United States v. Coleman

Defendant pointed a gun at an agent for a vehicle repossession company and threatened to shoot him and was indicted as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). At his arraignment, Defendant acknowledged his presence in federal court, but challenged the court’s jurisdiction, stated that the government was “trying to charge [him] with” a “commercial crime” and that the government could not be the victim of a commercial crime. Defendant asked the judge if he was “forcing [Defendant] to contract,” and referred to himself as a “flesh and blood living being,” whose detention on “U.S. soil” was unconstitutional. Weeks later, Defendant’s appointed counsel moved to withdraw after Defendant became “combative” during a meeting. Defendant told the court that he was present “on special appearance, [as a] third-party intervenor,” claimed that he was a “beneficiary and executor to the legal estate of the decedent,” and made other irrational statements. The court ordered new counsel. Days before trial, Defendant filed a pro se notice reiterating his jurisdictional challenge as a “Moorish American National.” After his conviction, Defendant challenged the court’s failure to order, sua sponte, a mental competency evaluation (18 U.S.C. 4241(a)). The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Defendant’s arguments "correspond to meritless rhetoric frequently espoused by tax protesters, sovereign citizens, and self-proclaimed Moorish-Americans." Defendant expressed "fringe" views but did not exhibit irrational behavior before or during trial or “act in a way that called his competency into question.” View "United States v. Coleman" on Justia Law