Edward
J. Guenette
PO
Box 157
Hayfork,
CA 96041-0157
September
3, 2011
Bruce
Haney, County Sheriff Certified
Mail 7010 2780
0000 5218 7574
PO
Box 1228, 101 Memorial Drive
Weaverville,
CA 96093-1228
RE: Trinity County Narcotic Task Force (TCNTF)
Dear
Sheriff Haney:
With
reference to the entity captioned above, this letter is my good-faith attempt
to ascertain the source of the written authority which grants local law
enforcement jurisdiction on territory other than land ceded to and owned by the
federal government, i.e., the United States of America under the Articles of
Confederation of November 15, 1777.
The
Trinity Journal has reported that on August 5, 16, 17 and 19 of this year the
TCNTF served search warrants, conducted raids, eradicated marijuana plants, seized
personal property and arrested numerous individuals. Furthermore, the newspaper
stated that, ".... charges were also filed against the property owner(s)."
- which indicates that all of the alleged law enforcement activity by the TCNTF
was conducted on territory other than land owned by and subject to the
exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the United States of America.
For
the record, Sheriff Haney, I am not challenging your authority to regulate and
enforce written laws, i.e., codes, statutes and ordinances but to present the
fact that all government, which includes the County of Trinity, has limited
jurisdiction with regard to law, the land and people.
Few
would disagree that the rule of law is not an absolute necessity for any
society in order to ensure order and to enjoy prosperity and the promise of
personal liberty. But what is the source of this law that
ought to rule? Written law as decreed by legislative
assemblies, governmental authority, elective officials or bureaucratic agencies
has come to dominate contemporary thought and social interaction. Forgotten is
that this view of law has not predominated through most of Anglo-American
history. In fact, our legal/political tradition is firmly marked by the predominance
of common law, i.e., unwritten law not created by government. However, in
recent generations the supremacy of common law has been eclipsed by a
burgeoning and burdensome corpus of legislative codes and administrative
regulations.
In
Common Law and the Free Society David Van Drunen writes:
"One of the key benefits of
a vibrant common law is that it reinforces the idea of the rule of law. By the rule of
law we understand that members of society are to act according to certain known
rules, which
bind government officials as well as ordinary citizens. Without the rule of law
acting to constrain the arbitrary whims of
those in power, members of society cannot enjoy freedom in a meaningful
- page 2
-
way. In our own day, when we see legislatures and
administrative agencies passing a plethora of statutes
and regulations, it is obvious that the rule of law has become severely
attenuated. Though
we still like to think that our government officials are bound by the law, what
does this really
mean when these very government officials are decreeing nearly every law that
exists? Here is where we can recognize part of the genius of a
common-law system. Because the common law is not created by government
officials but by the people as a whole as they freely interact with each
other, it can serve as an external rule for constraining those in authority. When an independently generated
common law governs the actions of government officials, their
ability to
exercise arbitrary power is curtailed."
Traditionally,
the sheriff facilitated the operation of the common law by assembling jurors
for a common law trial, however, today sheriffs operate the county jails and
perform enforcement of written law.
Article III Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of
California of 1879 means that the State of California is the territory within
California, which belongs to the Confederacy, the United States of America,
under the Articles of Confederation of November 15, 1777. The phrase, "and
the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land," confirms
the State of California is territory subject to the Organic Laws of the United
States of America.
The President of the United States and the local law enforcers,
such as yourself, claim authority through the Constitution of the United States,
however, as presented herein it is established fact that the Constitution is
limited to the territory owned by and subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States of America. Therefore, local law
enforcement in the County of Trinity is limited to the territory owned by and
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of America, because the United
States of America is the only landowner that has consented to be governed by a
local authority, provided those local laws do not impact the federal
government.
From the
Sheriff's Department web site Mission Statement:
"As
members of the Law Enforcement Community a great deal more
is expected of us than of those in other pursuits. Therefore, we hold
that our actions shall be professional, reasonable, exemplary and
consistent with
the spirit and word of this philosophy, Constitution of the United States, laws
of the State of California and Ordinances of the County of Trinity".
(emphasis added)
With appreciation for your anticipated expedited reply to my
request that you provide me with the source identifying the written authority
which grants local law enforcement jurisdiction on land in the County of
Trinity that has not been ceded to and owned by the federal government. I
remain
Respectfully,
Edward J. Guenette
cc:
Michael B. Harper, District Attorney/Public Administrator
Mark Potts, Narcotics Division
Wendy Tyler, Deputy CAO and Clerk for the Board