Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

Weapons trial begins for tax holdouts Ed and Elaine Brown

July 01, 2009

Tax-defying couple Ed and Elaine Brown, who held out for months in a fortress-like compound in New Hampshire after they were convicted of tax evasion, were back in court yesterday to face weapons charges arising out of the holdout. It got interesting quickly when Mr. Brown tried to fire his lawyer just as the trial was to begin. The trial judge denied Mr. Brown's requiest.

Mr. Brown said the lawyer wasn't willing to conduct the defense the way Mr. Brown directed. I wonder why? Maybe it has to do with this:

In court filings, the Browns say they are not the people named in the indictment. They sign their motions: “Edward-Lewis:Brown” and “Elaine-Alice:Brown.”
“We are not the EDWARD BROWN and ELAINE BROWN,” they wrote, saying if the court continues to deny their contention, “we will again be forced to retreat from this collusive and hostile arena.”

The funky punctuation defense has a poor record in federal courts.