Marc Gravitt, the Hamilton County register of deeds, refuses to record a power of attorney and notice that is part of a first amendment and racial reconciliation project — namely, transportation administrative notice. Here sits a courageous man with Cleo Coker Gravitt, Ethan White and Esther Helton, an East Ridge city councilwoman running for the state house of representatives, at a political event. (Photo Esther Helton)
A Christian is warned that fear of man is a snare to the soul. Many good deeds of mercy and reform in the Chattanooga area remain in infancy or unborn because God’s children are fearful of man.
They fear the deputy. The cop. They fear the mayor. They fear the official. They fear challenging the status quo, or demanding their rights or the rights of others too weak or ignorant to fight back.
By David Tulis / 92.7 NoogaRadio
In the following scene in the county courthouse, I work to overcome my desire to play along with the established way of doing things that oppresses the rights of the poor first, then the African-American, the Hispanic, the orphan and widow — then everyone else, too.
I toil to overcome my fear of man by demanding Marc Gravitt, the county register, to perform his legal duty to record a document that is part of the people’s redress of grievances against what I will graciously term a legal error.
This meeting is our second. I approach Mr. Gravitt and demand he record legal papers pertaining to the rights of the people to use the roads. This document is called transportation administrative notice.
His questioning the content of my material may be merely personal. But it looks as though he is making an evaluation about the content of the material in transportation administrative notice, and giving a legal opinion on its content and validity. But he doesn’t have authority to evaluate, revise or bar.
The David Tulis show is 1 p.m. weekdays, live and lococentric.
I offer this slab of dialogue to encourage you to see how easy it is to be involved in what is fair to call “redress of grievances,” which is protected by the first amendment. This encounter is done on behalf of and in the name of my reader and listener at the David Tulis show at 92.7 NoogaRadio. It is done, you could say, representatively.
Gravitt passes judgment on administrative notice
David Tulis. Marc, I am representing my listener. This notice is about redress of grievances. What I’ve done — just read it, right there — is I’ve gone to six municipal jurisdictions in the county and I said, “Here’s what the scope of the statute is in [Tenn. Code Ann.] Title 55.
And you are being notified of the limits of that authority,” starting with Chattanooga on Feb. 20. Next was the county, through the chief enforcer, the chief law enforcement officer, Jim Hammond. This is a public record. There are unrebutted acknowledgements of receipt.
Marc Gravitt. This is a, this is a — an affidavit stating that you had conversations and that you gave documents to certain individuals?
Notice means officials must reform traffic stops or face personal bad faith tort lawsuits
David. Yes.
Marc Gravitt. Why did that need to be recorded?
Gracious condescension
Of course I am ready to enter the lists to defend the substance of my argument for the right of travel. To do so is a gracious condescension on my part, because it really isn’t any part of Mr. Gravitt’s business as an official.
David. Because of neglect of the statute. You have widespread neglect. This is a benign term. But you have widespread rejection of the limits of the scope of the statute. Yeah, in a nutshell, Marc, Title 55 of the Tennessee code that is this wide [motioning with hands a foot apart] but it’s being enforced as if it were a football field wide, or maybe from here to where they are painting on the far wall. That’s the scope of activity. This is illegal. It damages the people of the county. And so I’ve done the research, prepared by David Tulis, [which statement of authorship] *** I didn’t have that last time.
Marc Gravitt. Well, if you are the opinion — and I’m no attorney and I’m not giving legal advice — but, but, can you explain to me what, why, you are wanting to record these makes it any difference? Why not just file suit?
David. Well, in notice–
Marc Gravitt. Recording these is not going to do anything.
Transportation Administrative Notice creates new cause of action vs. cop, new legal defense in court
David. Well, except — Why does anyone record anything at all? Recording anything, whether it’s a deed or a will or bequeathal, that doesn’t do anything, either.
Most important real estate question in the record
Marc Gravitt. Proof of ownership and so forth.
David. Well, here, the notice, Marc, provides proof of ownership of the roads. The people own the roads and they have the free use of them, and it’s called a public right-of-way for a reason. But through machinations, through complicity with others, in combination — there are officials and entities and organizations, including in our county, who reject the ownership of the roads by the people and say, no, we own the roads, and [they] enforce a state claim through Title 55 on the roads.
And, no sir, the roads belong to the people and you can use them freely except, except — the notice makes this very clear — except if you are involved in transportation, which is the regulable use of the road for profit and gain, through a corporation where the place of business — where the place of business principally is the road itself.
And there, you’ve got truckers, cabbies, uh, Uber operators, hospital ambulance providers —
Marc Gravitt. OK.
David. — Dump truck operators, etc. Those are —
Marc Gravitt. Why are you trying to do this? Because I get who you’re talking about.
No one knows law: Hence, notice
David. With notice, look: No one has told these people what the law says. No one no one has told Sheriff Hammond what the law, the scope of the law, is. He hasn’t looked.
Marc Gravitt. Right. OK.
David. The city council doesn’t know the scope of the statute, either, and that’s why I’m providing a public service, and that’s why I am providing a public service as a member of the press. I’m here, I’m here as a member of the press, and I publish all the time. And some publishing is very narrow, right? I broadcast on my show at 1 o’clock, and I narrowcast this information to a very narrow audience — a small audience.
Do chief, sheriff care about officers? If ‘yes,’ traffic stop limits must be policy
Marc Gravitt. What are they doing — or what are they not doing — that, that, uh, you’re claiming?
David. They are enforcing Title 55 —
Marc Gravitt. Which is?
David. — The transportation statute upon people who are not involved in transportation.
Marc Gravitt. How?
David. Traffic stops.
Marc Gravitt. If they’re not involved in transportation, they got to be driving.
David. What if they are not driving, but they’re still on the road?
Marc Gravitt. Then it’s not a traffic stop
David. A traffic stop is that, even if they are private users, let’s say, let’s say Mexicans and Guatemalans here in Hamilton County, probably half don’t have driver’s licenses. What are they doing on the road?
Marc Gravitt. Ooohkay …
David. They are on the road legally, under their right to travel. It’s a property right. But —
Marc Gravitt. But if they are driving, then they are not on the road legally.
David. They are not driving. They are traveling. That’s the distinction made in this document, OK? And that’s why it has to be recorded, because it’s going to be used in court.
‘No sovereign individuals in government’
Marc Gravitt. OK. Like I said. I’m no attorney. But here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to refer you to the city attorney. If the city attorney says, “Marc, you need to record this,” I will record it.
David. Can you give me a letter about that? If I’m the one making that, if I’m the one can bang that message, you need to, — I ask you, please, to give me a letter making that request. *** I could not reach Rheubin Taylor for an interview about this matter, the matter of recording of the document, A, and, B, the matter of county enforcement.
Marc Gravitt. He is at a county commission meeting as we speak.
David. Yeah, well, I couldn’t get a hold of him, and he did not respond to my query. So I thought, well, I’ll made my repair on the document with the affidavit and “prepared by,” and that is, hopefully mends any deficiencies that you detected earlier.
Gravitt refuses to register the ‘deed’ of Title 55 reform, but stows trivia
Marc Gravitt. Well, uhm, Rheubin was sitting right there in that chair last week when I spoke to him about this, as well as my chief of staff, and she was in the meeting as well, and she can verify everything I told you that Rheubin said.
David. I understand. Well, look, your job is ministerial, OK? I’d say there is limited discretion. And this is a record of important public deeds that have all been recorded.
Marg Gravitt. There are no deeds here.
David. Marc, a deed is not just real estate. A deed is an act. You know, your office, your office has —
Marc Gravitt. Even with these documents, there’s no “prepared by” is thee?.
David. On the front page. On the title page of administrative notice there is a “prepared by David Tulis.” And then the affidavit, now this is a 21-page entry into your system, my cover affidavit *** gives the details. 20 pages. I prepared it. It is a matter in the public stream. It has been given to officials. And they are bound by the law.
This project is to remind people, Marc Gravitt, that the law controls, and no one is above the law. There are no sovereign individuals in government.
The government law binds the actors in every department. And in Title 55, is one in which there is a lot of abuse of black people, Hispanic people, and poor people, and that’s why this is one of my projects as a journalist, why I’m undertaking this effort, and I really appreciate your offer to help me. [End of transcript]
The question is: What to do since county register Mr. Gravitt refuses to file a document of majestic legal import, of capital benefit to not just one party, but every person in the county — in the state — as a matter of law and record?
What to do?
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Transportation Administrative Notice as downloadable 20pp pdf
More essays on search and seizure, administrative notice
Notice project exploits fissure between law, TN policy, creates cause of action
