Post by Logan on Jun 4, 2016 0:19:40 GMT -6
Vehicular homicide case stalls when sovereign citizen suspect files lien against judge
CLINTON — Arraignment for a man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a driving incident after a 4th of July fireworks show was abruptly halted Friday because the man has filed an $8 million lien against the presiding judge's property.
A furious Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge told Lee Cromwell he was recusing himself from the case and would ask the state's Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint a special judge to preside.
Elledge said he couldn't be fair and impartial after Cromwell, who calls himself a sovereign citizen, filed the lien against him.
Elledge also told Cromwell he would "do everything legally and ethically possible to prosecute him, both criminally and civilly," as a result of the lien.
Read more: www.knoxnews.com/news/crime-courts/anderson-vehicular-homicide-case-stalls-when-suspect-files-lien-against-judge-346193cc-4c22-49b2-e05-381827481.html
Related article:
Experts: Bogus liens common tactic of sovereign citizens
It's a bizarre, loose-knit subculture that's a growing anti-government movement, and those who call themselves sovereign citizens often use court filings and property liens "as a response to perceived injustice," according to a report.
Sovereign citizens don't think they have to pay taxes, believe they — not judges or elected officials — get to decide what laws to obey and which to ignore, and on rare occasions have resorted to violence against authority figures.
The FBI "has designated sovereign citizens as a domestic terrorist movement and a growing threat to law enforcement," according to a report from the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Anderson County homicide suspect Lee Cromwell's filing of multimillion-dollar property liens against an Anderson County judge, the district attorney general and the Oak Ridge police chief is a typical strategy of sovereign citizens. Such officials are "frequently targeted," according to the report.
Read more: www.knoxnews.com/news/crime-courts/experts-bogus-liens-common-tactic-of-sovereign-citizens-3461859d-11dc-520d-e053-0100007f938e-381826211.html
CLINTON — Arraignment for a man accused of killing one person and injuring 11 others in a driving incident after a 4th of July fireworks show was abruptly halted Friday because the man has filed an $8 million lien against the presiding judge's property.
A furious Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Don Elledge told Lee Cromwell he was recusing himself from the case and would ask the state's Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint a special judge to preside.
Elledge said he couldn't be fair and impartial after Cromwell, who calls himself a sovereign citizen, filed the lien against him.
Elledge also told Cromwell he would "do everything legally and ethically possible to prosecute him, both criminally and civilly," as a result of the lien.
Read more: www.knoxnews.com/news/crime-courts/anderson-vehicular-homicide-case-stalls-when-suspect-files-lien-against-judge-346193cc-4c22-49b2-e05-381827481.html
Related article:
Experts: Bogus liens common tactic of sovereign citizens
It's a bizarre, loose-knit subculture that's a growing anti-government movement, and those who call themselves sovereign citizens often use court filings and property liens "as a response to perceived injustice," according to a report.
Sovereign citizens don't think they have to pay taxes, believe they — not judges or elected officials — get to decide what laws to obey and which to ignore, and on rare occasions have resorted to violence against authority figures.
The FBI "has designated sovereign citizens as a domestic terrorist movement and a growing threat to law enforcement," according to a report from the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Anderson County homicide suspect Lee Cromwell's filing of multimillion-dollar property liens against an Anderson County judge, the district attorney general and the Oak Ridge police chief is a typical strategy of sovereign citizens. Such officials are "frequently targeted," according to the report.
Read more: www.knoxnews.com/news/crime-courts/experts-bogus-liens-common-tactic-of-sovereign-citizens-3461859d-11dc-520d-e053-0100007f938e-381826211.html