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Tuesday, February 11th, 2020

Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Post Trial Competency Hearing for Pro Se Defendant with “Sovereign Citizen” Tax Defense.

In United States v. DiMartino, __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 550475 (Feb. 4, 2020) (Jacobs, Sack, Hall), the Circuit affirmed the denial of a post-trial motion for a competency hearing based on the defendant’s persistent adherence to the “Sovereign Citizen” theory that the IRS and Justice Department are private corporations, the tax laws are invalid, and the court had no jurisdiction over him. The defendant had represented himself at trial and his defense was that this theory was true and that he believed it was true. After his conviction, he retained counsel for sentencing. Counsel filed the motion with a psychologist’s report concluding that the defendant had a delusional disorder, based on his continuing insistence on the Sovereign Citizen theory. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s conclusion that, based on DiMartino’s conduct of the trial, he was competent, and that the psychologist’s report was unreliable.

The Second …


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Categories: comptency, Sovereign Citizen

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