We arrived for sentencing at the Oakland County Courthouse on April 8, 2010 at 8:30 am. My case was the second case called and Judge Mark Goldsmith immediately called for it to be passed. My 3 attorneys and I sat dumbfounded as to what that could mean. There were no deputies in the courtroom and Mr. Fleming speculated that the judge might be intending on sending me back to jail.

But why would he send me back to jail? 

The prosecutor is someone never to trust. He acted friendly and helpful and suggested that perhaps Judge Goldsmith returning from vacation yesterday, did not get a chance to read the briefs filed by the attorneys.

More suspicion, more speculation.

We noticed Cheryl Martin was in the courtroom. Martin is the driver of the van that instigated this incident. Was the prosecutor going to turn this into a mini-trial? He denied that she was there to take the stand.

Martin is trying to force me to pay for her high mileage van which she traded in during “cash for clunkers.” She claimed that she traded it in because “she is afraid that I might recognize it on the road!” We are obliged to come back to Oakland County on May 12^th for a restitution hearing to fight this nonsense.

The parole officer who gave the court my pre-sentencing report got most of her information off the Internet. She accused me of “terrorism” because of my anti-aborticide beliefs.

Attorneys Anthony Lubkin and Robert Fleming submitted briefs countering her unprofessional biased report. Her report was the cause of the 4^th delay in my sentencing.

About 10:30 am my case was finally called. Robert Fleming argued against the pre-sentencing report. I gave my allocution statement below. I called Cheryl Martin a liar (I have documented 14 lies) in her 911 call to police. She was in the back of the courtroom making faces.

Judge Goldsmith has a reputation for being fair and recognized that I merely displayed a hammer during this altercation and nothing more than that. He seemed to understand that the aborted baby pictures on our van were the reason Cheryl Martin instigated, pursued, and perpetuated this incident. I showed 8 ½” x 11” pictures of our van during the allocution statement. It is obvious that Cheryl Martin’s story was a fabrication from beginning to end.

Judge Goldsmith stated that he was not taking into consideration the political, violent, and abortion related accusations in the pre-sentencing report. Yet his sentence seemed to be unduly harsh for merely displaying a hammer.

I was sentenced to 95 days in jail and credited for the 95 days that I spent in jail. I am placed on 2 years probation which is jail outside of jail. There are numerous conditions and restrictions which if anyone of them is violated might land me in jail or in prison. Many of the prisoners brought into court were brought in on probation violations. A “prick” for a probation officer can make life miserable and precarious. I wanted to refuse probation then and there but my attorneys urged me give it a try.

Court and jail fees and fines, and miscellaneous this and that are totaled into a dollar amount I am required to pay. A convenient monthly payment plan is set-up to bleed me as these past 10 months have bled our resources. Thousands have been spent on Tether and living away from home.

Because of sentencing guidelines judges have little lee-way in sentencing. Politicians (lawmakers) impress their constituents with harsh mandatory sentencing guidelines. Voters are convinced that harsh sentences deter crime. This does not deter crime. More laws merely make more criminals. America has more people in prison per capita than any nation on earth. In addition, 4-5 times as many people are on bail, probation, or parole than are imprisoned. Bail and probation is a convenient way to stretch out a sentence with a financial windfall to the state. The state profits from enslaving its citizens.

Oakland County Courthouse is a multi-story multi-building complex which employs hundreds of people. Attorneys line up to represent thousands of inmates chained together for assembly-line “justice.” Few can afford the price of justice. 6 months waiting for trial makes most of the inmates anxious to cut a plea deal. Oakland County’s conviction rate is 98%. By virtue of arrest, for all intents and purposes, one’s trial is over when booked into jail. We merely serve our sentence while going through the motions of a trial.

I was blest to have 3 attorneys represent me. Tom Brejcha is considered to be the best pro-life attorney in America. He would fly in Pontiac, stay in a hotel, rent a car, and make multiple appearances along with the other attorneys. Thomas Moore Society, the organization he represents, gave money to my two Michigan attorneys to help them with personal expenses. Mr. Brejcha hired process servers and a private detective to investigate my accuser.

Tom Brejcha, Anthony Lubkin, Dan Holman, and Robert Fleming

Robert Fleming is a lawyer and law professor from Lansing, Michigan. He is a former deputy sheriff and prosecutor. He volunteered his time and expertise in fighting this case. Mr. Fleming’s knowledge, insight, and experience were particularly helpful in formulating my defense. Mr. Fleming is very articulate in arguing case law.

Anthony Lubkin was the original attorney in my case. His writing skills are first rate. His briefs persuaded the court and the prosecution in dropping the original charges and reducing my bail.

These men made great personal sacrifices to free me from the clutches of Oakland County’s draconian legal system. They did it because they love God and this country and they believe that unborn babies need to be defended. They worked to free me to continue to do the worthwhile ministry which consumes us.

Though I hate the outcome of this ordeal and the suffering and humiliation it has caused, there is more to it than just me. We all have a duty to protect the pre-born. I am indebted to God and to these men to continue to fight for the Right to Life. They would be disappointed, and perhaps it is not God’s will for me to refuse probation and go back to jail. 

In a year’s time I am eligible to get off of probation and my movements should no longer be restricted. I have to jump through fiery hoops of attending an “Anger Management” program and paying tribute to Caesar. I will have to tread the hazards of litigation while attempting to do the work of the ministry. I also have a case pending in Escanaba, Michigan. We believe Escanaba will be much easier to settle as the “victim” was found guilty of vandalism.

Allocution Statement:

Dear Judge Goldsmith,

As I told police officers on the evening I was arrested, I did display a hammer at the stop light of the Hwy 75 exit ramp and M24. Cheryl Martin testified that the hammer incident lasted 5 seconds. Preliminary Hearing Transcript page 18 line 17

I deny the concocted story Mrs. Martin told police regarding my following Cheryl Martin or my threatening her son John Davis. My wife and I frequently have confrontations, but seldom do people go out of their way and pursue us for miles as Cheryl Martin did.

My driving throughout this incident was evasive. Except for the M24 ramp where Martin was braking in front of us, Martin positioned her vehicle behind or beside us. When I pulled to the shoulder of the road Martin positioned her vehicle in front of us. She went miles out of her way to pursue us.

At the M24 stop light where I displayed the hammer, I intuitively knew that the driver (Martin) was not done with us. But I over reacted by exiting my vehicle with a hammer in my hand. In hind sight I realize that I should have stayed in my vehicle, I should have waited to see what further threat Mrs. Martin was going to be to my wife and me.

My motive for displaying the hammer was self defense. My wife and I have been attacked numerous times. We have been shot at on three occasions; In May of 2003 we were fired upon in the 9^th Ward in New Orleans. A car stopped at an intersection and fired a handgun at us multiple times all shots missed. However we have two bullet holes in our van from two other incidents. In 2007 my wife Donna was attacked by a knife wielding woman in Keokuk, Iowa. Multiple times people have torn off signs, broken windows, slashed tires, and seriously threatened, or physically assaulted us. They have swayed their vehicles at our van forcing us off the road. Sometimes they act in groups; more often they act alone, sometimes with weapons such as a baseball bat in St Louis, Missouri a pool queue in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a club in Fort Madison, Iowa or rocks, bottles, and other projectiles. In January 2006, on a dark highway with no other vehicles around, a vehicle rear-ended us while we were traveling 65 miles per hour.

Our situation is not so unique; violent reactions occur as many display pictures of aborticide. James Poullion was shot to death September 11, 2009 not 30 miles from where my incident occurred. Mr. Poullion was murdered for displaying the same aborted baby pictures we display on our van.

In the future I will be staying inside our van and relying more on police protection when these incidents occur.

Signed and submitted this 15^th day of January, 2010,