Constitutionalist beats seat belt ticket through the mail

October 30, 3:43 PMLA County Libertarian ExaminerMartin Hill

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John Shanahan, PE, licensed engineer member of  Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, is a Constittuionalist and liberty advocate who recently beat a seat belt ticket in Rancho Cucamonga CA.
When John was pulled over for not wearing his seat belt, he had engaged the officer in a discussion about the 4th Ammendment, privacy concerns and the nanny state in which cops serve as revenue collectors, spending time ticketing people for things that are none of the state's business. The cop defended his position and gave him the ticket.

As you will read below, the cop that ticketed John denied that he even swore an oath to the U.S. Constitution! So after receiving his ticket, John contacted the Sherrif's Dept. and asked them for a copy of the oath that the officers swear to.

John then filed what's called a trial by declaration. The good thing about this is that if you lose, you are entitled to what's called a  TRIAL DE NOVO, [CVC 40902], in which the first conviction is vacated and you get a trial in person. It is not an appeal, but rather a brand new trial.  It's basically like a free shot at winning.

Sylvia Smith, former owner of the UPS Store in Upland, shared a similar experience after getting a $600 speeding ticket. She visited HelpIGotATicket.com and learned how to file a trial by declaration and also asked for a BAIL WAIVER, which the clerk will usually give you. If the ticketing officer does not submit his TRIAL BY DECLARATION evidence to the court, the case is dismissed. This is what happened with Sylvia. She did not miss one minute off work and didn't spend one dime. The next time I saw her she exuberantly told me of her victory- she had never fought a ticket before. "Now Sylvia, will you ever plead guilty to anything ever again?" I asked. 'HECK NO!' she shouted, giving me a high five. When I do a trial by declaration, I only write the words "I'm not guilty" in the description area. You can include as much or as little as you like, but I figure why show them your full defense ahead of time, in case it goes to an in-person trial. Sylvia had written only the words "Im not guilty" on her form.

In John's case, he atttached the following evidence. His text consisted of the following:

"During the course of our short roadside discussion in the extremely intrustive nature of seat belt citation, it became clear that deputy Fussell was ignorant of his sworn duty to protect "support and defend" the Constitution of the United States. On 6/17/08, I received by email a copy of the oath that is sworn by all members of the S.B. County Sheriff's Police, per Jennifer Hanblin (Public Affairs Division).

The contents of the solemn oath apparently mean so little to Deputy Fussell that he not only never gave any thought to the history and meaning of the U.S. Constitution (especially the 4th Ammendment which applies to my case), but he denied that he ever swore an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution!!!
Date: 11/9/08"
Here is a copy of John's statement which he submitted on 11/4/08. [Here is a larger version].

Here is the  front page of John's 'TRIAL BY DECLARATION' form  that accompanied it.
Here is the EMAIL FROM SHERRIF'S DEPT. outling the Constitutional oath that every Sherrif takes.
Here is an actual copy of the CONSTITUTIONAL OATH they swear to uphold.

Here is the notice from the court  stating that the officer did not reply to the challenge, and so the case is dismissed. John got a waiver and didn't pay the $103 dollar ransom they demanded, he never claimed to have worn his seat belt. and he won.
Here is a page which includes INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TRIAL BY DECLARATION.

John also recently beat a stop sign ticket, which is outlined in my article Defendant refers to traffic cops as revenue agents, wins case.

I will end with this reminder, a recent article from MSN Money which outlines numerous admissions that traffic tickets are largely for nothing but revenue. A hearty congratulations to John Shanahan for beating his seat belt ticket, and remember folks- government is the servant; hold them accountable.