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Gun Kit Maker Challenges ATF's, Court's Jurisdiction
Bob Stewart is confident he will win a victory for gun owners everywhere.

by Angel Shamaya
Founder/Executive Director
KeepAndBearArms.com

April 18, 2001
(The day before the anniversary of Waco -- and Lexington & Concord)

Mesa, Arizona gun-kit manufacturer, Bob Stewart, is challenging the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and he's seeking proof of jurisdiction of the Federal Court itself. While numbers of liberty advocacy groups have for years doubted the alleged legitimacy and authority of the ATF, Mr. Stewart is betting his very life and freedom on the fact that the BATF is way out of line in their strategies and methodologies -- stating directly that they have no authority to assault or even accuse him -- and he's doing so without an attorney and by submitting his own truly explosive documents in his defense.

Mr. Stewart's last move with his attorneys by his side was to submit a motion to dismiss the case based on constitutional vagueness. From the prosecution's (federal government's) perspective, at issue in the case has been whether or not Mr. Stewart's kit is a gun -- and the only clause the ATF has to go by in their "regulations" lies in these two words: "readily converted." Mr. Stewart's motion to suppress the search warrant basically declared that the term is too vague to justify an armed raid, his incarceration and all of the other things the ATF is now widely known for doing and has done to him and his family.

Federal Judge Roslyn O. Silver (District Court in Phoenix) denied the motion to suppress the search warrant, denied the motion to dismiss and basically said the show must go on. According to Stewart, the feds then offered him a plea bargain -- 6 years in prison -- but not only did he refuse the offer that he called "absurd in the extreme," he's going right for their jugular, and he truly believes he will win. Bob Stewart fired his attorneys, argued for over two hours for permission to defend himself pro per, and the judge was finally persuaded to grant his request.

Bob Stewart is taking on the ATF and the federal courts that pave their way -- alone.

If we liken this situation to the biblical story of David and Goliath, Bob Stewart is taking on roughly 42,000 Goliaths, and he repeatedly says the victory is his if these courts wish to maintain their appearance of legality and constitutionality.

In fact, he said just two days ago, "if this court is a legitimate court that still operates under the Constitution, they have no recourse but to admit they had no right whatsoever to do what they did to me and my wife and children -- and no jurisdiction at all."

Jurisdiction, according to Mr. Stewart, is being challenged "by submitting a Demand for Bill of Particulars, and a Stipulated version, with answers, and a Dilatory Plea -- a motion to quash the fatally flawed Indictment." (Each of those documents is available below.) Stewart is convinced that the Prosecutor cannot rebut his claims and therefore has no case. No case would mean no trial.

According to Mr. Stewart, "the Court must now prove that they have jurisdiction." Citing Hagens v. Lavine 415 U.S. 533, Note 3, as his reference -- along with a number of other federal laws, rules and codes and both the Arizona and united States Constitutions -- Bob Stewart is testing a number of long held convictions many strident liberty advocates espouse fervently.

Is it really that simple, cut and dried? Bob Stewart is betting on it: "It is all just that simple. No other issues, just JURISDICTION. The BATF has none, neither does the IRS, and that will rock this nation!!!" According to Stewart, his case can "end BATF/IRS activities on private soil." That would be nice, and you are invited to witness the hearing and to hear the motions, the replies and the responses to the replies. As has been true in previous hearings in Stewart's case, people will come from other states just to be present.

Bob Stewart expects his case to be thrown out then and there -- if it even makes it to the next hearing.

"AND WHEN IT IS THROWN OUT, IT WILL BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GUN RIGHTS VICTORY EVER......FOR THE PEOPLE," proclaimed Mr. Stewart. If Stewart could challenge the ATF's jurisdiction on private property and win the challenge, considering the ATF's recent $773 million budget -- their largest ever -- he'd be right.

Bob Stewart has been talking about challenging the ATF's jurisdiction since the raid against him took place in June of 2000. One who knows him personally might wonder why he didn't go straight to the jurisdiction issue -- so I asked him. "When I had three attorneys working on this case, I could never have gotten them to do what we are doing now," he explained. "They simply refused to challenge jurisdiction. I AM challenging it, and now jurisdiction must be proven by the government -- and the government has NO legal way to prove that it has jurisdiction."

Let's hope so, and let's make sure that courtroom is filled to capacity. Read the documents he submitted to the court and you may come to understand why this case needs support -- and why that courtroom should be filled to capacity, with liberty-minded people spilling out into the hallway.

BE THERE:

If you are in Arizona, especially in Phoenix, this is plenty of notice to get May 25, 2001 off of work. If Bob Stewart is right, losing a half a day of work would certainly be a good tradeoff for being present to watch the ATF and the federal court lose a jurisdiction case. And if the judge goes against the Constitution -- the Supreme Law of the Land -- it might also be interesting to be there, as well.

25 May 2001, 10:00AM
Judge Silver's courtroom in Phoenix, downtown federal courthouse, 230 N. 1st Ave. @ Van Buren (SW corner)


Documents Bob Stewart has Submitted to the Court

Following are links to scanned images of the actual documents filed with the District Court in Phoenix, Arizona. There are links directly to each page along with links to download each set of documents in .zip files, MS Word files, Word Perfect files and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. We did have some slight glitches in making all versions look exactly the same, but the information is the same -- and the one true copy as submitted to the court is scanned and available below.

Special Demand for Specific BILL OF PARTICULARS with Affidavit of Verification
Filed on April 3, 2001

What you will see in these scanned images immediately below are 66 questions posed to the court and the government's prosecuting attorney to obtain an explanation of the ATF's and the Court's alleged grounds for their actions against Mr. Stewart and his family. The questions appear to get at the heart of jurisdiction and authority and address not only the types of rules and laws by which the federal government is operating but the deeper questions that come to mind when many people explore whether or not the ATF and the federal government are "allowed" to do much of what they do. Also below are links to the affidavit that was filed with the 66 questions:

Scanned Images (.gif):
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6
Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12
Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16

Download all 16 pages in a .zip file (1.8meg)

Affidavit scanned (.gif): Page 1 Page 2
MS Word Version of Above (.doc):

MS Word Version of above 16 pages (78K)

Affidavit in MS Word (accompanying document)

Word Perfect Version of Above (.wpd):

Word Perfect Version of above 16 pages (33K)

Affidavit in Word Perfect (accompanying document)

Adobe Acrobat version (.pdf):
Above 16 pages (28K)
Affidavit (accompanying document) (5K)

BILL OF PARTICULARS Proposed for Stipulation
Filed on April 3, 2001

What you will see in this set of documents are the 66 answers to the abovementioned questions that the prosecutor (Mr. Welty) will most likely put forth to defend his claim of jurisdiction. According to Bob Stewart, "he will have to defend his answers in court in order to prove that he does have jurisdiction. This is impossible to do, since there exists no lawful or legal grounds to support his claim to jurisdiction."

Proof of Dilatory Plea by Affidavit of Verification
Filed on April 6, 2001

Following are links to the sworn affidavit that, in essence, openly challenges the venue and jurisdiction of the federal court and the ATF and directly states each specific reason why such a challenge is warranted.

Scanned Images (.gif):
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

Download all 3 pages in a .zip file (102K)

Other Versions of the Above:

MS Word document (26K)

Word Perfect document (29K)

Adobe Acrobat .pdf version (8K)

Entry of DILATORY PLEA TO QUASH DEFECTIVE INDICTMENT in the nature and style of a Pre-Plea MOTION TO DISMISS
Filed on April 6, 2001

This is a motion to quash the defective indictment due to the fatal defects and omissions in the colorable indictment and charging instruments, challenging the court's venue and jurisdiction. This document and its implications could prove nationally beneficial in cases where the ATF, IRS, and Federal courts overstep their jurisdiction. This document contains 12 numbered items that, according to Bob Stewart, "are facts which support the motion to dismiss the colorable action." (In other words, this is the meat of why the federal government's alleged "case" against Mr. Stewart is closing in Mr. Stewart's favor -- we pray.)

Scanned Images (.gif):
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

Download all 6 pages in a .zip file (832K)

Other Versions of the Above:

MS Word Document (35K)

Word Perfect document (43K)

Adobe Acrobat .pdf version (15K)

AGAIN...BE THERE!

If you are in Arizona, especially in Phoenix, this is plenty of notice to get May 25, 2001 off of work. If Bob Stewart is right, losing a half a day of work would certainly be a good tradeoff for being present to watch the ATF and the federal court lose a jurisdiction case. And if the judge goes against the Constitution -- the Supreme Law of the Land -- it might also be interesting to be there, as well.

25 May 2001, 10:00AM
Judge Silver's courtroom in Phoenix, downtown federal courthouse, 230 N. 1st Ave. @ Van Buren (SW corner)


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