Gun Kit Maker Challenges
ATF's, Court's Jurisdiction
Bob Stewart is confident he will win a
victory for gun owners everywhere.
by Angel Shamaya
Founder/Executive Director
KeepAndBearArms.com
April 18, 2001
(The day before the anniversary of Waco -- and Lexington & Concord)
Mesa, Arizona gun-kit manufacturer, Bob
Stewart, is challenging the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and he's seeking proof of jurisdiction of
the Federal Court itself. While numbers of liberty advocacy groups have for
years doubted the alleged legitimacy and authority of the ATF, Mr. Stewart is
betting his very life and freedom on the fact that the BATF is way
out of line in their strategies and methodologies -- stating directly that
they have no authority to assault or even accuse him -- and he's doing so without an
attorney and by submitting his own truly explosive documents in his
defense.
Mr. Stewart's last move with his attorneys by
his side was to submit a motion to dismiss the case based on constitutional
vagueness. From the prosecution's (federal government's) perspective, at
issue in the case has been whether or not Mr. Stewart's kit is a gun -- and the
only clause the ATF has to go by in their "regulations" lies in these
two words: "readily converted." Mr. Stewart's motion to suppress the
search warrant basically declared that the term is too vague to justify an armed raid, his
incarceration and all of the other things the ATF is now widely known for doing
and has done to him and his family.
Federal Judge Roslyn O. Silver (District Court in
Phoenix) denied the motion to suppress the search warrant, denied the motion to
dismiss and basically said the show must go on. According to Stewart, the feds then offered
him a
plea bargain -- 6 years in prison -- but not only did he refuse the offer that he
called "absurd in the extreme," he's going right for their jugular,
and he truly believes he will win. Bob Stewart fired his attorneys, argued
for over two hours for permission to defend himself pro per, and the
judge was finally persuaded to grant his request.
Bob Stewart is taking on the ATF and the
federal courts that pave their way -- alone.
If we liken this situation to the
biblical story of David and Goliath, Bob Stewart is taking on roughly 42,000
Goliaths, and he repeatedly says the victory is his if these courts
wish to maintain their appearance of legality and constitutionality.
In fact, he said just two days ago, "if this
court is a legitimate court that still operates under the Constitution, they
have no recourse but to admit they had no right whatsoever to do
what they did to me and my wife and children -- and no jurisdiction at all."
Jurisdiction, according to Mr. Stewart, is
being challenged "by submitting a Demand for Bill of Particulars, and a
Stipulated version, with answers, and a Dilatory Plea -- a motion to quash the fatally flawed Indictment." (Each of those documents is available below.)
Stewart is convinced that the Prosecutor cannot
rebut his claims and therefore has no case. No case would mean no trial.
According to Mr. Stewart, "the Court must
now prove that they have jurisdiction." Citing Hagens v. Lavine 415 U.S.
533, Note 3, as his reference -- along with a number of other federal laws, rules
and codes and both the Arizona and united States Constitutions -- Bob Stewart is
testing a number of long held convictions many strident liberty advocates
espouse fervently.
Is it really that simple, cut and dried?
Bob Stewart is betting on it: "It is all just that simple. No
other issues, just JURISDICTION. The BATF has none, neither does the IRS, and
that will rock this nation!!!" According to Stewart, his case can
"end BATF/IRS activities on private soil." That would be nice, and
you are invited to witness the hearing and to hear the motions, the replies and the
responses to the replies. As has been true in previous hearings in Stewart's
case, people will come from other states just to be present.
Bob Stewart expects his case to be
thrown out then and there -- if it even makes it to the next hearing.
"AND WHEN IT IS THROWN OUT, IT WILL BE THE
MOST SIGNIFICANT GUN RIGHTS VICTORY EVER......FOR THE PEOPLE," proclaimed
Mr. Stewart. If Stewart could challenge the ATF's jurisdiction on private
property and win the challenge, considering the ATF's recent $773 million budget
-- their largest ever -- he'd be right.
Bob Stewart has been talking about challenging
the ATF's jurisdiction since the raid against him took place in June of 2000.
One who knows him personally might wonder why he didn't go straight to the jurisdiction issue -- so I asked him. "When I had three attorneys
working on this case, I could never have gotten them to do what we are doing
now," he explained. "They simply refused to challenge jurisdiction. I
AM challenging it, and now jurisdiction must be proven by the government
-- and the government has NO legal way to prove that it has jurisdiction."
Let's hope so, and let's make sure that
courtroom is filled to capacity. Read the documents he
submitted to the court and you may come to understand why this case needs
support -- and why that courtroom should be filled to capacity, with
liberty-minded people spilling out into the hallway.
BE THERE:
If you are in Arizona, especially in Phoenix,
this is plenty of notice to get May 25, 2001 off of work. If Bob Stewart is
right, losing a half a day of work would certainly be a good tradeoff for being
present to watch the ATF and the federal court lose a jurisdiction case. And if the judge goes against the
Constitution -- the Supreme Law of the Land -- it might also be interesting to
be there, as well.
25 May 2001, 10:00AM
Judge Silver's courtroom in Phoenix, downtown federal courthouse, 230 N. 1st
Ave. @ Van Buren (SW corner)
Documents Bob Stewart has Submitted to the
Court
Following are links to scanned images of the
actual documents filed with the District Court in Phoenix, Arizona. There
are links directly to each page along with links to download each set of
documents in .zip files, MS Word files, Word Perfect files and Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf) files. We did have some slight glitches in making all versions look
exactly the same, but the information is the same -- and the one true copy as
submitted to the court is scanned and available below.
Special Demand for Specific BILL OF
PARTICULARS with Affidavit of Verification
Filed on April 3, 2001
What you will see in these scanned images immediately below are 66 questions
posed to the court and the government's prosecuting attorney to obtain an
explanation of the ATF's and the Court's alleged grounds for their actions
against Mr. Stewart and his family. The questions appear to get at the heart of jurisdiction and authority and
address not only the types of rules and laws by which the federal government is operating but the
deeper questions that come to mind when many people explore whether or not the
ATF and the federal government are "allowed" to do much of what they
do. Also below are links to the affidavit that was filed with the 66 questions:
BILL OF PARTICULARS Proposed for Stipulation
Filed on April 3, 2001
What you will see in this set of documents are the
66 answers to the abovementioned questions that the prosecutor (Mr. Welty) will
most likely put forth to defend his claim of jurisdiction. According to Bob
Stewart, "he will have to defend his answers in court in order to prove
that he does have jurisdiction. This is impossible to do, since there exists no
lawful or legal grounds to support his claim to jurisdiction."
Proof of Dilatory Plea by Affidavit of Verification
Filed on April 6, 2001
Following are links to the sworn affidavit that, in essence, openly
challenges the venue and jurisdiction of the federal court and the ATF and
directly states each specific reason why such a challenge is warranted.
Entry of DILATORY PLEA TO QUASH DEFECTIVE INDICTMENT in the nature and
style of a Pre-Plea MOTION TO DISMISS
Filed on April 6, 2001
This is a motion to quash the defective indictment due to the fatal defects
and omissions in the colorable indictment and charging instruments, challenging
the court's venue and jurisdiction. This document and its implications could
prove nationally beneficial in cases where the ATF, IRS, and Federal courts
overstep their jurisdiction. This document contains 12 numbered items that,
according to Bob Stewart, "are facts which support the motion to dismiss
the colorable action." (In other words, this is the meat of why the federal
government's alleged "case" against Mr. Stewart is closing in Mr.
Stewart's favor -- we pray.)