Richard Simkanin, Political Prisoner

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It seems the US legal system is corrupt.

If you don't succeed try, try again.

Mr Simkanin was NOT indicted by two grand juries over not withholding tax for his employees.

So the legal thugs PREVENTED HIM FROM APPEARING IN front of a third grand jury.

Nice trick!

He was bailed and then a clown overturned his bail.

I'd been planning to do a more detailed post on Richard Simkanin.

"It seems the US legal system is corrupt." is an understatement. A more accurate statement is "It's one huge farce." In a trial involving income taxes, a slave will *NEVER* get a fair trial. There's the obvious conflict of interest. The prosecutor and judge both work for the State. The judge is dependent on income taxes for his own salary and influence. A State judge *WILL NOT* be impartial in a trial involving taxes.

Richard Simkanin recently died in prison. He was jailed as a political prisoner. He was protesting the IRS. He refused to withhold taxes from his employees' salary. He refused to report the transaction to the IRS.

He took out a full-page ad in USA Today, proclaiming the IRS was illegal/immoral. He was refusing to participate in the scam. Naturally, State thugs kidnapped and tortured him, to set an example.

State thugs say "Richard Simkanin was convicted! That proves he was wrong!" No, that just proves how unfair the State "justice" system is.

Originally, State thugs tried indicting Richard Simkanin in front of an open grand jury. Most defendants decline to testify in front of the grand jury. Richard Simkanin decided to testify. He explained why the IRS was immoral and unconstitutional. The grand jury did not indict.

Two grand juries declined to indict Richard Simkanin, after he testified. Then, prosecutors held a "secret grand jury". Richard Simkanin was not invited to testify. He was indicted. Initially, a magistrate judge offered him bail, but the prosecutor appealed and the regular judge held him without bail. He was convicted in a sham trial.

This illustrates two defects in the State legal system.

First, if a grand jury declines to indict, the prosecutor gets a mulligan. Since you were never indicted, the prosecutor is free to try again with another grand jury. Due to a technicality, this doesn't violate "double jeopardy".

Second, secret grand juries are a severe abuse of State power. As Richard Simkanin noticed, sometimes the best place to fight false criminal charges is in front of a grand jury. If you convince the grand jury to not indict, then you save the expense and stress of a long drawn-out trial. You also avoid being held without bail pending trial. You also avoid the risk that the judge and prosecutor will rig the jury, ensuring a conviction.

Secret grand juries have other Police State powers. They can subpoena. All your friends and business partners may be forced to testify. Due to secrecy rules, they may not be allowed to tell you about it. Property may be seized. Via "asset forfeiture" rules, the victim has the burden of proof, when trying to recover his property.

Grand juries are supped to protect people from wrongful prosecution. Secret grand juries are a tool that prosecutors use to harass people. In a secret grand jury, the prosecutor can easily convince the jury. The grand jury will usually rubberstamp and subpoena request or indictment request.

The grand jury thinks "If I wrongly indict, he will be acquitted at trial." The criminal jury thinks "He must be guilty. Otherwise, the grand jury would not have indicted. Besides, if I wrongly convict, it will be reversed on appeal." In this manner, State evil occurs and nobody is individually responsible. Everybody assumes "If other people do their job right, it won't matter if I make a mistake." What happens when nobody does their job right? The "checks and balances" aren't working. The "checks and balances" enable each person to dodge responsibility, thinking a mistake will be corrected by someone else.

Notice the cleverness of the State "justice" system. The grand juror thinks "It's OK if I make a mistake and indict. If I'm wrong, he'll be acquitted at trial." The trial juror thinks "Of course he's guilty. Otherwise, the grand jury would not have indicted him." Nobody is responsible.

However, Richard Simkanin's arguments didn't work in the jury trial. I don't know the details. The judge may have prevented Simkanin from explaining his viewpoint. Via biased "jury selection", the jury may have been packed with pro-State trolls.

Did Richard Simkanin hire a lawyer, or did he represent himself? I didn't see any details. If he hired a lawyer, his lawyer may have censored Simkanin's argument. Simkanin's lawyers may have focused on Simkanin's mental state "mens rea", rather than "The IRS is immoral!".

This page had some interesting bits. Simkanin's first jury trial resulted in a hung jury, voting 11-1 favoring acquittal. The prosecutors and judge used every dirty trick available to secure conviction. They adopted "Jury Security" measures, to prevent "jury nullification" pamphleters from affecting the jury. Instead of reporting to the courthouse, prospective jurors reported to an undisclosed location in secret. Some of the records filed in the case are "sealed" and not publicly available.

Why were State thugs so eager to convict Simkanin? Every slave who disobeys must be punished! Even if Simkanin were acquitted, it isn't a precedent that could be cited in other cases.

Most slaves go along with the State. State thugs can afford to spend a lot of resources silencing anyone who deviates.

I think I could explain my viewpoint to 12 jurors, even with prosecutor selection bias. However, it's hard to actually do. Even if you are acquitted, there's a huge cost associated with a criminal trial. If prosecutors really wanted to kidnap and torture me, they could question 200+ jurors and pick the worst pro-State trolls. If I'm in jail and tortured for months pending trial, that would affect my ability to represent myself in court. Political criminals are sometimes not allowed to shave or cut their hair or dress well, so that jurors will have the appropriate attitude. If I'm taken to the trial in shackles and an orange prison jumpsuit, that would affect the jurors' perception of me.

Richard Simkanin made some tactical mistakes. A good agorist should not repeat them.

Earlier last year, Richard Simkanin was let out on parole. He said that his parole officer's authority was not legitimate, and refused to report. That is foolish. I understand the viewpoint, but it's a poor tactical decision. Once State thugs decide to target you, you are pretty much SOL. Richard Simkanin should have gone along with the parole restrictions, but went around giving speeches on how evil the State is.

For example, Larken Rose is out of prison, after being jailed as a political prisoner. However, he is younger than Richard Simkanin and wasn't in jail as long. He's managed to avoid being re-arrested. He seems to be a serious anarchist now.

Richard Simkanin's business was incorporated. That was a mistake. If you're incorporate your business, you're voluntarily registering it with the State taxation system. A real agorist should not have an incorporated business. A real agorist should not use the State banking system for his profits.

Richard Simkanin had hired accountants and lawyers, before he decided to stop paying IRS extortion money. They advised him to not do it. State-licensed accountants and lawyers have an obligation to report you to the State, if they believe you are going to commit a crime! If you're planning to work as an agorist, *DON'T* consult with a State-licensed lawyer or accountant. Do your own taxes, and report any income State thugs already know about.

During his criminal trial, his former accountants and lawyers testified *AGAINST* Simkanin. They said that they advised him to be a good slave.

Also, Simkanin had some relatives employed in his business. They quit, when he stopped IRS withholding and reporting. His relatives also testified against him, in his trial. Sometimes, I wonder if my biggest risk as a working agorist, comes from my parents and relatives. They would be the first ones to rat me out to the State.

Richard Simkanin used the State banking system. That is a mistake. Banks have an obligation to report all transactions to the IRS. For all practical purposes, a State-licensed bank works for the State and IRS. Also, it is very easy for State thugs to seize money from a State-licensed bank.

If you're serious about working as an agorist, *DON'T USE THE STATE BANKING SYSTEM AT ALL*. For this reason, an agorist banking system is needed. It would have to be heavily trust-bases, like the hawala system.

Richard Simkanin died in jail as a political prisoner. Most high-profile critics of the IRS wind up in jail. A pro-State troll says "That proves their arguments are wrong!" That merely illustrates the corruption of the State "justice" system. If you have a dispute regarding State taxes, that dispute is decided in a State court, with a State-employed judge, a State-employed prosecutor, and State-employed police. A slave isn't going to get a fair trial regarding taxes, in a biased State court.

Richard Simkanin risked his life and business what what he knew was right, and he lost. I haven't taken any risks besides blogging (so far). Richard Simkanin made many tactical mistakes. An agorist should not use a State-licensed accountant or lawyer. An agorist should not use the State banking system. An agorist should deal in cash as much as possible, preferably using gold or silver. An agorist should make sure his partners won't rat him out to the State, although it would be hard to refuse a cooperation agreement and plea bargain. There also is a risk that your friends and relatives will later testify against you, if pressured by the State. I can imagine my mother testifying in court "FSK has these crazy anti-government ideas! I don't know what to do about him! He belongs in jail!"

Richard Simkanin died in jail as a political prisoner. I appreciate his viewpoint, but his tactics were wrong. Working as an agorist isn't easy, because terrorists are eager to kindap and torture you for questioning them.

Most slaves think "Only 'backwards' countries like China have political prisoners. That doesn't happen in the USA." That is false. The mainstream media doesn't normally cover the people wrongfully imprisoned in the USA.