of an American Muslim woman who had her phone seized by border
guards as she returned home to the United States from a trip to Switzerland.
The guards just seized her phone and she had to file a lawsuit to get it
returned after 120 days. Meanwhile, they refuse to confirm or deny that a copy
of her phone was made and shared with any other agency. This is part of the
problem with the rule of law – there is none! Government agents can do whatever
they desire and it is always your burden to hopefully find a judge who will at
least acknowledge you have any rights at all.
Most people will think
of various crimes by the British that led to the American Revolution. Then
there was the No Taxation Without Representation slogan. But the act that
perhaps began the Revolution was illegal search and seizure.
The legal case that
became the seminal beginning of the American Revolution was Entick v.
Carrington and Three Other King’s Messengers, reported at length in 19 Howell’s
State Trials 1029. This case was the start of the American Revolution and was
also based upon an abuse of the king’s agents. The action, dated November 1762,
was for trespassing and interfering with the plaintiff’s dwelling by breaking
open his desks and boxes and searching and examining his papers.
George III (b 1738;
1760-1820) became king in 1760. In February 1761, Parliament enacted the Writs
of Assistance that was challenged in court in Boston, Massachusetts. These were
writs that empowered, are no different today when agents can act at their
discretion. The Writs of Assistance allowed the king’s agents to search
anything they suspected. The defending lawyer James Otis (1725-1783) pronounced
these writs were “the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive
of English liberty, and the fundamental principles of law, that ever was found
in an English law book.” Otis warned that the king placed discretion in the
hands of every agent to act as he desired. Nothing has changed for the
government can do whatever it desires today and it is always the burden of the
citizen to prove he has any rights whatsoever.
John Adams (1735–1826;
2nd President 1797–1801) was there in the audience at that hearing that day.
Adams was so moved by the four- hour speech of James Otis that he declared:
“Then and there was the first scene of the first act of opposition to the
arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there, the child independence was
born.”
While I was in New
Jersey, twice going to work in the morning the road was blocked and the police
were looking at every car. At first, you would think they were searching for a
terrorist or a missing person or something you see on a TV show. No, the police
of Marlton, New Jersey were arbitrarily stopping every car during rush hour and
demanded your papers and identification. If you had then, including your
insurance card, then you passed. If you were missing anything, they sent you to
another line where they were writing tickets. This was an outright violation of
the Fourth Amendment. An illegal search without probable cause. Being stopped
during rush hour once was bad enough. They did it a second time. Marlton, New
Jersey had the reputation for the worst police in the state. They wrote more
ticket than any town and it was one giant money grab.
A friend’s wife looked
at her phone for Google Maps while at a red light. The cop waited for her to
turn on the highway that they designated as a “safe corridor” which meant fines
were doubled. She went to court to show she was not talking or texting. The
corrupt judge found her guilty and said she was not allowed to even look at her
phone. So the same thing on a piece of paper is ok. If on your phone its a $500
fine. What they do is outright illegals, but it will cost you hundreds of
thousands of dollars to claim you have any rights at all.
This is our real
crisis. There is no rule of law. They get to do whatever they want and we have
the burden to argue what they did violates the law. This is why rarely will a
cop ever be found guilty of even murder when killing someone. Judges will
routinely argue they were justified because they THOUGHT their life was in
danger.
Twice I went to the
airport to pick up non-Americans coming in. One was picking up a friend
daughter from Quebec. Because I was picking her and her friend up and taking
them to the hotel her father booked, they did not know the address where they
were staying. They spoke primarily French. She was just 16 and traveling to see
the history in Philadelphia. She handed her phone to the agent who then called
me and asked if I was there to pick them up. He then asked if I spoke French
because how would I communicate. I responded in French and asked him if he
spoke the language. He said OK. I asked, what is the problem. They were
Canadian. His response was – “They are still aliens!”
Another time I went to
pick up an employee coming in from Ukraine. I was there for more than an hour.
Everyone else had passed. Finally, a border guard brought them out and wanted
to see me. I asked what is the problem? I thought they were concerned about
people who did not leave? They had a 5-year business visa and came here
frequently. He was just nasty but released them. When I asked what happened, I
was told they searched everything and when they could find nothing, they called
another agent and said here, maybe you can find something.
There is really
nothing you can do. The circle is complete. We have returned to the same
position that started the whole thing and we once more face “the worst
instrument of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty, and the
fundamental principles of law, that ever was found in an English law book.”As
the Writs of Assistance in the Entick case, because government agents can do
whatever they desire and it is our burden to claim we had any right, the
Constitution has been completely nullified. It exists only if we have the MONEY
to hire lawyers who price themselves way too high and that ensures people are
not defended. Otis warned that the king placed discretion in the hands of every
agent to act as he desired.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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