Cameron Williams is like thousands of people in the Chattanooga area — burdened by a revoked or suspended or canceled driver license. But what if he just has to get into a car and steer down the street — and what if he’s caught? (Photo Cameron Williams on FB)
Cameron Williams, or C-Grimey, is a Chattanooga, Tenn., hip-hop artist who has a revoked license from the department of safety and homeland security, and is supposed to believe that it’s a crime for him to use a car or truck on the public right of way without a valid license.
Mr. Williams, who performs in venues in the Chattanooga area and in Atlanta, is coming slowly to understand how to get a TAN — how to take advantage of Transportation Administrative Notice Tennessee, a sunny remedy found with the bright corridors of state law regulating transportation. He now only half believes it’s a crime, and is working slowly toward emancipation in his own thinking about his rights under the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions.
By David Tulis / 92.7 NoogaRadio
Transportation administrative notice provides Mr. Williams a defense if he is falsely accused of “driving on revoked,” a criminal case where state actors harass individuals by the bad-faith use of Tenn. Code Ann. § Title 55, the state transportation and driver license law.
His defense is this: That he is not subject to or liable under the law because he is a private person using the road for private purposes, and the prosecutor in Hamilton County, Neal Pinkston, knows better because he has been under notice about the limits in the statute.
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Mr. Williams’ defense in court, and on the street, is that he is traveling under transportation administrative notice, and the city of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, and other jurisdictions know full well that they cannot act outside the authority of the law to prosecute him criminally when he has committed no crime under the criminal code in Title 39 and that he is not subject to Title 55 because he is not a commercial user of the people’s right of way.
A new defense
The defense is that the accused was not traveling under Title 55, which grants the state’s police regulatory authority to impose rules and surveil people involved in the for-hire use of the roads, carrying goods or people under agreement or contract, for pay, in commerce.
The defense has always been available to that half of the African-American population whose driver license status is revoked, suspended, expired or none.
But TAN gives impetus to the claim, and seeks a mass relief of prosecutorial misconduct by Mr. Pinkston and his assistant district attorneys. And relief from police misconduct. This combination, this fellowship of the finger, operating outside the scope of the law creates fear, hatred and terror among people who are not their subjects because they are not involved in commercial activity on the road.
This law enforcement activity outside of law has the effect of intimidating and coercing a civilian population, influencing the policy of units of government such as the courts by intimidating mass caseloads and dockets, and affecting the operation of units of government such as county jails by seizures and abductions of citizens, travelers and others — an act that is akin to government kidnapping — to keep cells in these buildings at or capacity — or overcapacity.
Plea bargain? Don’t be silly
But now that transportation administrative notice is a public document, as of Oct. 16, Rhea County register’s office, and sealed in the records of Rhea County register of deeds, a criminal defendant has a strong defense that he can enter into evidence as a public document.
TAN is available online. If one were really serious about defying malicious prosecution under Title 55, one could also contact the clerk, Teresa Hulgan, in Rhea County and ask for or order a certified printed copy. I believe that any public document is self-enforcing as a public document without special certification. I’d have to check.
Transportation Administrative Notice creates cause of action vs. cop, gives new legal defense in court
If you are going to use the notice in a court case, you may want a certified copy of TAN from Mrs. Hulgan.
Of course, you would be a fool to plea bargain with the district attorney’s office in sessions court. Instead, you have a right to stand your ground and go to trial, asking for a “trial by jury.” An indictment is a protection that too few people understand, because the grand jury is a citizen filter of police / state / prosecutor accusations, giving such claims a minimal once-over. Having the grand jury review the charges against you before trial is a protection every defendant or accused should claim.
Invoking ‘guilty mind’ or ‘intent’ statute in your defense
In a nutshell, the TAN defense of free travel provides you a notice in law and also one that informs your intent. All criminal charges must allege intent, or mens rea, guilty mind.
Your defense is that the state has no subject matter jurisdiction and no in personam jurisdiction because the accused is not traveling for hire in commerce, but is a private user of the road, exercising God-given, constitutionally guaranteed, and alienable and inherent rights and immunities.
Mind you, I’m not an attorney and don’t give legal advice. If you want legal advice because you believe that the law matters, go to another planet and consult a licensed attorney practicing there, and he might help you in his state, or your own, as if law really mattered.
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David Tulis explains how to take advantage of transportation administrative notice, especially if you are a minority with a revoked license. Cameron Williams, a hiphop artist known as C-Grimey, considers the notice as a possible defense if he is stopped “driving while revoked,” an illegal act he strictly avoids. But first he has to understand how to stand on his rights, answer no questions, and insist on the officer’s having proper authority for a charge or arrest. That would be: Probable cause, a warrant for an arrest or search, or credible word Mr. Williams is about to commit a crime. But standing his ground worries Mr. Williams; won’t he likely be beaten up by the Chattanooga cop? None of this commentary is legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult a licensed attorney.
