Wayne Fincher Update

Update: 2/19/2008
An appeal for funds

Oral arguments are set for March 10th in St. Louis. Quentin Rhoades will be presenting the argument for Wayne Fincher before the Appellate Court.

Currently, we are short funds to provide for all the necessary expenses for the presentation of the case at the Appellate level. It is necessary that we cover all of Quentin's expenses for his work on this case. We ask that you please support Wayne and your Second Amendment right by sending a donation to the address given [below].

We would greatly appreciate your assistance.

To support Wayne and your Second Amendment rights please send checks to:

The Wayne Fincher Defense Fund
P.O. Box 215
Elkins Arkansas 72727

[Via Paul W. Davis]

Wayne Fincher Update: Appeal of Order Pursuant to Hearing

MOWCA Blog has posted a new item, 'Appeal of Order Pursuant to Hearing on Remand'

Quentin Rhoades has filed a Notice of Appeal (NOA) on the Order issued by District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren. This Order was issued as a result of the Hearing on Remand held on the 20th of January.

Notice was filed April 2nd, with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Docket is updated to reflect the changes. [More]

Find out more about this case from MOWCA here.

To support Wayne and your Second Amendment rights please send checks to:

The Wayne Fincher Defense Fund
P.O. Box 215
Elkins Arkansas 72727

[More about Wayne Fincher from WarOnGuns]

A Letter from Wayne Fincher

I just received the following from Hollis Wayne Fincher. It looks like he received my letter. He has given me permission to share his (click on graphic, then you should be able to enlarge it from that page):

"Two offers by gov. to plea. I say no deal!"

In a related development, Barb McCutcheon informs us:

Just to let you know the books we sent to Wayne Fincher for Christmas were returned yesterday. The jail explanation was that the book on Jefferson and the Constitution was too heavy.

Don’t we all feel safer now?

[More from WarOnGuns]

UPDATE: I have receive notice that Wayne is still having health issues and anti-nausea medication has taken over 31 hours to be provided. My source tells me his attorney must get a court order before his medical records will be released to him--this is raw info, so I have no independent means to verify. Let me just say that if medicines were being withheld from war prisoners at Gitmo, the "authorized journalists" would be all over this story. I'll follow up on this later tonight to see if there are any new developments.

Wayne Fincher Update: February 8

Per Paul W. Davis, the docket for USA v. Hollis Wayne Fincher has been updated with the Response to Motion for Arrest of Judgment.

I see our wonderful "Department of Justice" is arguing that in camera betrayals and side bar savaging are all the due process one needs to afford the mere peasantry. After all, the relevant statutes "are within the authority granted to Congress under the Constitution," as long as we forget that inconvenient bit about "shall not be infringed," and previous stare decisis power grabs give the whole foul process a surface mask of legality.

[More about Wayne Fincher via WarOnGuns]

Wayne Fincher Update: January 27

From Paul W. Davis:

Wayne Fincher's docket has been updated with the Motion to Arrest Judgement (Document 37) and the Memorandum Brief in Support Motion to Arrest Judgement (Document 38). The following are the links:

http://www.arkansasmilitia.com/raid/main.html

http://www.arkansasmilitia.com/raid/docket/37_MtnArrestJudgment.pdf

http://www.arkansasmilitia.com/raid/docket/38_BrfMtnArrestJudgment.pdf

[More about Wayne Fincher via WarOnGuns]

Fincher Denied IFP Status

From Paul W. Davis:

I hate to be abrupt and blunt, but I have no choice as time is of the essence and the issue is extremely serious...Wayne is denied IFP consideration for the government to pay for the transcript...The is how we are dealt with by the courts. We now have to come up with $1,100.00 immediately, and the balance when the transcript is done by this coming Tuesday...If we do not produce a transcript for Quentin and Stewart to use, then this case is OVER! There will be no reconsideration, no new trial, no anything further concerning Wayne's attempt to get the courts and government to recognize our individual right to keep and bear all arms necessary for our defense. I expect an answer by tomorrow as I have to provide an answer to the Court Reporter tomorrow.

Since this came in last night, that would be today. I have to wonder how many WarOnGuns regulars (besides me) have put a few dollars in the collection plate?

The Wayne Fincher Defense Fund
P.O. Box 215
Elkins Arkansas 72727

It's not like we have a lot of time...

[More about Wayne Fincher from WarOnGuns]

Fincher Guilty In Machine Gun Case

It took a jury just under five hours to find Hollis Wayne Fincher guilty of owning illegal machine guns and a sawed-off shotgun.

[Via US vs Fincher]

[More About Wayne Fincher]

Judge Disallows Fincher Defense

Hollis Wayne Fincher's machine gun trial will go to the jury today with the defense having presented no evidence or witnesses to the jury.

The defense rested Thursday after U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren ruled Fincher's proposed testimony inadmissible.

So much for earlier reports that this creature was honorable.

[Via Hairy Hobbit]

[More about Wayne Fincher ]

The Fix is In: Destroy Wayne Fincher

A man charged with possessing illegal machine guns shouldn't be able to make constitutional arguments at trial, according to a motion filed Friday by federal prosecutors.

Hollis Wayne Fincher, 60, a lieutenant commander of the Militia of Washington County, is charged in U.S. District Court with possessing three homemade, unregistered machine guns and an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

Trial is set for Jan. 8 in Fayetteville.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Johnson filed the motion asking U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren to preclude Fincher and his attorney, Oscar Stilley, from arguing matters of law to the jury as a defense. The government believes Fincher wants to argue the gun charges are unconstitutional and that the prosecution must prove an "interstate nexus" for the firearms, according to the motion.

Damn right--the Constitution has no place in America's courtrooms! Imagine, wanting to "argue matters of law" as a defense!

Here's how you can help.

[More from WarOnGuns]

Fincher Court Documents

This page has been a regular link in our posts about Wayne Fincher, and has been included in the blogroll in the left margin. Paul W. Davis has been a true champion in this, both for Mr. Fincher, and for making this information available to all of us, and deserves our gratitude.

I'd like to call your attention to two documents and recommend you set aside several minutes to read them:

Fincher Trial Testimony: This is what the jury was not allowed to hear. Note how predatory Prosecutor Plumlee attempts to appear subtle in his ridicule and contempt. He comes off like a coward attacking a bound warrior. Fincher's knowledge and ability to articulate it make it clear who the better man is, and that his are words the court could not allow an impartial and open-minded jury to hear.

Judge Hendren's Jury Instructions: After suppressing Fincher's testimony and any references to the Constitution and Second Amendment from the jury, the judge establishes the "Duty of the Jury" (Instruction 2), mandating they "apply the law, as I give it to you," and citing "Authority: 8th Circuit Model Instruction 3.02."

Thing is, the "authority" admits it is only a guideline:

These are intended to be model, not mandatory...They are not intended to be treated as the only method of properly instructing a jury.

Yet this, in the eyes of those who would rule us, is enough to override centuries of legal precedent and tradition, and the clear intent and understanding of those who established our system of justice.

I'm disappointed no one in the Fincher case had the knowledge (or perhaps the courage to buck an obviously rigged system?) to vote "Not Guilty." I'd just say I wasn't convinced and leave it at that. Besides, how can such witnesses--who would speak against a man for exercising his unalienable right to keep and bear arms and, in many cases, violate their oaths of office--be considered "credible"?

We need to do a much better job of informing our countrymen of their rights, duties and AUTHORITY as jurors. Not being a lawyer, I don't know if a challenge to the verdict based on improper jury instructions would be "granted" standing in the federal courts, but I think it's worth at least looking in to.

Wayne Fincher Update: Sentencing Set for June 22

Hollis Wayne Fincher, 60, was convicted Jan. 12 of possessing illegal, unregistered weapons, including machine guns and a sawed-off shotgun.

Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. June 22 in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville before Judge Jimm Larry Hendren.

Fincher faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Y'all have written those letters, right?

Except for you, Russ Whitfield, and you, Doug H. You guys have chains to polish or something...

IFP Oral Arguments – U.S. vs. Fincher

Oral Arguments were conducted yesterday in St. Louis, in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals pertaining to the In Forma Pauperis status of Hollis Wayne Fincher...[More]

It includes a link so you can listen to the proceedings.

[Via Paul W. Davis]

[More about Wayne Fincher]

A Follow-Up Request

We spoke yesterday of helping Wayne Fincher materially. Paul W. Davis reminds me of one other thing that is just as important:

If you could, would you drop Wayne a note and encourage him. He is discouraged and feels very cut-off from everything. I spent Friday evening, part of Saturday, and again part of Sunday encouraging Miss Linda and Wayne to stay on course.Friday, Wayne was ready to give up and do it all pro se, which would be a disaster. He looked at the amount of money it is going to take...and was at the point of losing all hope.

Please send correspondence to:

Hollis Wayne Fincher
07863-010
P.O. Box 9000
Forrest City, Arkansas
72336

Fincher Challenges Indictment, Jurisdiction

Hollis Wayne Fincher is challenging the validity of the grand jury indictment that led to his conviction for illegally possessing machine guns.

I posted docket update links earlier this morning.

[More about Wayne Fincher via WarOnGuns]

Prosecution Rests in Fincher Case

The prosecution finished calling witnesses early this afternoon in the Wayne Fincher federal case.

[More about Wayne Fincher from WarOnGuns]

Are Fed Captors Denying Life-Saving Medicine to Fincher?

MOWCA Blog says they are:

Even before Wayne’s arrest, he had health issues that included Pericardial effusion (excess fluid around the heart). The Federal Government knew this as soon as they took Wayne into custody. Wayne must take medication to reduce the fluid build-up around his heart. The specific drug he takes is Lasix.

However, over the last month, the people who run the Forrest City facility claim they cannot get (or afford) the drug Lasix so Wayne cannot get his medication. Hence, they have refused to give Wayne the medication he requires.

I thought it was a requirement. This sounds like, among other things, the legal definition of deliberate indifference. We need to figure out what we can do about this without delay.

The local newspaper is the Times-Herald of Forrest City. They're likely to have far more influence than a handful of gun blogs. Please join me--right now--in asking them to investigate and shine a light on this:


I addressed my email to the publisher and managing editor. Their edresses are listed in the above link to the paper.

Do this right now. It sounds like a man's life is at stake. I should not have to say "please." And pass this on to others.

MOWCA has also posted the docket.

If you're new to WarOnGuns and don't know Wayne Fincher's story, feel free to explore my archive.

Wayne Fincher Update

From Paul W. Davis:

To all,

Miss Linda (Wayne's wife) and I are leaving in about an hour to drive to St. Louis for oral Arguments tomorrow morning at 0900. Quentin Rhoades is arguing IFP Status for Wayne. We will be driving back tomorrow afternoon.

I will post details on the Militia Blog when I return.

In Christ & ALWAYS in Liberty,

Paul W. Davis

[Read more about Wayne Fincher]

Wayne Fincher Update: Jan.1

From Paul W. Davis :

In the interest of maintaining access to all the documentation involved in the case of U.S. v. Hollis Wayne Fincher, I have updated the MOWCA's website with a page focused on the BATFE raid on the Militia and the arrest and detention of Wayne.

http://www.arkansasmilitia.com/raid/main.html

This page does not replace the USvFincher blog or the other blogs and websites that are tracking this case. However, it will lay out all documentation involved. Please note: This page is not a blog and is not intended to function as such, but is a document repository that also functions as a backup to the USvFincher blog in case access is unavailable for whatever reason.

All submissions to the page will be cleared through the militia and/or Wayne's lawyer if applicable. Please remember that I am only the webmaster and cannot post a document unless it has been previously cleared through the militia.

[More from WarOnGuns]

Appeal for Information in Fincher Case

Fellow 2nd Amendment advocates:

I am filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the Fincher case pro bono publico. The only hope I think we have of getting the writ granted is a strong showing that the holding of DC v. Heller is being ignored, or, at best, treated with a complete lack of seriousness by the nation's inferior federal courts.

Stewart Rhodes has been capably assisting me on the case, but, I learned tonight, he has run into an unfortunate family emergency which prevents him from doing all the legal research he would like to for Mr. Fincher. This puts me me in a time-crunch, given all the detailed preparation a petition necessarily entails. Hence I reach out to you. If you know or have heard of any cases which might fit my bill, would you please be kind enough to reference them to me?

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. On my own behalf, and that of Mr. Fincher, many, many thanks for any help you might offer.

Quentin M. Rhoades, Esq.

If you know of any cases that match what Mr. Rhoades is looking for, he can be reached at qmrATmontanalawyerDOTcom.

[Wayne Fincher case reporting at WarOnGuns]

"What Price Treason?"

Supporters of Wayne Fincher have asked that letters by sent to the "judge who tried Wayne and will do the sentencing. He needs to know how the citizens of Arkansas, and the United States (& those abroad who care) feel about this egregious case."

Here is one such letter that the author has graciously allowed me to post:

20 Jan 07

U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

Sir:

As an American citizen who is deeply concerned about the state of liberty and the lack of rule of law in this land I have been following the Fincher case. This nation was wrested away from a ruling elite that ruled by whim and the myth of moral superiority of the highborn. Because of the reasons for our departure from our mother country we established the rule of law, not whim. Those rules reserved and guaranteed rights embodied in the Supreme Law of the Land , The Constitution of the United States of America. Government was guaranteed no rights in that document, but were granted certain powers in order that the state be able to honor its duty to the citizen in protecting the reserved and guaranteed rights bestowed by Nature and Nature's God upon the citizen.

Therefore, when I read that you had stated in public, on the record, that the Second Amendment guaranteed an individual right and not a collective right, I was pleased beyond measure. I thought to myself, "Finally an honest sitting judge, who will rule based on law." That thought did not sustain me long. For the very next day, after your meeting with representatives of the prosecution, you reversed yourself. Which brings me to some questions for later in this missive.

I know you did not attend and graduate law school without ever learning that the Constitution of the United States of America was and is the Supreme Law of the Land. Further, I contend that you could not have graduated law school without ever learning that the jury is charged with judging not only the facts of a case, but also the law under which charges are brought. Were you to try to deny having ever learned that, your already suspect integrity would be revealed by its absence.

I can believe that you graduated law school and never learned that the courtroom belongs to the jury, not the judge, not the state, not the prosecutor and not the defense. The jury owns the courtroom, they are the highest power in that room, at all times. As stated previously, I can believe you graduated without that ever being revealed to you by your instructors. Such is the nature of arrogance in many that attain offices of honor. Many believe that they are imbued with a moral and universal superiority that places them above others and often simply ignore the truth if it does not please them. The fallacy of the judge owning the courtroom is one such manifestation of this arrogance. So while I can believe you were never taught that in law school, simply because the fiction of a judge owning the courtroom must be protected if the abuse of juries and the jury system is to be sustained, I cannot understand how you were able to study law and the history of the law and not discover the truth on your own. I suspect that it is an ignorance of convenience on your part.

The judge is a referee. His job is to keep the proceedings fair and in the bounds of the law. The judge has a duty not to be an advocate. A duty you have miserably failed in Fincher.

It has been ruled and upheld many times that a judge is not required to inform a jury of its duty and right to judge the suitability of the law under the Constitution. While it may not be legally required of him, it is certainly a moral obligation if justice is to prevail in our nation. When a judge declines to apprise a jury of its entire duty, but deigns to apprise it partially of its duty, he has become an advocate, and has shown his disrespect for justice.

I could cite cases and rulings that uphold everything I have stated above. I could cite quotations and writings of founders and jurists who have stated in eloquent terms the principles you have violated. I could do that, but I believe it would be pointless. I do not believe I have engaged an honest and principled man who has a different point of view, or who only needs to see the proofs that he has ruled wrongly, to set his path aright. I believe I am addressing a man who already knows all the things I have addressed here. I believe that man knew he was wrong when he disallowed the jury in Fincher to hear what the law, especially the Supreme Law of the Land, had to say, before directing the jury to a guilty verdict.

So here are the questions for you I mentioned above.

What was your price? What was offered you in that meeting with representatives of the prosecution that seems to have caused a complete reversal of what you had stated only the day before? Was it reward? Was it threat if you did not cooperate?

To sum it up in one question, "What price treason?"

Absolutely sincerely,

Charles H. Sawders
Doddridge, Arkansas

Send your letter to:
U. S. District Judge
Jimm Larry Hendren, Chief Judge
P. O. Box 3487
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702-3487