Helping your Defense Attorney Protect Your Rights (and Your Freedom)

As I’ve prefaced each of my three (3) posts on this subject: When someone is facing serious criminal charges, it is not surprising they might want to do their own research and look for every possible tool to protect their future. And I never to jump to conclusion that a client who might do “independent” online research is might be a candidate for judicially ordered mental evaluation. My goal in taking clients seriously (including these posts) is to ensure that while it might be fine to consider all options, we must stay grounded in the realities of the Missouri judicial system.

If you are facing serious charges, it is natural to look for any possible advantage to protect your liberty. However, there is a massive difference between a creative legal defense and the “magic words” often found on the unreliable corners of the internet. While documents filled with red ink, thumbprints, or phrases like “Sui Juris” and “All Rights Reserved” might look official, using them in a Missouri courtroom can have unintended and severe consequences.

Here is what you need to know about the risks of using these pseudo-legal strategies:

• The Competency “Red Flag”: Missouri judges often view the use of “Sovereign Citizen” or “Redemptionist” language as a red flag for a defendant’s mental competency.
• Mandatory Psychiatric Evaluations: Under Section 552.020, RSMo, if a judge has reasonable cause to believe a defendant lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings or assist in their own defense, they are legally required to order a psychiatric exam.
• Indefinite Delays: Every time a defendant raises these issues or file requests and documents, they provide the judge with legal justification to hold them in a state mental facility for evaluation. This process can delay your actual plea or trial indefinitely, keeping you in custody longer than necessary.
• Frivolous Claims: Arguments claiming that the court is a corporation or that a judge’s retirement fund constitutes a conflict of interest have been repeatedly rejected by both federal and state courts as “frivolous”.

Please look over the other posts in this series to address some of concerns and debunk some of the information on the internet.

• Navigating Overwhelming Internet (Red Flag) Info about the Judicial System
• The Judge’s Authority, Credentials, Oath, and Commission
• The Risks to Reliance on Red Flag Information (this post)

Again, the most effective way to protect your rights is through understanding teh real Missouri legal system. Relying on internet red flag myths doesn’t just fail to work—it can actively hurt your case by shifting the focus from your defense to your mental fitness.