January 20, 2006

RTP Lawsuit Update

Remember How It Started

The single issue on appeal is whether the People can use the Petition Clause of the First Amendment to hold the government accountable for the protection of their Individual Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.  

The constitutional question before the Court is: “Whether the government is required to respond with specific answers to the questions contained in the Plaintiffs’ Petitions for Redress of Grievances and whether the People can retain their money until their grievances are redressed.”

We don’t believe we need to remind people of the importance of this case. No court has ever been asked to, nor has any U.S. court ever declared the meaning of the Petition Clause of the First Amendment.

It is our argument that by capping the First Amendment with a guarantee of our natural Right to Petition the government for Redress of Grievances, the Founders deliberately meant to provide the people with the means to enforce all their Rights. The Founders knew that any Right that is not enforceable is not a Right. The Founders knew that the Constitution was all well and good, but without a provision that specifically provided the People with the means to hold the government accountable to all of its provisions, the Republic would someday fail as the government seized power from the People a slice at a time.  

It is our argument that the government is obligated to respond to the People’s Petitions for Redress, and if it does not respond then the People have the Right to retain their money until their grievances are Redressed. 

It is our argument that there is no other non-violent way to hold the government accountable.  

It is our argument that the Petition Clause of the First Amendment is the articulation of Popular Sovereignty.  

As the People prevail in this case, the ultimate power will shift from the government back to the People (where it was meant to rest in the first place). 

Thus far, the government’s position (including that of the lower court’s Judge Emmet Sullivan) is that the government “does not have to listen or respond to the People.” 

For your education and review, we have prepared a summary of the pleadings that took place before Judge Sullivan in the lower court, and our  analysis of Judge Sullivan’s decision.  

Please note that it is now time to pay our outstanding balance to Mark Lane. We still owe Mark $85,000. We have paid him $235,000 to date.  Please send your donation as soon as possible. Thank you.
 

Remember How It Started 

How many of you remember the events of July 19, 2004?

That was the day the people filed the Right To Petition lawsuit against the U.S. Government.

That was the day more than 500 of us gathered at the National Press Club from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., for the lawsuit kick-off event that was broadcast to the nation, live, on C-SPAN. The speakers were Bob Schulz, Mark Lane, Charlie Beall, Phil Hart and three former IRS agents.

That was the day the City of Washington DC closed down Constitution Ave and Pennsylvania Ave., as we marched from the National Press Club to the District Court for the United States, stopping in front of the buildings that house the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service as Bob Schulz, Joe Banister, John Turner and others served each agency with a copy of the lawsuit. 

That was the day we filed the landmark Right To Petition lawsuit, to test the attitude of the Judiciary regarding our Right to receive a response to our Petitions for Redress and our Right to retain our money if the servant government fails to respond.

That day, July 19, 2004, was an historic day that marked the beginning of the People’s efforts to peacefully restore Constitutional Order by exercising the “capstone” Right that until now, had long faded from the consciousness of We the People.  

Thanks to the skill and dedication of one of our supporters, the highlights of the July 19th, 2004 event at the National Press Club and the march through downtown Washington have been edited and splendidly recorded on a one-hour DVD.

This Right-to-Petition DVD will be shown at each of the upcoming regional meetings beginning in Tucson on January 28, 2006.

The New RTP DVD

For each donation of $100 toward the cost  of the RTP lawsuit,  we will provide the donor  with a copy of the new  Right-to-Petition  Lawsuit DVD (shipping included).

Important Notice:  

Due to the fact that the agenda for the Tucson meeting on January 28^th now includes a screening of Aaron Russo’s new feature film entitled, “America…From Freedom To Fascism” and a showing of the new WTP Right to Petition DVD, we have decided to change the location for the Tucson Meeting to a commercial movie theater.

The new location for the Tucson meeting
is the movie theater located at:

Grand Cinemas Crossroads
4811 E. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85712
Theater phone: (520) 326-2929

The meeting will get underway at 1 PM.

The movie theater is in the Crossroads Festival shopping center, located at on the northeast corner of Grant and Swan.  From I-10, take the Grant street exit East. For specific Directions use Mapquest

Acta Non Verba.
Deeds, Not Words.

Please help.
Get your FREE RTP DVD for a $100 donation
through our secure on-line store.




Did you read our other recent important updates?

December 23  "Hungering for Redress" APRIL 24 in DC
                     & WTP Foundation 2006 Operations Plan

December 31  WTP Congress 2006 Operations Plan

 

Click Here to access the Right-to-Petition Lawsuit Information Center which
includes scholarly research on the Right and other lawsuit related
materials, court documents, and the latest news.