Freemen of the land 1
21/4/19
The Freemen of the Land movement has been dismissed as 'Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Arguments' (OPCA) and has been used by some litigants in order to get out of paying debts, fines or other legal responsibilities. Proponents claim that everyone has two identities, the legal and the physical. The legal is what the state has a relationship with - identified by the name on their birth certificate: 'John Smith'; the latter is the actual body of the person, and to differentiate they use an alternative version of their name: 'John of the family Smith'. The idea is that splitting their identity allows the claimant to abrogate any legal responsibilities to their straw-man persona, leaving their body as a free man, owing only what is specifically agreed to.
When in dispute with the state, say for driving without a licence, they will try and evade the need for one by using overly-complex legal terms and generally be a pain in the arse to the police and the courts. Of course, no court has so far found it a justifiable defence but it does use up lots of the courts time and expense.
Most legal professionals dismiss these pseudo-legal ideas as as most medical professionals dismiss homoeopathy or reiki. One judge in Canada in a lengthy retort in one case said "Litigants engage in peculiar, ritual‑like in court conduct. All these features appear necessary for gurus to market OPCA schemes to their often desperate, ill‑informed, mentally disturbed, or legally abusive customers. This is crucial to understand the non-substance of any OPCA concept or strategy. The story and process of a OPCA scheme is not intended to impress or convince the Courts, but rather to impress the guru's customer."