To fish is human – to go to court without a lawyer over a fishing license is divine comedy

Don’t defend yourself in court

A fishing license is $5. The ticket for fishing without one is $50. The price of declaring yourself sovereign while babbling at a judge is ultimately 30 days in jail for contempt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06VzxxDTnB8
Ernie Wayne Tertelgte , who calls himself “The Natural Living Man”, is famous for spewing hippie rhetoric to a lady judge in a court room after disagreeing with modern society
In November 2013, Ernie was having a nice vacation (if living off the land in a perpetual state of noncompliance can be called a vacation). He was fishing for his next meal with his son when he was routinely asked by an approaching park warden if he had a license to fish. The old timer living in old times responded that he didn’t need a license to feed his family. He said he was a “sovereign citizen” who lived outside of modern laws in the mountains.

Here’s the hook

The warden asked to see his ID. Ernie declined, so the warden then proceeded to arrest him. The Natural Living Man attempted to stick it to the man by resisting the arrest. Ernie was therefore given a court date for fishing without a license, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice.
No word as to the disposition of the fish he had caught – or whether he had been successful in his attempt to deprive the fish of it’s freedom. We can assume it is probably living out it’s life in freedom. Probably more free than Ernie.

Ernie went to court 3 times. Each time disrupting the proceedings and declaring that they had no right over him and his desire for a nice piece of bass. Consequently, the final judge would have no more of his chicanery. Mr Tertelgte was sentenced to 30 days in the “county bed and breakfast” where they get fish sticks on Tuesdays.

the moral

The moral of the story is – Get a fishing license. If you get caught fishing without one, however,  pay the fine. If you (or your lovable but misguided uncle Ernie) went to Youtube University and want to go to court to fight against the modern world, Call me at (843)249-2252 and get a consult.