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APPEND-V.TXT
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Appendix V
Memo on 6th and 16th Amendments
Page V - 1 of 4
The Federal Zone:
Reader's Notes:
Page V - 2 of 4
Appendix V
MEMO
TO: Federal Zone Readers
FROM: Mitch Modeleski
DATE: March 1, 1992
SUBJECT: More on the 6th and 16th Amendments
I have recently found an unusually clear and concise quote on
the effect of a ratified 16th Amendment among some Appellate
decisions I have been reviewing. This quote will be incorporated
into chapter 5 of the second edition of The Federal Zone. After
reading either edition, you will know the logic: if a ratified
16th Amendment had effect X, then a failed ratification proves
that X did not happen. What is X? Answer:
The constitutional limitation upon direct taxation was
modified by the Sixteenth Amendment insofar as taxation of
income was concerned, but the amendment was restricted to
income, leaving in effect the limitation upon direct
taxation of principal.
[Richardson vs United States, 294 F.2d 593 (1961)]
This ultra-clear ruling dovetails perfectly with the work of
author Jeffrey A. Dickstein but, unfortunately, this case is not
discussed in his book Judicial Tyranny (see the Bibliography).
My 6th Amendment research has also merged perfectly with a
parallel thesis of the book, namely, that the IRC should be
declared null and void for vagueness. It turns out that there is
a ton of legal precedent on the "nature and cause of the
accusation". Our fundamental right to ignore vague and arbitrary
laws is deeply rooted in our fundamental right to due process.
Here's the tentative new paragraph for chapter 5:
The "void for vagueness" doctrine is deeply rooted in our
right to due process (under the Fifth Amendment) and our
right to know the nature and cause of an accusation (under
the Sixth Amendment). The latter right goes far beyond the
contents of any criminal indictment. The right to know the
nature and cause of an accusation starts with the statute
which any defendant is accused of violating. A statute must
be sufficiently specific and unambiguous in all its terms,
in order to define and give adequate notice of the kind of
conduct which it forbids. If it fails to indicate with
reasonable certainty just what conduct the legislature
Page V - 3 of 4
The Federal Zone:
prohibits, a statute is necessarily void for uncertainty, or
"void for vagueness" as it is usually phrased. Any
prosecution which is based upon a vague statute must fail
together with the statute itself. A vague criminal statute
is unconstitutional for violating the 6th Amendment.
With this mountain of court precedent, we can now attack U.S. vs
Hicks as well as U.S. vs Bentson. The 9th Circuit kept referring
to the importance of "explicit statutory requirements".
Well, are those statutory requirements explicit if they utilize
the key word "income" but don't even define it (because they
can't without violating the Eisner prohibition)?
Are they explicit if they define "State" in such a way as to
create confusion about the precise limits of sovereign
jurisdiction?
Are they explicit if they qualify definitions by stating "where
not otherwise manifestly incompatible with the intent thereof",
but never define the intent thereof?
Can we ever know the real intent of Congress, when Title 26 was
never enacted into positive law?
How can we know which of the 3 official definitions of "United
States" to apply to the terms "United States citizen" and "United
States resident" when the IRC doesn't tell us, precisely and
unambiguously, which definition it is using?
How can we ever expect to quiet the debate about "includes" and
"including", when the Treasury Department's own decision,
published in 1927, frankly admits that these terms have a long
history of semantic confusion?
"This word has received considerable discussion in opinions
of the courts. It has been productive of much controversy."
Their own published Treasury Decision proves that Title 26
contains terms that have a documented history of controversy and
confusion.
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