The Brothers Clifford: Darren Murray Clifford's saga begins

[LordEd]

Came across this related to Darren Clifford. Not sure if it was relayed above somewhere:

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/201 ... 9995/0/WHE

Alleged Freeman guilty of resisting arrest

Darren Murray Clifford, who went by Darren Murray Murphy at court proceedings, was sentenced to one day in custody and given credit for 10 days served at Okotoks provincial court on Nov. 20 in connection with a resisting arrest charge.
...
“He told me he didn’t recognize me as having any authority,” Christie said. “And that his billing rate was $1 million-an-hour (to perform the arrest).”

A video taken from the RCMP truck of the altercation was presented to court.

Judge Patrick McIlhargey said the video showed Christie “was extremely patient and very careful.”

During final arguments Clifford asked McIlhargey if Christie had to produce the search warrant in order to make the arrest. As well, he added Christie failed to identify himself after being asked 25 times.

Crown prosecutor Luke Faught argued, with the use of a previous ruling, officers do not need an actual copy of the warrant to act on them. Faught added the punching of Christie’s wrists was enough to be considered assault.

McIlhargey agreed with Faught regarding the warrant issues, stating an officer can act if he believes a warrant has been issued. He added with Christie being in full RCMP uniform and driving a well-marked RCMP vehicle, identification was not an issue.
...
He was found not guilty of assault.
...
McIlhargey did not place Clifford on probation. Clifford remains in custody in relation to other charges.

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

I’ve been attempting to locate more information on yesterday’s hearing with Dean Clifford. Clifford is not listed as a litigant on the Queen’s Bench / Court of Appeal hearing lists so it appears very likely he appeared in Manitoba Provincial Court. Unfortunately, that level of court appears to have no court records that can be accessed online.

All Freeman-on-the-Land sources report that the hearing was closed to the public, and that there were sheriffs deployed to ensure no one entered. These comments are from the Winnipeg Alternative Media ‘Clifford event’ (https://www.facebook.com/events/1430678343815959/):

Winnipeg Alternative Media
Turns out the hearing is closed to the public, its ridiculous to see this sort of misjustice carried out. We as the people should be able to at the very least stand in when a member of the public and the community is accused. We have the right to stand in. -JD
[Dec. 19, 2013]

Donald Smith
thats crap court is a public place
[Dec. 19, 2013]

Winnipeg Alternative Media
Just got back home from the courts, 4 sheriff's were constantly blocking us from entering the courtroom saying it's not open to the public.

…

Yup they intimidated, threatened me and stole my property(camera pen) they profiled me and persecuted me, and obstructed justice by not allowing me to give Dean some documents. Only in soviet Canadistan eh! -cts
[Dec. 19, 2013]

Jordan Dawson
I got asked to turn off my phone as I was posting an update here. So I informed the security guard I had the right to use it and as long as I was not filming inside a courtroom I had the right to film. He said well yea and then asked if I was filming. I should have been, because obviously they don't even know there own "policies".
[Dec. 20, 2013]

Winnipeg Alternative Media
I think all of us who were there yesterday and witnessed first hand the conduct of these alleged PUBLIC SERVANTS need to swear out affidavits of everything that happened and we demand a judicial determination to the real nature of these so called law courts. Are the really the place of de jure law of this land recognized and abided by the rule of law? Or are we in a private corporate kangaroo courts of rainbows, garb and magic unicorns as our friend Dean might say lmao! Is the courts public property or private property? I want answers! How is it they are able to arbitrarily prejudice our intrinsic inalienable rights with out remedy? These are critically important questions we need answered right now! -cts
[Dec. 20, 2013]

As you can see, they’re a little miffed.

At Dean’s official website they have this to say:

Over 30 people showed up to the court house today in which they were denied access in which the sheriff told everyone it is a “closed hearing”. People also had their recording devices stolen by agents as well today. These courts are not public or for the public but instead are private corporate statutory kangaroo courts.

A more in-depth update is being prepared.

In my experience it is quite unusual for a courtroom to be entirely closed to the public. However publication bans are absolutely routine and a normal feature of pre-trial criminal hearings. The large reported security presence is also interesting, as is their being alert to the possibility of concealed recording devices, such as the “camera pen” mentioned above.

This suggests a number of possibilities. One is that the Court decided to prohibit access to the hearing simply as a security step – a large Freeman group was anticipated and so for safety and security reasons no one was permitted in. Another alternative was a perception (correct in my opinion) that Freemen in the gallery would not respect publication bans and instead would record and then broadcast the hearing.

There are a couple less likely alternatives that come to mind. One is that the hearing may involve highly sensitive information, either personal (such as relating to sexual offences), or disclose details of ongoing criminal investigations. I’d go with the latter alternative. I don’t think it is beyond the range of possibility that Clifford is the first in a network of Freemen who are being ‘rolled up’ – it will be very interesting to see if further arrests occur in Clifford’s circle.

The last alternative is that Clifford himself requested a closed courtroom. The implications of that, if true, would be intriguing indeed.

That said, my bet is it was a security / publication ban combination. If so, it indicates that court personnel are very aware of typical behaviour from Freeman-on-the-Land.

Clifford’s charges remain obscure. This puzzles me. All it should take is to walk over to the court clerk’s counter and ask to inspect Clifford’s criminal file. That is all that would be required, unless the file was sealed. If so, then we are back to the ‘sensitive information’ alternative above.

It is quite possible that the Winnipeg Freemen and their elite reporting adjunct the Winnipeg Alternative Media simply do not know they have that opinion. Still, rather strange.

Oh, and I think it's pretty safe to bet that whatever else, Dean did not get released. I wonder if that is part of his '100 steps ahead of the authorities'? Time will tell.

SMS Möwe

[rumpelstilzchen]

The problem I see is if the reports are true, this cloak and dagger stuff plays into the FOTLers' hands.

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

The problem I see is if the reports are true, this cloak and dagger stuff plays into the FOTLers' hands.

I don't really think so. Certainly, it makes the hardcore all excited about the possibility of dark conspiracy, and gives them the impression they are somehow having a tangible effect on 'The Man'. That said, the general public in Canada now has such a negative opinion of the Freeman-on-the-Land movement that any degree of restraint / caution is seen as reasonable.

There's been another minor update, this time on the Free Dean Clifford Facebook group page (https://www.facebook.com/freedeancliffo ... 7583304675). The narrative remains about the same, though there are some new details. Clifford's action is indeed being tried in the Manitoba Provincial Court at the moment. That means either he will be tried at that level (summary judgment offences, with lower sanction) or the Crown has decided to try him in Manitoba Queen's Bench for indictable offenses (generally more severe sanction). If the latter alternative, Clifford will have a preliminary hearing in Provincial Court to test whether the Crown has established a prima facie case. My guess is given the Canada-wide warrant the Crown is proceeding by indictment.

It is now reported that the Dec. 19 hearing was a case management conference. Typically those occur in a judge's chambers but in this case that was held in a courtroom. I suspect there were two reasons for that: security, since Clifford is no doubt identified as a less than compliant detainee, and to provide a full proceeding on the record. Sensible of the judge to do so.

So, if I am correct the next step will be a preliminary hearing prior to the case moving to Queen's Bench. I also presume that Clifford is demanding a jury trial. If so, that explains the tight security - in Canada there are very strict publication bans against disclosure of the case against an accused person whose action will be heard in a jury trial. I think it is eminently reasonable to presume that any Freeman or Freeman sympathizer who attends these proceedings will not comply with publication bans. The Crown (and Court) would be all but required to take these steps to ensure Clifford have the opportunity to have a fair jury trial.

The next hearing is allegedly January 28, 2014.

Dean's supporters are being encouraged to write to him with holiday cheer (https://www.facebook.com/freedeancliffo ... 2379934862). Yes, I'm tempted to send him a copy of Meads v. Meads. I admit it.

The first link I posted above leads to some pretty amusing commentary. My favorite to date is this:

Grace Pollari
This SUCKS! He's been in for too long, and being kept for too long. This is unlawful, unjust, and so bullying. I am so frustrated that someone who knows the law so well can still be so royally f---ed by it!

I think there's a flawed presumption in your analysis there, Grace!

SMS Möwe

[ArthurWankspittle]

I don't think we will get long odds on one of these idiots speaking out when they shouldn't during the case and getting a "contempt of court" conviction.

[notorial dissent]

Considering that they've done most of the prosecution's work for them up to this point, not really.

[Jeffrey]

Bit of a late Xmas Gift, someone had made the joke about Mowe having some "Beautiful Mind" style wall full of string and connections, so I went ahead and got started on an actual graph of the connections between popular groups.



At the top is Meads v. Meads obviously, connected to the Gurus mentioned there, then connections down the line all the way to OPPT either via Gurus citing others as influences or interviewing one another. I'll add to it over time.

Edit: It cut off Dean Clifford at the extreme right, if you right click -> view image you can see it all.

[wserra]

That flowchart admirably displays Möwe's point of view. Now we need one that explains the sovrun's.

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

Jeffrey: That's cute! I started mentally expanding on that and decided best not to get too engaged...

wserra: I think a schematic of the Sovereign / Freeman-on-the-Land mind and mental processes would no doubt incorporate much of that graphic's style, but I suggest the figure would need a large central feature, to which all items connect, directly or indirectly:

• "IF I FEEL LIKE IT"

and that in turn would flow to two additional items:

• "I GET FREE STUFF"
  
  "YOU GO AWAY"

That, I'd suggest, is the core of it all. The rest is but embellishment.

SMS Möwe

[The Observer]

No, no, no! All of those diagrams give the sovruns way too much credit for brainpower. Their plan can be simply summarized as follows:

1) Come up with a bunch of stupid illogical arguments
2) ?
3) I am no longer liable under the law!

[notorial dissent]

Don't forget the most important part, "It's all about me, me, me."

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

No, no, no! All of those diagrams give the sovruns way too much credit for brainpower. Their plan can be simply summarized as follows:

1) Come up with a bunch of stupid illogical arguments
2) ?
3) I am no longer liable under the law!

May I suggest a more Underpants Gnome-compliant variation?

1) Come up with a bunch of stupid illogical arguments.
2) ?
3) I am no longer liable under the law!
4) PROFIT!

Gotta get to that final crucial step!

SMS Möwe

[Fmotlgroupie]

A bizarrely cogent and reasonable report on the World Freeman Society forums:

My source told me on the 28th of Dec. 2013, that Dean is under Detention order until trial.
OK, now don't shoot me here, I'm not even a piano player. I was told that Dean was arrested
and after some time, ( might have been a weekend) signed bail and claimed he got out
because of his skills. (If you go to "my private audios" Dean talks about an incident that happened
in Winnipeg.)
He would have breached his bail when he left Manitoba. That's why ROPE took him away
"no questions asked".
Again, this is from a credible source of mine.

[notorial dissent]

Well, well, and well. At last the mystery is lifted. One thing, sounds like Dean WILL make this trial without any problems, at least until he gets in to the courtroom, then I rather expect things are going to go rapidly, and embarrassingly down hill for him. I suspect his leash will be considerably shortened from this time forward with a record of bail violation or whatever it is called up north.

[Jeffrey]

He would have breached his bail when he left Manitoba

Is that consistent with the CBC article?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/ ... -1.2439237

Btw he's now been in jail over a month, and based on the January 20something date, he'll be in there two months before the trial. Going to be fun seeing them spin this into a win.

BTW, I been going back to his lectures particularly the "Making it Simple" series, it seems to me that his entire Freeman ideology is based purely on his belief that you can't be charged for a crime unless you are acting as an agent of the government based on a misreading of R v. Dell. He quotes that case in several interviews but I don't think anyone's ever pointed out that he's totally misinterpreting what it meant.

[notorial dissent]

.... I don't think anyone's ever pointed out that he's totally misinterpreting what it meant.

And even better, with all his successes, he hasn't figured it out yet. Doesn't speak much of the vaunted legal intellect, now does it? But then, his experience doesn't jibe with his beliefs, so he disregards it.

[Fmotlgroupie]

It isn't directly in line with the CBC article (warrant issued for failing to appear in August vs. him being in breach of bail conditions by being in Hamilton), but they could easily both be true (you'd be impressed how many people are in breach of bail conditions when they are arrested on a warrant (often the warrant is for the a previous breach of bail conditions.)

Both sources say he had been in breach of his bail conditions (in July and/or November), which would put him in a reverse onus position for the bail hearing (he has to show why he should be released, rather the crown having to show why he should be held.). Given Dean's approach to the courts I don't know if he'd be able to persuade them the sky is blue, let alone that he should be released after a conjectural total of 2 breaches of his conditions and one failure to appear on the current matter(it could be less if the anonymous source is wrong or CBC is confused, or it could well be more). Anyway, all that would fit with him being denied bail.

Was the January date for trial? Even for an accused in custody, 2 months to trial would be insanely fast in the jurisdictions I've seen.

[Hilfskreuzer Möwe]

Spotted something fun – a notice published on page 36 of the August 16, 2012 edition of the Interlake Spectator, which may be viewed here (http://eedition.interlakespectator.com/ ... 36.html#36):

First Notice of Tax Sale Auction
Rural Municipality of Armstrong
Pursuant to subsection 367(1) of The Municipal Act (MA), notice is hereby given that unless the tax arrears for the designated year and costs shown below in respectof the hereinafter described property are paid in full or an agreement under Section 369(1)(b) MA to pay the arrears and costs has been made prior to the commencement of the auction, the said property will be sold by public auction at the following date, time and place:

Date and Time: December 6, 2012 at 3:00 PM
Where: Rural Municipality of Armstrong, 55 – Highway #17, Inwood, MB

Registered Owner:

Dean Christopher Clifford

Roll #

246600

Legal Description

NE ¼ 28-19-1 WPM Exc Firstly: All Mines And Minerals And Special Reservations As Reserved In The Grant From The Crown, And Secondly Public Road, Plan 10429, WLTO.

2010 Arrears

$758.86

Costs

$1,792.00

Total

$2,550.86

- The tax arrears amount shown above includes penalties calculated to the day of the sale.
- The property may be sold at the auction for less than the amount of the tax arrears and if this is the case, the balance of the arrears and costs owing is deemed to be cancelled.
- Contact the number below for verification of costs. Any overpayment will be applied to payment of subsequent tax arrears. Payment must be made by cash, certified cheque, debit card (where available) or any other form of guaranteed payment.
- For any inquiries regarding the tax sale process or auction, contact TAXervice at 204-734-6381.
- IF THE PROPERTY IS SOLD, THE SALE IS FINAL AND ANY INTEREST YOU HAD IN THE PROPERTY BEFORE THE SALE WILL BE EXTINGUISHED.
- There will not be an opportunity to redeem this property from tax sale and a property transfer application will proceed immediately after the auction.

Dated this 8th day of August, 2012

John Livingstone
Chief Administrative Officer
(204) 278-3377

This Notice is published for the purpose of effecting substitutional service upon DEAN CHRISTOPHER CLIFFORD, of Lundar, Manitoba, Canada, as registered owner of the within noted land, pursuant to an Order of the Deputy District Registrar of the Winnipeg Land Titles Office dated the 3rd day of August, 2012.

Dean apparently didn’t immediately pay because:

• A second largely identical notice is published on October 25, 2012 (http://eedition.interlakespectator.com/ ... 44.html#44), with total arrears of $3,259.53.
  
  A public auction notice that includes the identified property was posted on Nov. 8, 2012 (http://eedition.interlakespectator.com/ ... 44.html#44), with the auction set for Dec. 6, 2012 at 3:00 P.M. I interpret the property’s assessed value to indicate the land is assessed as worth $36,600, with buildings valued at $35,600. Total tax arrears is $6,337.14.
  
  A second public auction notice (http://eedition.interlakespectator.com/ ... 36.html#36), identical to the first, is published on Nov. 15, 2012.

So what's happening here is that the Municipal District of Armstrong is using a very handy debt collection tool available to a lot of municipalities in Canada. If you don't pay your taxes, fines, etc, legislation authorizes the municipality to sell your home/land to pay for those outstanding amounts. That's what has happened to Dean - he did not pay his municipal taxes, and from the looks of it Armstrong may have auctioned his land away.

Now I can't confirm that the auction actually did occur and the land was transferred. I puttered around the Manitoba Land Titles website seeing if I could get more information on the current state of NE ¼ 28-19-1 WPM, but had no success. It may be that detailed registry information requires payment - perhaps someone more familiar with the system would have better luck. I know it should be quite cheap to access the record - somehow.

In either case, a bit embarrassing for Dean, considering he claims to be immune to all government agencies and to have no tax obligations. If Dean did lose this property for not having paid $758.86 then he have made a spectacularly bad move, given the value of the property was 100 times that amount. Of course, that does not mean Dean did not have debts against the property, again we need to see land titles records for lot NE ¼ 28-19-1 WPM to establish Dean's equity in the property.

Hmm. And wasn't Dean planning some kind of quasi-rural utopia, a la 'Freeman Valley'? Complications, complications, complications...

SMS Möwe

[Fmotlgroupie]

Dean and his team have finally posted an update for his fans and well-wishers (and the rest of us): http://deanclifford.info/2014/01/02/update-brandon-correctional-centre/

Mostly generalized ranting at the courts but there are a few interesting points:

-he (they? Whoever wrote the page I guess) claim that Dean's warrants were never "endorsed" (the usual meaning is that the issuing judge 'endorses' the idea of releasing the accused on a Promise to Appear, but IIRC a judge also 'endorses' a warrant's extension out of province. Who knows what they mean, if they mean anything at all)
-the Hamilton police have said in an affidavit that it was a warrantless arrest (was it an arrest for being "found committing" a bail condition breach? Did they just mean they didn't have it with them? Why did they swear an affidavit at all?)
-the unknown (to me - I'm pretty lazy so they may be named somewhere) blogger claims to have transcripts of all the hearings and posted about half a page (Dean being demanding and the judge being polite). It has about the right formatting to be a transcript, but don't such things take more time? Unless they put a rush on bail hearings so they can be quickly appealed. My first guess is that it's a transcript from an old proceeding.
-"they are also trying to associate another individual with Dean's case which [sic] has a legal aid lawyer" - a co-accused! The plot thickens!
-the next court date is Jan 28
-Dean doesn't like an RCMP officer with regimental number 1796. I'll have to check the casualty lists to confirm, but that reg# is probably of the era that fought the North-West Rebellion(edit: he would have joined between 1884 and 1888), so Dean may have a hard time with the complaints process

[notorial dissent]

The problem, is that between Dean and his cohorts co-conspirators, I wouldn't believe them if they said the sun was shining without a certified and verified third opinion. Their definitions of words, and the real world definitions seldom seem to jive, so taking anything they say at face value is problematic at best.