Could claiming to be a country be a sign of insanity?
March 12th, 2009 at 11:25pm
A judge in Pennsylvania seems to think so:
DUI Defendant Claims He Is His Own Country
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Associated Press/Fox NewsEASTON, Pa. — A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he’s his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.
Witmer, who represented himself, said he believes police lack jurisdiction to pull him over. As he said in court: “I live inside myself, not in Pennsylvania.” He said there is no victim in the crime and asked to go to trial.
Defense attorney James Connell, Witmer’s standby counsel, said a challenge to the traffic stop would need to be filed as a pretrial motion.
As long as the court doesn’t end up ruling that being your own country is a good enough defence, I’ll be happy. The precedent which would be set by letting people off because they claim to be a country would be intolerable.
Samuel
Entry Filed under: Bizarreness
