Bogus Liens Require Legislators’ Attention
Public officials routinely face criticism and some exposure to lawsuits. It comes with the territory. But that doesn’t mean they should have to endure bogus liens filed against them demanding money - a unique form of harassment promoted by so-called constitutionalists.
These self-appointed litigators, who harbor oddball interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, do have a method to their madness. Occasionally, their frivolous liens are recorded and succeed in tainting the credit records and property titles of judges, other elected officials, state troopers, bankers and lawyers.
Most county clerks, however, refuse to record the documents and risk incurring the constitutionalists’ wrath. Local officials want - and deserve - laws that better protect them from these ultraconservative ideologues.
Washington and Montana have such laws, but Idaho doesn’t - although Attorney General Al Lance has proposed one. The 1996 Idaho Legislature needs to address the issue of bogus liens, which Lance describes as “a growing problem.”
Constitutionalists wrongly believe county clerks should file anything notarized and brought to them - never mind the burden that would place on our courthouses.
Last year, a constitutionalist testified in 1st District Court that former Kootenai County Clerk Tom Taggart should be required to record a guppy squashed onto a piece of paper if it’s notarized and brought to him. He’d taken Taggart to court for refusing to file a $16 million lien against four Internal Revenue Service agents he claimed had violated his rights.
A judge ruled in Taggart’s favor, but the court test was chilling. Taggart, now the county administrator, found himself in a courtroom surrounded by constitutionalists - many of whom don’t respect our court system and view as traitors any public officials who oppose their obscure interpretation of the law.
In another instance, Rose Christmann, Coeur d’Alene’s notorious “Avon Lady,” mailed 21 city and county leaders homedrawn legal-looking papers seeking $525 million in gold and silver. These officials had violated her rights, the 72-year-old claimed, by not letting her operate a beauty-products business from her home.
Although Christmann never recorded her bogus liens, she did succeed in intimidating two officials who were in the process of buying or refinancing a home. They worried they’d be forced into a legal fight to clear their property titles.
Public service is tough enough without organized harassment. A civilized society should not permit these tactics without judicial recourse and penalty.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board