The Sovereign Citizen Movement: Making Sense of Pseudo-Law

Following the Bundy Ranch and Malhuer, Oregon Wildlife Refuge standoffs, the Sovereign Citizen movement has repeatedly been in the news. Sovereigns argue that taxes are illegal, the government is a front for a for-profit corporation and that they are entitled to trillions of dollars if their constitutional rights are violated. The legal arguments of Sovereigns are usually dismissed as crazy, but they follow a strange logic in their pseudo-legal complaints. Because Sovereign-inspired arguments are likely to be part of the legal and political landscape for some time, it is important for attorneys to understand the nature of the Sovereign Citizens and the real professional and even physical dangers they pose.

This class will discuss the history of the Sovereign Citizen movement and how they venerate particular understandings of citizenship, property and sovereignty to support their arguments. It will cover specific Sovereign groups in the Greater Philadelphia area, and provide practical advice for attorneys on how to deal with Sovereign Citizens and their arguments.

Provider:
Jenkins Law Library, an accredited provider under the Pennsylvania CLE Board's Rules, will serve as the CLE provider for this course. The course has been approved by the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board for 1.0 hour of CLE credit in substantive law, practice and procedure.

This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.0 hour of total CLE credit.