Hoorah for Sheriff Richard Mack

[total1nessiam]

Date: Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 11:36 p.m.

Sheriff Richard Mack reminds us...

Hooray for this guy. Most sheriffs do not even know their own power. Since they are the highest-elected law enforcement officers, they have ultimate jurisdiction over their counties and can kick federal agents out anytime. It is pretty sickening to see FBI, BATF and IRS agents come into local areas and assume power because the sheriffs don't know their own power. M.

As you know, the D.C. criminals are working to remove your gun rights again with HR 45. Be sure to fax your congress critter and demand they vote NO! on HR 45.

Our friend, Pat Butler contacted Sheriff Mack who wrote reminding us that this has been tried more than once with the 'Brady' bill which he and 5 other Sheriffs fought all the way to the Supreme Court and won - proving that the Sheriff has the ultimate jurisdiction and the federal government has none within the states and counties. Sheriff Mack is still available for radio interviews

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Sheriff Richard Mack wrote:
The County Sheriff:The Ultimate Check & Balance

When the United States of America was founded the framers spent arduous hours devising a Constitution that would protect future generations from tyranny and government criminality. A system of checks and balances was established to keep all government, especially at the federal level, from becoming too powerful and abusive. The Bill of Rights was promulgated to augment the limitations previously placed against the government, to further insure that government would stay in its proper domain. So, what happens when government does not obey its own constitution? What punishment is meted out to politicians who vote for and pass unconstitutional laws? What happens if they appoint unlawful bureaucracies or allow their agents to violate the rights of the American citizen? The answer to these questions is both astounding and lamentable; NOTHING!

Now the question becomes even greater; who will stop criminal and out-of-control government from killing, abusing, violating, robbing, and destroying its own people? Yes, believe it or not, there is an answer to this one. The duty to stop such criminality lies with the county sheriff. The question needs to be posed to each and every sheriff of these United States; will you stand against tyranny?

The office of sheriff has a long and noble history. It dates back over a thousand years and originated in England. The sheriff is the only elected law enforcement official in America. He is the last line of defense for his citizens. He is the people's protector. He is the keeper of the peace, he is the guardian of liberty and the protector of rights. A vast majority of sheriffs will agree with all of this until they are asked to apply these principles of protection to federal criminals. Their backpeddling and excuses will be more plentiful than radar tickets and louder than sirens at doughnut time. Most of the unbelievers, who themselves have taken a solemn oath to "uphold and defend" the U S Constitution, will passionately and even apologetically exclaim that they have no authority or jurisdiction to tell federal agents to do anything, let alone stop them from victimizing local citizens. The truth and stark reality is that it's just the opposite; the sheriff has ultimate authority and law enforcement power within his jurisdiction. He is to protect and defend his citizens from all enemies, both "foreign and domestic."

Of course, there are those who will maintain that the feds have not and will not commit crimes against law-abiding citizens in this country, the IRS notwithstanding. For the sake of argument, let's just pretend that the government did nothing wrong at the Branch Davidian church in Waco or at Ruby Ridge, Idaho when citizens were killed. Those incidents have been debated and will be forever. However, the immutable truth about both tragedies remains that if the local sheriff had remained in charge of both incidents, not one person would have died, including federal agents, and the law would still have been enforced.

Despite the frequency or the severity of government abuses, if they were to happen in your county, would your sheriff intervene? Well, don't look now, but they are already occurring and some sheriffs have indeed taken very courageous stands against the feds coming in to their counties to "enforce" their laws. Cattle, lands, homes, bank accounts, cash, and even children have been seized and prisons filled all in the name of federal enforcement of EPA rules, The Endangered Species Act, IRS rules, (of which there are over 10 million pages) Forest Service and Dept. of the Interior technicalities and the list goes on and on.

The sheriff of NYE County, Nevada stopped federal agents from seizing a rancher's cattle and even threatened to arrest the feds if they proceeded against his orders. Sheriffs in Wyoming have told the agents of all federal bureaus to check with them before serving any papers, making any arrests, or confiscating any property. Why? because they are doing their jobs that's why! It's just another way to provide checks and balances that ultimately protect and help citizens.

Criminality within the IRS has been well documented. Hearings about such crimes were held before congress in 1998. IRS employees testified of hundreds of crimes being committed against law-abiding citizens. Congress did nothing about it. They were too busy checking Monica Lewinsky's dress. The point remains, if any abuse occurs in your county by federal officials; does your sheriff have the guts and the authority to protect and defend you? Does that question not sound redundant? Is he not bound by oath to do just that?

Yes, he has the right and the duty to do so. In Mack/Printz v USA, the U S Supreme Court declared that the states or their political subdivisions, "are not subject to federal direction." The issue of federal authority is defined even further in this most powerful Tenth Amendment decision. The two sheriffs who brought the suit objected to being forced into federal service without compensation pursuant to some misguided provisions of the Brady Bill. The sheriffs sued the USA (Clinton adm.) and won a major landmark case in favor of States' Rights and local autonomy. In this ruling by the Supreme Court, some amazing principles were exposed regarding the lack of power and authority the federal government actually has. In fact, this is exactly the issue addressed by the court when Justice Scalia opined for the majority stating, "…the Constitution's conferral upon Congress of not all governmental powers, but only discreet, enumerated ones."

Scalia then quotes the basis of the sheriffs' suit in quoting the Tenth Amendment which affirms the limited powers doctrine, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution…are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." To clarify this point, we need to understand that the powers and jurisdiction granted to the federal government are few, precise, and expressly defined. The feds have their assignments within constitutional boundaries and the states have theirs, as well. Scalia also mentions this, "It is incontestable that the Constitution established a system of dual sovereignty" and that the states retained "a residuary and inviolable sovereignty." Scalia even goes so far as to detail who is responsible to keep the federal government in their proper place, if or when they decide to go beyond their allotted authority. In doing so he quotes James Madison, considered to be the father of our Constitution, "The local or municipal authorities form distinct and independent portions of the supremacy, no more subject, within their respective spheres, to the general authority [federal government] than the general authority is subject to them, within its own sphere." (The Federalist # 39) Thus, the federal government has no more authority to compel the states or the counties to do anything, no more so than the Prime Minister of Canada has.

But what happens when the inevitable occurs; when the feds get too abusive and attempt to control every facet of our lives? The Mack/Printz decision answers this also. "This separation of the two spheres is one of the constitution's structural protections of liberty. Just as the separation and independence of the coordinate branches of the federal government serve to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front." To quote Madison again Scalia writes, "Hence, a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself." (The Federalist # 51) So the state governments are actually and literally charged with controlling the federal government. To do so is "one of the Constitution's structural protections of liberty." (Emphasis added)

Yes, it is regrettable that a sheriff would be put in this position. The governor and the state legislature should be preventing federal invasions into the states and counties way before the sheriff, but if it comes to the sheriff, then he must take a firm stand. James Madison also said, "We can safely rely on the disposition of state legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority." So when the state legislatures go along to get along and are bought off by political cronyism or the disbursement of federal funds, then the sheriff becomes the ultimate check and balance.

It is time for the sworn protectors of liberty, the sheriffs of these United States of America, to walk tall and defend us from all enemies; foreign and domestic. When sheriffs are put in the quandary of choosing between enforcing statutes from vapid politicians or keeping their oaths of office, the path and choice is clear, "I solemnly swear or affirm, that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

THE LAWSUIT

In 1977 I started my police career as a part-time "meter-maid" in Provo, Utah, while working my way through college at BYU. Upon graduation I applied for the FBI. My father had just retired from the Bureau a few years earlier and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. But, this dream never happened as I had some inexplicable problems with one of the Bureau's entrance tests. So, having gotten a taste of the Provo Police Dept. I decided to try to become a full-time cop there. It was a good department and I really liked the officers and the softball league. I was hired in March of 1979 and immediately became a by-the-numbers jerk. I suppose that I was still a decent person, but the leadership at Provo PD wanted numbers and I was not about to disappoint them. To acquire more manpower, more equipment, more money, etc., we had to show the City Council that we were busy. So we were all about road blocks (checking licenses, safety inspections, registrations, and anything else we could fish for). We had to write tickets and lots of them. We needed arrests and felonies and DUIs and druggies in jail and our efforts supported in the newspapers. I got caught up in all of this and loved it. We literally justified our existence on the backs of the citizens.

In 1982 I was asked by my sergeant to consider going undercover for a one year assignment in narcotics. I was given 24 hours to make this life changing decision and to talk it over with my wife. We had three young children at the time. This assignment would mean much less time at home and spending absolutely NO time with my family in public, including not going to church. I decided to do it, but it was something I so thoroughly hated that it defies description. I never used drugs growing up and only tasted beer a couple of times, and I hated that, too! Now I had to live in the bars, drink, smoke, and act like the biggest partying druggie there ever was (something totally foreign to my conservative Mormon upbringing). But I did it and again, the important thing about this was bringing in the numbers. So I worked hard and got the numbers my sergeant wanted and when I finished I was the happiest man on Earth. While shaving off my beard I looked at the whiskers floating down the sink and thought to myself how happy I was to finally watch my prison doors opening to freedom and my chance to return to my prior life and my family. This was the first time in my life that I personally experienced what it felt like to be free again. Man I was happy! To celebrate I took the family to Disneyland.

This undercover assignment changed my life and it got me wondering about the drug war and law enforcement in general. What was all this for? Why did so many people have to go to jail because of marijuana, especially when it was less harmful than alcohol? Is law enforcement really about public service or public harassment? To find answers to some of these questions I started reading and studying. I paid particular attention to books about drug abuse and treatment for addictions and juvenile delinquency. I am now totally convinced that the "Drug War" is a farce. It provides no benefit to the public and actually makes the drug problem worse.

My studies ultimately lead me to the foundational principles of the making of America. I studied my oath of office, you know the one that every police officer swears to before he can start his job; the oath where he swears allegiance to the United States Constitution. I also studied the Constitution. I thought it might actually be worthwhile to study the document I swore to defend and obey. So I did and it amazed me. It was beautiful and easy to understand. Then I started reading about the Founding Fathers and I came to know and love them. It literally changed my life. These were men of principle who dedicated their lives to the well-being and freedom of their fellowmen. I decided that I would never be on the wrong side again. I was quick to gain a complete disdain for abusive government and became sickened with political correctness. I got fed up with the numbers game in law enforcement and with the idea that we, the police, were here to force people to wear their seat belts, and to have their papers (driver's license, registration, insurance, and state inspection) in order before they could ?freely? go about their lives. What I saw at the state capitol and in Washington DC made me even sicker. I looked at the millions of laws being shoved down our throats and I looked at the U. S. Constitution and I saw very little resemblance. The state legislature and the U. S. Congress both violated the Bill of Rightsas a matter of routine.

In 1988 I decided to move home to Safford, Arizona and run for Graham County Sheriff. I had never been a cop there and hadn't lived in Arizona for about 12 years. Now I would ask the people there to make me the top law enforcement officer of the county. They did. This election was really quite miraculous. Looking back at it, I still can't believe it. Nevertheless, I was re-elected in 1992 and in 1994 something really crazy happened. I decided that I had had enough! The Brady bill was passed by Congress and signed in to law by President Bill Clinton. This "law" forced each sheriff to become a pawn for the Federal Government and to do their bidding to promote gun control within our jurisdictions. Even more astounding than this was the fact that no funds were allocated for us to do this work and the Brady act contained a provision to arrest us if we failed to comply. Wow! So here's the U. S. Congress making an unconstitutional gun control law, requiring a county official to enforce it and pay for it, and then threatening to arrest him if he refuses! What a country!

Well, to make a long story short, I was the first sheriff in the nation to file a lawsuit to stop the Brady bill and against the Clinton administration to end this nonsense and abuse. I had no idea what a roller coaster ride this would take me on. I received hundreds of calls from the media all over the world and I got hate mail and threats and awards and honors all at the same time. As the case proceeded six other sheriffs from around the country joined the lawsuit; Koog from Texas, Frank from Vermont, Romero from Louisiana, McGee from Mississippi, Printz from Montana, and Anders from Wyoming. Sheriff Printz and I ended up at the U S Supreme Court together on December 4, 1996. Then on June 27, 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the Brady bill was in fact unconstitutional and that the Federal Government could not commandeer state or county officers for federal bidding. This was more than monumental! The feds could no longer just do anything and everything they damn well pleased. The ruling stated at least three times that the States were "not subject to Federal direction." (Don't you wish your State was aware of this?) More importantly, this case proved that local officials have the right, the power, and the duty to stand against the far reaching incursions by our own Federal Government. In the ruling Justice Scalia opined for the majority, "The Federal Government may not compel the states to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program." This means none, nada, zilch, zero! They can't compel the states or the counties or local officials to comply with their stupid regulations. (Yes, the states can still go along voluntarily, and far too often, that is exactly what happens.) But freedom won that day on June 27, 1997, and it started the snowball rolling for each sheriff in this country to stand tall and to protect his or her constituents from "all enemies both foreign and domestic."

This is the ultimate check and balance and it falls squarely on the shoulders of the county sheriff. This booklet will show how you are indeed the last line of defense between your people and the criminals from the streets and from the Federal Government. If we are to get America back, if we are indeed to return to the constitutional Republic we were meant to be, then it will be up to us, yes the sheriffs of America, and hopefully other local officials, as well, who have the guts and dedication to tell the feds that we are no longer going to put up with their intervention, control, meddling, and especially, their criminal behavior within our respective jurisdictions. This booklet will offer proof positive that you have the authority, the power, and the duty to be the ultimate check and balance for the American citizenry in your county and to defend them against all local and federal criminals.

[JJ]

am now totally convinced that the "Drug War" is a farce. It provides no benefit to the public and actually makes the drug problem worse.


Take it one step further--the CIA was created to bring in 500 BILLION in drugs each year--ask Cheney all about it--his Halliburton, and K,B,R. has an up-front, hands on view.