The Sovereign State of Virginia

[progdonkey]

Who says going to court isn't exciting? My sister and I were up in Fairfax, VA, at the beginning of this week because we were the plaintiffs in a civil suit.

During voire dire (jury selection), the judge and each side's lawyers ask questions of prospective jurors to try to arrive at an impartial jury. The judge's questions are fairly basic and deal primarily with eligibility: citizenship, place of residence, English proficiency, etc, while each counsel's questions are to weed out jurors that might be biased against their side.

Well, the judge at one point asked, "If you are not a citizen of the United States, please raise your hand." A middle-aged man who looked, and dressed, like Howard Taft raised his hand. Okay, I thought, he's probably going to say he has dual citizenship with Canada, or something. I couldn't have been further from the truth!

Seeing that the man raised his hand, the judge (who sounded just like Al Gore) asked him directly if he was a citizen of the United States. The man's response was, "Well, I do not claim citizenship of the United States; I claim citizenship of the Sovereign State of the Commonwealth of Virginia." You could sense the collective snickering in the courtroom, and even the judge was taken aback. He hid it well, of course, but you could tell he was thinking, "That's a new one!"

The judge had the man approach the bench, accompanied by the opposing counsels. The judge asked the man, "Is the Federal Government aware you're not a citizen?" The man's reply was, "Well, I'm still working on the paperwork," and that he personally never recognized the authority of the Federal Government. He then went on about how the Constitution states that the Federal Government only has jurisdiction over forts, military vessels, etc. He then said, "Your honor, I am sure you have sworn to uphold both the laws of Virginia and the laws of the Federal Government. I'm afraid that means you've broken the law on many an occasion." Of course, the judge was rather surprised to find he's been in violation of the Constitution all these years!

Needless to say, he wasn't one of the seven final jurors.

[bluestateguy]

1. Overeducated people and folks w/ wacky pol. views are usually not chosen

I doubt I'll ever be on a jury. I'm a year away from a PhD. I support drug legalization, protitution and I oppose gun control.

[demnan]

2. Ha-ha!

He was probably just trying to get out of being chosen!