Forest Service criminally prosecuted a small-scale miner for use of a sluice box

[winners58]

The U.S. Forest Service criminally prosecuted a small-scale miner, John Godfrey, in The District Court For The Eastern District of California ,
for hand mining with the use of a sluice box. The New 49'ers Legal Fund has filed an Amicus Brief in the appeal.

We believe the government and magistrate made a serious error by not allowing proper consideration to the Section 228 regulations which expressly state that hand mining and sluicing is completely exempt from the requirement to provide any Notice or Plan to the USFS

the brief that was filed;
http://www.goldgold.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Proposed-Amicus-Brief-court-conformed-copy.pdf
.

 

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[russau]

EVEN if your 100% right , a individual fighting for his rights would be under a LOT of stress fighting for them , both emotionally and financially! that's how the gubermint agencies work their dirty llttle dealings! and we pay for it!

 

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[goldenIrishman]

AAAAmmeeennn Russ!!! I know that fighting the Forest Service put a ton of stress on Tom Teirney. Tom isn't one to go looking for vengeance though, he just wanted to be able to work his claim in peace. The fight to win the case cost him a lot of money which left nothing to go after them for damages caused. The only effect was that the offending District Ranger was transferred out of the area.

I would think that if there was enough money to be made by taking the agencies to court for damages. lost wages and violation of a persons rights under the Constitution, that there would be lawyers lining up in droves to take the case on contingency. I also wonder if the miner(s) that had their rights trampled on would be able to access funds from the E.A.J.A. (Equal Access to Justice Act) to pay for their court costs. I think I'll do some research into that. If I find anything interesting I'll post it here.

 

[Hoser John]

Great post Rick, all the facts are very enlightening. No matter what t you do they just can't stop pushing the insane green agenda. Western Miners Alliance is a great source of pertinent info and indeed a GREAT place to donate to miners working for miners and NOT their own private agenda...thanks as always,sorry to be down and out at this time.....will try to contribute again next month when(hopefully) I'm on my feet again. Keep up the great work-John

 

[Armchair prospector]

Law enforcement is making deputies wear body cameras now. Does that also go for the Forest Service? Might change how prospectors/miners are treated Especially if a jury trial.

 

[fowledup]

Prosecutorial misconduct= Dismissal with prejudice. If prosecutorial misconduct is found to be gross negligence it could also lead to monetary recourse.

I would love to see a flow chart like what clay and ruby did for claim permits, based on common mining citations. Would also pay a pretty penny for a book with applicable court cases, mining law tutorials, references, legal opinions etc. in a layman format that anyone can reference and understand. I know there are websites and tons of info out there, love it and my computer is stuffed with it, but I sure would like a condensed book version I could hold in my hands.

A more than acceptable number of citations are written to either generate revenue, validate job performance of an leo, or make a person stop their activities by way of fear because of a lack of knowledge. It is commonly understood that the vast majority will not seek representation or their day in court, they will pay the fine and move on. I am not a lawyer just a dumb azz electrician with rudimentary reading and comprehension skills. Twice I have won without spending any money or hiring an attorney. The first time I simply followed the process, no drama, or court room battle, just a matter of showing up where and when I was required, to present my argument and legal proof. Turns out it was a well known common citation given by the same individual at the same location and I was the first to fight it. The second time was a repeat citation as the first. I presented the paperwork and results from the first go around to the clerk and never had to go any further, other than to file a formal complaint on the individual writting the bogus citation over and over.

 

[goldenIrishman]

But what was done about the person giving the citations out? I myself feel that he should have been fired for deceiving the public with his bogus tickets. If he KNEW that they were wrong (after being shown that fact by the courts) and still continued giving them out he should loose his job and be barred from law enforcement as a bad officer. Of course that would only happen in a perfect world....

Seems he wasn't too smart anyway... Giving the same ticket to someone that had already beaten him for the same thing in court ain't too bright.

 

[fowledup]

I don't want to hijack the thread anymore than I have but I will give the jest of it as its pertinent because it shows an all too common attitude and willingness to use underhanded tactics against us. They were violations for illegal parking on "city" property which in fact was private property. The property is located next to a university with a large out of town population. The officer would cruise the property every couple of days and write up a dozen or so tickets. The kids who are financially strapped and don't want to risk probation or disiplinary action from the university for non payment pass the ticket on to the parents who cut the city a check, end of story. When I received my citation I knew the property was private and always had been. I also knew that the street lines that the officer had cited were not true traffic markings but back up markers for the drivers off the buisness that used to occupy the property years ago. After looking into it I found the proper statuates showing I had a legal right to park the way I did, no different then had I parked in someones driveway. I also found out that several of my coworkers had been cited for the same thing but had been payed the ticket. Long story short, several others used my info to succesfully defend themselves and lodge their own complaints. The citations have stopped as he has a new area and sadly the city three years later has still not corrected any of the items I pointed out.

 

[Hoser John]

I heard a rumor that some trees were cut down Now that'll stir up the pot for sure. Legal or not anything over 4" without a permit is akin to kickn' a hornets nest down the road. Just asking........... real---or bull??John

 

[fowledup]

I heard a rumor that some trees were cut down Now that'll stir up the pot for sure. Legal or not anything over 4" without a permit is akin to kickn' a hornets nest down the road. Just asking........... real---or bull??John

4" - Trees? Never heard or read a size limit. A summer or two ago there was a guy that got a citation for cutting brush ("trees") and diggin the bank above the highwater in Butte creek, he hadn't chopped anything close to 4", in fact the diggin was questionable as well but the guy was gonna get written for something no matter what, as he made a freakin mess that kept getting bigger and bigger and wouldn't listen to anyone tellling him to fill in the holes as he went.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Law enforcement is making deputies wear body cameras now. Does that also go for the Forest Service? Might change how prospectors/miners are treated Especially if a jury trial.

Wear your own body cam

 

[Skiddum]

Same crap I'm dealing with here in utah. they have know established rules but each of the rangers make up there own. and it's a joke that they can do this

 

[Armchair prospector]

It's a joke when you are not destroying property or hurting anyone. That's what laws were made for. Overreaching?.They have nothing better to do?, that they have to make up a crime.

 

[jog]

Same crap I'm dealing with here in utah. they have know established rules but each of the rangers make up there own. and it's a joke that they can do this

Time to step up & do somthing about it?

 

[Featherdfishead]

Sad fact here in northern california, Klamath National Forest, is that nearly all the twig pigs (piss fir cops) and Fish Cops will stop and harass you if your sluiceing. Even when every thing is legal begal . We vote and pay taxes to live in the United Police States of America, and we are all sick of it!

 

[specksandflecks]

Time to step up & do somthing about it?

Yes, I think so. Voting might help. Still have to realize what you are dealing with though, of that I'm sure you are aware. Somewhat of a closed loop system AFAIK, which is very little. There is no 'silver bullet' here, more like an endless volley. To what extent administrative personnel are hired from ranks of enforcement personnel, I haven't the slightest.

Most effective course of action? I Dono, I have some simple ideas though. This http://www.thehugefoundation.org/pdf/cabela's_scholarship_application.pdf?v=1 with some tweaking and maybe X 1 order of magnitude. would be a start. Can we get there from here? If the beancounters start to see a significant enough pinch on the horizon and realize it will affect them as an entire sector, then yeah. Probably take 10-15 years though from when that happens until things change for the better. How dark before the dawn, who knows.

Enforcement personnel are a different story IMO. They are more like technology or a tool. Capable of 'good' or 'bad'. Generally I think they think they are doing the 'right' thing. Sometimes they have all the choices, sometimes none. Desire to have authority is a requisite either way. /.02

 

[Clay Diggins]

step up & do somthing about it?

If you want to take the wind out of their sails start by taking their money away.

Every year more than 7 million dollars is donated in the Los Angeles National Forest alone through Forest "use" fees and fines that are illegal. Millions in these illegal fees are being paid monthly directly into the pockets of local Forest and BLM district slush accounts.

Stop paying for parking, hiking, mining, picnicking, camping and access! It's illegal to charge for access to the Public Lands, including the Forests and the SRAs. Grow a pair and quit funding their activities through the Adventure Pass. Two federal courts have declared those fees illegal. Inform your neighbors and friends. Educate the people you meet on the public lands.

When the money dries up the thieves and bullies move on to greener pastures.

Stop paying to be bullied and lied too! If you don't you have only yourselves to blame.

Heavy Pans

 

[fowledup]

Create flyers that reference the laws and facts that back up and explain non payment actions. Keep a stack with you everytime you venture out to your local forest- hand them out and post them at all your stops . The public is not ignorant just apathetic because they are uneducated as to their rights or whats going on with the land they don't comprehend belongs to them.

 

[The Gilded Lens]

Would love to get my hands on such a flyer.

 

[fowledup]

If those in the know would be so kind as to point us in the right direction for references, I bet we could write one up fairly quickly.

 

[Clay Diggins]

BIG pointy finger right here ----> It's illegal to charge for access to the Public Lands Click the link.

Any way you can inform public land users is a good thing. If flyers are your thing go for it.

I've been in this fight since the beginning. I fought to have Congress limit this fee plan. I won that fight. The law and the courts are on your side.

It's time all you public land users said NO! to illegal fees. I can do no more.

I will not pay the fees. Will you do the same or are you going to obey illegal coercion by the Forest Service and BLM?

Rather than complain or hope someone else leads the charge you can contact the no fees group above or you can do the right thing and refuse to pay to use your own land.

Stand up for yourselves. I spent years getting this straightened out and frankly I'm pretty pissed that a bunch of wimps are paying fees they don't owe.

Grow a pair. Defund those slush funds and show your employees who is boss.

Heavy Pans