Jurors could decide fate of jury resister

SANDPOINT - Six Bonner County residents could decide whether a Samuels should be held responsible for refusing to do what they have to do - sit on a jury.

A jury trial is pending for Charles Eugene Sandelin, who is charged with criminal contempt for defying a judge's order that he appear in court to explain why he is resisting jury duty. Sandelin has asserted in court documents that he does not have to submit to being a juror because of the U.S. Constitution's protection against involuntary servitude.

“I wish to remain silent,” Sandelin, a Baptist preacher, said during his arraignment on April 8.

Judge Barbara Buchanan entered a plea of not guilty on Sandelin's behalf and ordered the matter set for trial. A trial date is pending.

If convicted of the misdemeanor, Sandelin could be sentenced to up six months in jail and faces fines of up to $1,000. City Prosecutor Lori Meulenberg has agreed to waive sentencing recommendations if Sandelin pleads guilty, according to a resolution proposal filed in the case.

Sandelin, 69, was identified as a potential juror in 2006, but allegedly refused to sign and return paperwork used to confirm his eligibility to serve on a jury. He is also accused of failing to show at a hearing to explain his refusal, which resulted in an arrest warrant.

Sandelin was picked up on the warrant last month and briefly jailed. He is free on bail while the case is pending.

Sandelin - an outspoken critic of women's rights and tolerance of homosexuals - contends in court documents that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that an unconstitutional act cannot be considered a law. Sandelin has also cited the Uniform Commercial Code in court documents and at his arraignment.

“The Uniform Commercial Code has absolutely no application in criminal proceedings,” Judge Barbara Buchanan advised Sandelin when she entered his plea.

The UCC was created to govern and harmonize commercial transactions throughout the U.S. The code has also been known to figure prominently in legal theories espoused by anti-government groups.

A central tenet of the conspiracy theory holds that the federal government has enslaved U.S. citizens by using them as collateral against foreign debt, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.