Plenipotentiary Judge Fails To Save TP Dentist.

[The Observer]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
FREDERICK G. KRIEMELMEYER
Defendant-Appellant.

Release Date: JULY 07, 2008


NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with
Fed. R. App. P. 32.1

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604

Submitted July 7, 2008/*/
Decided July 7, 2008

Before

Richard D. Cudahy, Circuit Judge
Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge
Ilana Diamond Rovner, Circuit Judge

Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

No. 07-CR-52-C-01

Barbara B. Crabb,
Chief Judge

O R D E R

Frederick Kriemelmeyer was convicted after a jury trial on four counts of falsifying federal income tax returns, 26 U.S.C. section 7206(1), and was sentenced to 36 months' imprisonment. Along with a number of entirely frivolous tax-protest arguments, Kriemelmeyer appears to argue on appeal that the district court denied him the effective assistance of counsel and that insufficient evidence supported the jury's verdict. We affirm.

In 2002, Kriemelmeyer was a self-employed dentist who owned and operated a dental office in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. That year, his mother began frequently cashing checks made payable to cash at a local bank. Bank employees became suspicious of these deposits and notified the IRS, which investigated and in December 2004 executed a search warrant at his dental office. In March 2007 a grand jury returned an indictment charging that Kriemelmeyer's 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 returns reported gross receipts substantially below his income. The IRS determined that he underreported his gross receipts by $ 392,023 in total for those four years, thus underpaying his taxes by $ 135,337.

At a pre-trial hearing, the magistrate judge informed Kriemelmeyer of his right to an attorney and asked him if he wanted an attorney. He declined. The magistrate judge asked him questions to ensure that he understood his right to an attorney, but he continued to insist that the did not want one. Kriemelmeyer maintained that he had studied law on his own, had been following tax-related issues for 15 years, had represented himself in court before, was familiar with the rules of criminal procedure and evidence, and understood the charges against him. The magistrate judge tried to persuade him to use an attorney nonetheless, but he would not change his mind. After the hearing, Kriemelmeyer filed a motion for appointment of David Wynn Miller, a so-called "Plenipotentiary Judge," as counsel. Because Miller was not admitted to practice in the Western District of Wisconsin and there was no indication that he was a licensed attorney anywhere, much less a judge, the magistrate judge denied the motion.

During Kriemelmeyer's three-day jury trial, the government presented 17 witnesses, including some of his former patients, IRS agents and employees, and employees at the bank where his mother cashed his checks. Kriemelmeyer called Miller as a witness and also testified himself. His patients and IRS agents testified that the checks that Kriemelmeyer's mother cashed were paid to Kriemelmeyer in return for dental services. Patients further testified that sometimes Kriemelmeyer would exchange cash for silver and then the client would "barter" the silver for dental services. Kriemelmeyer would often put a star next to an amount on the patient's record, indicating that the patient paid defendant five times more than what the records indicate, and he would report the lower amount on his tax returns. The government also introduced into evidence letters from state and federal taxing authorities advising him that his belief that bartering silver for dental services did not create income was frivolous. Kriemelmeyer was convicted of all counts.

On appeal Kriemelmeyer's arguments are difficult to discern, but it is apparent that he contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. A criminal defendant may proceed pro se when he voluntarily and intelligently elects to do so, and we will reverse only if the record as a whole does not show that the defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel. United States v. Avery, 208 F.3d 597, 601 (7th Cir. 2000). We review the district court's decision to allow a defendant to proceed pro se for abuse of discretion. Id. In this case, there is no abuse. The magistrate judge thoroughly questioned Kriemelmeyer to establish that he understood the disadvantages of representing himself, that he was competent to represent himself, and that the decision was voluntary. See id. Kriemelmeyer does not point to any deficiencies in the judge's inquiry, nor does he identify any basis to support his assertion that the court abused its discretion in allowing him to represent himself. Furthermore, had the court allowed Miller to represent Kriemelmeyer, that decision would have been an abuse of discretion because representation by a nonlawyer, as Miller appears to be, is by definition ineffective. See Cole v. United States, 162 F.3d 957, 958 (7th Cir. 1998). And, in addition, even if Miller were licensed he could not have served effectively because Kriemelmeyer used Miller as his only witness (beside himself). A lawyer cannot ordinarily represent a client and simultaneously serve as the client's witness. United States v. Marshall, 75 F.3d 1097, 1106 (7th Cir. 1996).

Kriemelmeyer's only other discernable argument is that the jury had insufficient evidence to convict him. We will overturn a conviction based on insufficient evidence only when "the record is devoid of evidence from which a reasonable jury may find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Seymour, 519 F.3d 700, 714 (7th Cir. 2008). In order to convict Kriemelmeyer, the jury was required to find that:

(1) that the defendant made or caused to be made, a federal
income tax return for the year in question which he verified to
be true; (2) that the tax return was false as to a material
matter; (3) that the defendant signed the return willfully and
knowing it was false; and (4) that the return contained a written
declaration that it was made under the penalty of perjury.

United States v. Peters, 153 F.3d 445, 461 (7th Cir. 1998). Testimony from the IRS agents, Kriemelmeyer's patients, and Kriemelmeyer himself, combined with the records seized from his office and the tax returns established that Kriemelmeyer knowingly and significantly under-reported the his income on his tax returns. Specifically, Kriemelmeyer admitted that he signed and submitted the tax returns that were proven to contain false statements of income. His patients' testimony and his own internal records provided ample evidence that he knew that he received higher income than his returns reflected. Furthermore, letters from tax authorities informing him of his tax obligations, and the fact that his mother cashed his checks for him provide further, and more than sufficient, evidence that he acted willfully and knowingly. The record thus contains ample evidence to support Kriemelmeyer's convictions.

Kriemelmeyer's remaining arguments are patently frivolous, and include many typical and tired tax-protestor arguments, like the claim that the payment of taxes is voluntary, that section 7206(1) does not have the force of law, and that he is not subject to the tax laws. We have said that "these arguments, frivolous when first made, have been rejected in countless cases. They are no longer merely frivolous; they are frivolous squared." United States v. Cooper, 170 F.3d 691, 691 (7th Cir. 1999).

For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM Kriemelmeyer's conviction.

FOOTNOTE

/*/ After an examination of the briefs and the record, we have concluded that oral argument is unnecessary. Thus, the appeal is submitted on the briefs and the record. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

[Famspear]

"David Wynn Miller" -- I thought I had seen that name somewhere before, a long time ago.

A quick google reveals a website purportedly maintained by Lowell (Larry) Becraft, where Becraft apparently comments about someone called "A. David Wynn Miller":

For several years, I have watched the insanity promoted by that crazy guru, David Miller. He claims that he has a sleeping deficiency and has not slept for many years, thus he can stay up all night and study law. His legal theories, among many other flaky arguments, include an argument that one must avoid use of prepositions in legal motions and documents. Perhaps I do not know precisely his arguments; that's because I cannot understand them as they are utterly crazy.

See
http://home.hiwaay.net/~becraft/Scams.htm

See also the Southern Poverty Law Center web site:

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelrep ... jsp?aid=29

Miller is also mentioned in an article by the Anti-Defamation League:

http://www.adl.org/Learn/ext_us/SCM.asp ... =4&item=20

Same guy?????

[Famspear]

I never really understood the "colon" thing. Until now:

'Full Colon Miller'
A Milwaukee conspiracist says punctuation such as the colon is the key to liberty. Others say David Wynn Miller is full of it.
By Mark Potok

Intelligence Report
Spring 2003

McDONOUGH, Ga. -- The King of Hawaii is confused.
He's a genius, he says, with an IQ of 200. He's the one who discovered, back in 1998, "the mathematical interface in the truth that certifies all 5,000 languages, frontwards and backwards."

The Constitution is a "bankruptcy trust," he knows, and old Ben Franklin was a triple agent. Bill Clinton and every member of the Supreme Court are students of his, along with 100 million others, and no surprise either. After all, David Wynn Miller spent 59,000 hours studying such matters and if he can't give you the answers, no one can.

But the professorial conspiracist — who was coronated in 1996, he reports, after he "turned Hawaii into a verb" and held 25 seminars for the grateful natives — is feeling a bit perplexed. "Oh, I'm on, live?" he mutters after someone at the Homeland Security Expo held here last November yells something about the video camera that's rolling now. "Okay, er, I'll do an introduction here."

And so, setting sail into the linguistic fog, he begins.

"My name is David hyphen Wynn full colon Miller," the 53-year-old Milwaukean says, and the brows of his audience of 50 begin to furrow. This crowd of "Patriots" is used to conspiracy theories, but even at an event dominated by antigovernment ideology, Miller is tough going. "The reason I use a full colon and a hyphen in my name, the first full colon, which is full colon David, it means for the David hyphen Wynn. That's my given name, and it's also a noun, because it uses a prepositional phrase. ... Because I use prepositional phrases, through punctuation, which is classified as hieroglyphics, which makes me a life, l-i-f-e. Now, when you don't punctuate your name ... David is an adjective, Wynn is an adjective, Miller is a pronoun. Two adjectives are a condition of modification, opinion, presumption, which modifies the pronoun, pro means no on noun. So therefore, I'm not a fact. I'm a fiction."

Aha. Now we're getting to the heart of the matter. If you don't punctuate your name correctly — and especially if it's written all in capitals, as devious court officials are wont to do — you're "dead." Yes, dead. An illusion.

"Neat concepts," as Miller points out.

It's not easy to follow, but Miller makes his way, via his finding that maritime law applies worldwide because "Earth is a vessel in a sea of space," to the "universal postal union" — the U.S. Postal Service, he seems to mean. Turns out it runs the world. Has since 1873. Ben Franklin was a postmaster. President Grant, too.

Miller makes some other detours, letting the crowd in on how MasterCard took over the U.S. economy at the stroke of midnight on Sept. 17, 1999. But soon he's getting to where he really wants to go — the World Trade Center.

When the Sept. 11 attacks occurred, the Center towers collapsed in six seconds, Miller says, not the 12 seconds it would have taken normal matter. Plus, all the concrete turned to dust. Having discovered the "mathematical interface that all steel is plastic" some years back, Miller understands perfectly what "the physics of plastic" is trying to tell him: A magnetic pulse brought down the towers.

What creates a magnetic pulse? C-4 plastic explosive. Who has C-4? The military. Who controls the military? The post office.

And there you have it. Postal authorities sneaked into the towers, replacing all chairs, tables and file cabinets with plastic furniture. Explosive plastic furniture. The steel in the building — well, that was plastic steel, and it was utterly destroyed by the C-4, which is only capable of destroying other plastic "polymers."

"That's what gave us certification that it was an inside job," Miller explains.

At the moment of collapse, $12 trillion was transferred electronically from the basement of the trade center to Singapore. "The World Trade Center was a bank robbery," Miller reveals, "very cleverly engineered."

The man's red hot now. After an hour and 22 minutes, he's coming to the nub of the conspiracy. But suddenly, someone's telling him his time's up. "They always do this to me," Miller complains. "They cut me off in the middle of a sentence."

Not to worry. The King of Hawaii tells his listeners that he'll finish up in the back, where he's selling his books and videos. That's what he did the last time this happened. They sorted it all out that time — in five hours and 15 minutes.

from:
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelrep ... jsp?aid=29

[Famspear]

I think David Wynn Miller must have got hold of some bad stuff a while back. Maybe the same vat of liquid that David Merrill Not Necessarily Really So Very Much Van Pelt must've gotten into.

[Mr. Mephistopheles]

Yeah, he has a "full colon" alright.

[The Operative]

We have said that "these arguments, frivolous when first made, have been rejected in countless cases. They are no longer merely frivolous; they are frivolous squared." United States v. Cooper, 170 F.3d 691, 691 (7th Cir. 1999).

I like that. I think they should square the typical sanction amounts too.

[Famspear]

This appears to be a web site for David hyphen Wynn colon Miller:

http://dwmlc.com/

You know, if you could just get to know this guy fairly well, you might get to the point where you and he would be informal with each other - on a sort of "first colon" basis.

(No, you're right, I have no idea what that means.)

[Dezcad]

This appears to be a web site for David hyphen Wynn colon Miller:

http://dwmlc.com/

You know, if you could just get to know this guy fairly well, you might get to the point where you and he would be informal with each other - on a sort of "first colon" basis.

(No, you're right, I have no idea what that means.)

I've seen his site before and it cracks me up, I especially like this "gem"

SAY OR WRITE: 2 + 2 = 4, TO + TO = FOUR, TWO + TOO = FOR, FOR + FOUR = ATE; ATE + ATE = SIXTEEN. WITH THE POINT: [DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID; WHAT I MEANT WHAT I SAID; WHAT I SAID; WHAT I MEANT; WHAT I SAID]: FOR THE WORDS THAT WE HEAR ARE WHAT WE THINK, WHAT WE HEAR AND WHAT WE SAY OR WRITE, WITH THE CASE-LAW-FRAUD/FICTION. FOR THE ORAL-STATEMENT OF THE ASSUMPTION OR OPINION IS WITH THE CLAIM ON THE PAPER WITH THE WRITING OF THE CLAIM.

[Burzmali]

Well written opinion, though it would have been better if it ended with "CHECKMATE".

[fortinbras]

A few years ago Full Colon Miller was deported from Canada, where he had gone to teach his peculiar form of schizophrenia to apply to Canadian tax laws.

Over the years he has had a number of websites -- evidently mooching free webspace from supporters who had websites of their own. Each one lasted less than a year, and suddenly it was gone and a little googling would find him mooching on another website.

He is so obviously nuts that I am constantly amazed that there are people who fall for it.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Miller makes Van Pelt seem sane. The problem is, people are picking up on his nonsense and putting it into case filings - WHY HE ISN'T SANCTIONED FOR THIS NONSENSE IS THE REASON IT KEEPS SHOWING UP:

IN THE UNITED-STATES DISTRICT-COURT, IDAHO-STATE-TERRITORTY
QUO—WARRENTO-COMPLAINT-FAULT-CASE NUMBER-~CV-O7-15O-LMW.
U.S.-POSTAL-REGISTRATION-CORPORATION-CASE-NUMBER~RB~096~514~818~US
DATE-~16~JULY~2007
FOR THE COMMAND-UNITY OF THE EVXCTION-JUDGEMENT

:Ralph—Edward: Heitznan. [P. O. BOX-201, ST CHARLES, ~IDAHO-83272]

: CLAIMANT:
: CONTEST:

: MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM:
: FIRST IDAHO TITLE CONPANY [Washington Street, Montpelier, Idaho, ~83254]
: NORTHWEST TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC., TRUSTEE: [P.O. BOX-997, ~BELLEVUE, WA~98009-0997]
: TODD HENDRICKS, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT [P.O. BOX--997, ~BELLEVUE, WASHIINGTON-98009]
: STONE CREEK FUNDING CORPORATION:
: MATT KLEASS, PRESIDENT
: BRENTON REAM, [AGENT] [~1515 Wazree-Street, ~Denver, ~Colorado-83202 ~4343 -N. SCOTTSDALE-ROAD #100, ~SCOTTSDALE, ~AZ, -852511]
: DERICK J. O’NEIL/ISB #4021
: JEFF STEDMAN ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT [P.O.BOX 997, BELLEVUE ~WASHINGTON, ~98009]
: TROUT JONES GLENDALE, FUHRMAN, P.A.[~225~ NORTH ~9TH Street, ~Suite~820, P.O.-BOX 1097, Boise, Idaho~83701]
: DOL L. HARDING, :JUDGE [6TH –JUDICIAL-DISTRICT, STATE OF IDAHO
: ROUTH, CRABTREE AND OLSEN LAW FIRM [~3535 FACTORIA BLVD.SE, SUITE 200, BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, ~980063]
: LANCE OLSEN, ISB#7106 [3535 FACTORIA BLVD.SE, SUITE-200, BELLEVUE, WA ~98006]

: Vassalees:

: ABBREVIATIONS-TERMS
: F. -R. -C. -P.= FEDERAL-RULES OF THE CIVIL PROCEDURE.
: C. -S. -S. -C. -S. CORRECT-SENTENCE-STRUCTURE-CQMMUNICATION-SYNTAX.
: U. -S. -C. -S. UNITY-STATES-CODES-SECTION.
~ = TILDE-LOCATION [VOID-VALUE]

~1 FOR THE CLAIMANTS’ -KNOWLEDGE OF THE F.-R.-C.-P.-~2 ARE WITH THE UNITY-STATES-CORPORATION-CASE-CV-2007—000140 OF THE ONE-JURISDICTIONAL-VENUE-CLAIM OF THE C.-S.-S.-C.-S. WITH THE TRUTHFUL-
COMMUNICATION-SYNTAX-FACTS OF THE FORECLOSURE-EVICTION-COMPLAINT FOR THE EJECTMENT AND RESTITUTION OF THE REAL-PROPERTY WITH THE VOIDANCE OF THE PERJURY: TITLE-~18: U.-S.-C.-S.-~1621 AND WITH THE PAYMENT OF THE FEES BY THE CONFESSING-VASSALEES-PLEADING WITH THE TITLE-~42: U.S.C.S. -~1988 FOR THE STATE-COURT-PAYMENT[/u] OF THE JP MORGAN CHASE BANK COSTS, FEES, AND REAL-PROPERTY-TORT-LANGUAGE-CLAIMS WITH THE CO-CONSPIRACY OF THE AILING-COMMUNICATION-CONFESSIONS BY THE VASSALEES’ -PLEADING-COMPLAINT-CASE~CV~2007-000140.

WITH THIS COPYCLAIM/COPYRIGHT~16~JULY~2007, BY THE PLENIPOTENTIARY-JUDGE: David-Wynn: Miller, AND BY THE CLAIMANT Ralph-Edwards: Heitman, WITH THIS UNITY-STATES-CORPORATION-VESSEL OF THIS CORPORATION-CASE-NUMBER-RB~096~514~818~US.

And after dozens of similar nonsensical pages, the court actually takes time to address it.

For example, the complete text of the first “Notice” Plaintiff filed after the first Motion to
Dismiss was filed and after the Notice to Pro Se Litigants of the Summary Judgment Rule
Requirements” was provided to him states in full:

FOR THE CLAIMANT: Ralph-Edward: Heitman OF THE
CASE-NUMBER-CV-07-150-BLW IS WITH THE CLAIM OF AN OATH
VOLITION WITH THE CORRECT-SENTENCE-STRUCTURECOMMUNICATION-
SYNTAX OF THE FIRST-HAND-KNOWLEDGE
OF THE FACTS IN THE TRUTH BY THE Ralph-Edward: Heitman.

Plaintiff’s Notice (Docket No. 19).
Subsequent filings are similarly nonsensical, even in the face of this Court’s warning that his case appeared frivolous and a response to the Motions was necessary. See Order of June 29, 2007 (Docket No. 23).

The Court agrees with Defendant First Idaho Title Company’s characterization of the Complaint and Amended Complaint:
The Complaint filed by Plaintiff is so vague and ambiguous that no reasonable person could frame a responsive pleading to the same. It is impossible for this Defendant to determine what facts are being pled by the Plaintiff nor what relief is being sought.
The wording of the Complaint itself is mere gibberish and an incoherent running of words together in such a fashion as to make it indecipherable. Defendants’ Motion for a More Definite Statement (Docket No. 20).

Plaintiff’s references to federal admiralty and criminal statutes which have no
applicability in a civil action demonstrate that he subscribes to the “sovereign citizen”
movement, which is based upon a frivolous legal theory. Such theories are generally
advanced to attempt to challenge state and federal laws and state court judgments.
These theories have been consistently rejected by the courts as frivolous. See
United States v. Sloan, 939 F.2d 499 (7th Cir. 1991) (concluding that plaintiff's argument
that he was a citizen of the state of Indiana, but not a citizen of the United States and
therefore not subject to its laws was “simply wrong”); United States v. Jagim, 978 F.2d

The court went on (why???)

Because allowing amendment would be fruitless given that Plaintiff has consistently submitted nonsensical pleadings and papers without any supporting factual allegations in all of his actions before this Court, the Court concludes that dismissal of this RICO claim is appropriate for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
....
D. Conclusion
Under the most liberal reading of Plaintiff’s Complaint and Amended Complaint, the Court can discern no cognizable set of facts or legal theory upon which relief can be granted. The Court previously advised Plaintiff that it appeared his case was founded upon the foregoing frivolous legal theory, and it invited him to file a response to the pending Motions to Dismiss to show why his case should not be dismissed as frivolous. See Order of June 29, 2007 (Docket No. 20). Plaintiff has failed to file a response, but has filed various notices and a letter, which the Court has reviewed (Docket Nos. 25, 26, 29, 30, 31 & 32).

Please let him down 'round here for just one case.

[grixit]

A completely crazy greed pig. Burn him to the ground, seize every last asset and throw him in the slammer for as long as allowed by law.

Doesn't anybody have the testicular fortitude to advocate the return of modern mental care facilities for wackos like this "TP" dentist.

Ah come on Cap, we know better than that! What you really want is the return of Bedlam as a revenue generating tourist stop.

[The Observer]

The Court agrees with Defendant First Idaho Title Company’s characterization of the Complaint and Amended Complaint:
The Complaint filed by Plaintiff is so vague and ambiguous that no reasonable person could frame a responsive pleading to the same. It is impossible for this Defendant to determine what facts are being pled by the Plaintiff nor what relief is being sought.
The wording of the Complaint itself is mere gibberishand an incoherent running of words together in such a fashion as to make it indecipherable. Defendants’ Motion for a More Definite Statement (Docket No. 20).

It is pretty bad when a court has to agree that your filing doesn't even reach the plateau of authentic frontier gibberish.

[Dezcad]

David Buffoon Wynn: Miller has left a trail of wrecked lives in his past, just read the full article here.

Part of the article:

Parents of Russell Gould, 30, whose adherence to the philosophy of David Wynn Miller has landed him in trouble with the law, say their son has been "brainwashed," and they want to take him back to their Wyoming home while his court case is pending.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I happen to have received a copy of a magic decoder page from someone who was asking whether or not Miller's filings would be helpful in stopping a foreclosure. Heitman isn't alone in using the "correct sentence structure communication syntax" in trying to fight foreclosures and I'm curious about how many people he's thrown under the bus.

[Leftcoaster]

A few years ago Full Colon Miller was deported from Canada, where he had gone to teach his peculiar form of schizophrenia to apply to Canadian tax laws.

Over the years he has had a number of websites -- evidently mooching free webspace from supporters who had websites of their own. Each one lasted less than a year, and suddenly it was gone and a little googling would find him mooching on another website.

He is so obviously nuts that I am constantly amazed that there are people who fall for it.

From the CP...

SUSAN HAGAN

Canadian Press


Sunday, October 14, 2001


EDMONTON (CP) - An apparently nonsensical language invented by an American who claims it could stop wars and bring consensus to religions is showing up in Canadian tax courts these days. People hoping to dodge income taxes have recently frustrated judges across the Prairies by citing David Wynn Miller's noun-heavy phrases known as "In The Truth."

Wynn Miller, a legal scholar based in Milwaukee, calls the language used in courts, printed in newspapers and taught in schools "fiction."

"If the court is using fiction and the defendant is using fact, the two can't translate," Wynn Miller said in a telephone interview.

In recent cases, Canadian judges have called the bizarre language "gibberish" and jailed its speakers for contempt or ordered them to undergo psychiatric tests.

Wynn Miller, 52, created his mathematically based language more than two decades ago and calls its adherents the Universal Postal Union.

He claims to have thousands of students - taught through the Internet and videotaped seminars - in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Kelowna, Edmonton and Montreal.

Earlier this month, Calgary naturopath Andrew Sereda was jailed for contempt of court after addressing a judge in Wynn Miller's truth language, which is peppered with odd punctuation.

The judge was not impressed when Sereda, 60, answered him, "With the sovereign, hyphen, authority of the Andrew, hyphen, William, colon, Sereda is for the stating of the authority of the noun."

Sereda, who had been fined earlier for not filing a tax return, was in court on a charge of failing to comply with a judge's order to co-operate with tax officials. He later apologized in court and promised to shape up, but could not be reached for comment on whether he still uses the language.

Paul and Myrna Schuck, who live 30 kilometres north of Calgary, spent 19 days in jail in August after they tried unsuccessfully to use it to defend themselves on tax charges. The Schucks would not agree to an interview about their beliefs.

In Winnipeg, a judge in a recent mischief trial ordered a psychiatric assessment for Denise Rosenberg after she claimed that her status as a "postmaster" exempted her from prosecution in Canada. Rosenberg and her husband had made similar arguments in 1999 before Revenue Canada seized all their belongings for failing to pay more than $1 million in back taxes.

Although she was found fit to stand trial on the mischief charge, Rosenberg continued to stump courtroom officials with her incoherent speeches.

As in Sereda's case, several supporters came out to rally behind Rosenberg's cause, including a translator who wanted to use "truth language technology."

John Carpay, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, receives a few calls a year from tax dodgers who subscribe to similar beliefs.

While the federation would like to see taxes lowered or eliminated through constitutional methods, Carpay said he cannot support people who call him with odd theories.

"I occasionally get a phone call from these people and they seem to enjoy arguing very much," he said.

"It may be a loose network. They think they have it all figured out. They refer to sources and documents that I think are not authoritative."

Ron Quinn, spokesman for Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, said these fringe groups try to stall the court system but have yet to win a tax case.

"There is nothing wrong with protesting taxes," he said, adding there is a formal procedure to do so.

"But I get a little concerned that people are hurt by these groups."

Wynn Miller - who hasn't been allowed into Canada to give his seminars for at least two years - says most people who contact him have tax problems. But his true cause is to "fix the language."

"Has anyone on the planet Earth ever gone to war over a math problem?" he asked. "No. There has never been a dispute over math. It is absolute science. Language is flawed."

© Copyright 2001 The Canadian Press

For the record, Mr Rosenberg is a... (drumroll please)... Chiropractor.

[wserra]

From the CP...

SUSAN HAGAN

Canadian Press
...
Wynn Miller, a legal scholar based in Milwaukee

Too much Molson? Labatts? Too many buffalo chips? Uncontrolled agoraphobia?

There must be some explanation.

[Imalawman]

From the CP...

SUSAN HAGAN

Canadian Press
...
Wynn Miller, a legal scholar based in Milwaukee

Too much Molson? Labatts? Too many buffalo chips? Uncontrolled agoraphobia?

There must be some explanation.

I noticed that too. Must be all the trans fat in Canadian food these days. Could have at least used some qualifiers..."self proclaimed", "alleged" or even just putting legal scholar in quotes. sheesh.

[Dezcad]

From the CP...

SUSAN HAGAN

Canadian Press
...
Wynn Miller, a legal scholar based in Milwaukee

Too much Molson? Labatts? Too many buffalo chips? Uncontrolled agoraphobia?

There must be some explanation.

Given Miller's fascination with maritime, vessels and the like, I think it should have read:

Wynn Miller, a legal schooner based in Milwaukee,

[Leftcoaster]

Given Miller's fascination with maritime, vessels and the like, I think it should have read:

Wynn Miller, a legal schooner based in Milwaukee,

Entirely appropriate for somone living in a land locked state (figuratively and literally)
Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.