United States v. Class

38 F. Supp. 3d 19, 2014 WL 1631243, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57558
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedApril 16, 2014
DocketCriminal No. 2013-0253
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 38 F. Supp. 3d 19 (United States v. Class) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Class, 38 F. Supp. 3d 19, 2014 WL 1631243, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57558 (D.D.C. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Gladys Kessler, United States District Judge

Pending before the Court are thirty-six Motions filed by Defendant Rodney Class [Dkt. Nos. 7, 10-14, 16, 20-22, 23, 26-49]. Upon consideration of the Motions, the Government’s three Omnibus Responses, the arguments presented at the Motions Hearing on April 7, 2014, and the entire record herein, and for the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s Motions are granted in part, denied in part, and, pending further development of the record, deferred in part.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 30, 2013, Defendant was arrested by United States Capitol Police for possession of three firearms on United States Capitol Grounds. See Indictment [Dkt. No. I]. 1

On September 3, 2013, a grand jury in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia indicted Defendant on two charges: (1) possession of three firearms on United States Capitol Grounds in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(1); and (2) carrying a concealed pistol outside of his home or business place in violation of D.C.Code § 22-4504(a). 2 On September 5, 2013, Defendant appeared before Magistrate Judge John Facciola for arraignment. The Federal Defender for the District of Columbia was appointed to represent him and he was released on his own recognizance and placed in the Court’s High Intensity Supervision Program. 3

Subsequently, Defendant indicated through written filings and oral requests at several court appearances that he wished to represent himself. On March 26, 2014, the Court held a status conference at which it advised Defendant in great detail of the risks of self-representa- ■ tion in order to ensure that, in the event he ultimately elected to waive his constitutional right to appointed counsel, such election would be “knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.” United States v. Cunningham, 145 F.3d 1385, 1391 (D.C.Cir.1998). The Court then asked Defendant to further consider whether he wished to represent himself in light of the risks identified by the Court, and to inform the Court of his final decision at his next court appearance.

Meanwhile, between January 3, 2014, and March 27, 2014, Defendant, although still represented by counsel, filed thirty-six pro se Motions. [Dkt. Nos. 7, 10-14, 16, *23 20-22, 23, 25^49]. 4 After he filed the first six of these Motions, the Court advised the Government at a status conference on February 3, 2014, that it could respond to the then-pending Motions with a single omnibus response indicating merely whether it opposed or did not oppose the requested relief. On February 7, 2014, the Government filed an Omnibus Response to the first six of these Motions (“Gov’t’s First Omnibus Resp.”) [Dkt. No. 17]. On March 7, 2014, after Defendant filed additional Motions, the Government filed a second Omnibus Response to four more of his Motions (“Gov’t’s Second Omnibus Resp.”) [Dkt. No. 24], On April 4, the Government filed a third Omnibus Response to the remainder of Defendant’s Motions (“Gov’t’s Third Omnibus Resp.”) [Dkt. No. 511

Defendant did not file any formal Replies in further support of his Motions, despite being advised by the Court at a status conference on February 27, 2014, that he had a right to do so. He did, however, file various submissions styled as “objections” to the Government’s Omnibus Responses. These submissions address the Government’s various Omnibus Responses but also raise new arguments and requests for relief. See Dkt. Nos. 28, 32, 36. As a result, the Court shall treat them as independent “Motions,” but shall also consider them in further support of each of Class’s other Motions.

On April 7, 2014, the Court held a Motions Hearing at which Defendant presented argument on his Motions. He also informed the Court at that time that, having considered the risks of self representation, he still desired to waive his right to appointed counsel and proceed pro se. The Court accepted Defendant’s waiver as knowing and voluntary, granted his request to proceed pro se, and appointed the Federal Defender, A.J. Kramer, as standby advisory counsel. The Government elected not to present any substantive argument on Defendant’s Motions but requested the opportunity to submit additional briefing in the event the Court was inclined to grant any of the Motions.

At the conclusion of the Motions Hearing, in light of the voluminous submissions Defendant had already filed, the Court issued an Order requiring Defendant to seek express permission from the Court prior to filing any additional Motions. See Order dated April 7, 2014 [Dkt. No. 52],

II. DISCUSSION

The Court construes Defendant’s Motions liberally for any possible relief to which he might be entitled. See, e.g., Toolasprashad v. Bureau of Prisons, 286 F.3d 576, 583 (D.C.Cir.2002) (court has an “obligation to construe pro se filings liberally”). It observes, however, that although Defendant raises a few issues that bear further consideration, a number of his Motions are duplicative of each other, and many are, to a large extent, utterly incomprehensible. Furthermore, most of the Motions purport to cite legal principles that either do not exist or are provisions of civil law wholly inapplicable to the issues in this criminal case. With this background in mind, the Court addresses each Motion as follows. 5

*24 1.Enter my Appearance: REQUIREMENT FOR MOTION FOR IN CAMERA HEARING; “CORPUS DELICTI” TO BE PRODUCED (HABEAS CORPUS) [Dkt. No. 7] (“Motion # 1”)

In this Motion, Defendant objects to the appearance of his name in all capital letters in the indictment, contending that the capital letters apply only to a “fictional” entity or a corporation, and not a “a living flesh and blood man” such as himself. Mot. at 9. This objection and the related argument that the use of all capital letters somehow deprives the Court of subject matter jurisdiction find no support in the law and, in fact, have been squarely rejected by at least one court. See United States v. Mitchell, 405 F.Supp. 602, 603 (D.Md.2009) (characterizing similar objections as “patently without merit”).

To the extent Defendant seeks “declaratory judgment” as to the identity of the actual person charged in the indictment, such declaratory relief is not a cognizable remedy in a criminal case. However, the Court now clarifies, to the extent there is any doubt, that the person charged in this case is Rodney Class the human being, and not a corporation or any other “fictional entity,” as Defendant suggests. See

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 F. Supp. 3d 19, 2014 WL 1631243, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-class-dcd-2014.