Robert Barnwell Clarkson (June 4, 1947 - March 1, 2010) was an American ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language tax protester A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax on constitutional or legal grounds. Many claim the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Some refuse to file a tax return or file returns with no income or tax data supplied. Legal commentator Daniel B. Evans has defined tax protesters as people who "refuse to pay taxes or file in South Carolina The colony was originally named in honor of King Charles I, as Carolus is Latin for Charles. Clarkson graduated in 1969 from Clemson University Clemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889, the University is academically divided into five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Sciences; Engineering and Science; and with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. He served as a platoon leader in the Vietnam War The Vietnam War [A 2] was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 [A 1], to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States. Clarkson graduated from South Carolina Law School in 1974.[1]
Clarkson was brought up on lawyer misconduct charges in 1976 and in 1977 was indicted on numerous accounts of preparing fraudulent tax returns and presenting false claims to the United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue. The Department is administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, who is a member of the Cabinet.[citation needed] In 1978, his lawyer misconduct hearings were concluded at the South Carolina State Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices and he was disbarred.[2][3]
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American legal advocacy organization, internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups, Clarkson had two federal tax-related criminal convictions.[4] He was given a suspended sentence with five years probation, under the condition that he not become involved with income tax schemes.[citation needed]
The following year, Clarkson violated his probation and was sent to federal prison.[citation needed] In 1984, he was again paroled on the condition that he not become involved with income tax schemes. He violated his parole the following year and once more was sent back to federal prison.[citation needed]
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Clarkson was involved with anti-government groups, and "sometimes dresses as 'The Great One, a sort of masked super-hero symbolizing resistance to the tax authorities."[4] In 1989, Clarkson started an organization called the Carolina Patriots with two associates. They taught classes on how to evade Internal Revenue Service (IRS) The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the IRC (Internal Revenue Code) demands. Numerous clients had legal problems after taking their advice.[citation needed]
Early in 1994, a federal agent attended the class and, in April, Clarkson and two associates were indicted for conspiracy to impede, impair, obstruct and defeat the functions of the Internal Revenue Service under 18 U.S.C. Title 18 of the United States Code is the criminal and penal code of the federal government of the United States. It deals with federal crimes and criminal procedure § 371. All three were convicted and the convictions were upheld on appeal.[5] They were sentenced to 57 months in prison.[6] Clarkson was released from prison in April 1999.[3][7]
In affirming the conviction of Clarkson and his co-defendants, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The court is based at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia. With 15 authorized judgeships it is mid-sized among the 13 United States courts of appeals rejected his argument that he had a First Amendment The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble right in connection with certain tax protest-related speeches held at various meetings:
The defendants' words and acts were not remote from the commission of the criminal acts. The evidence shows that the defendants held meetings and collected money from attendees whom they instructed and advised to claim unlawful exemptions and not to file income tax returns or pay tax on wages in violation of the United States Tax Code. The evidence shows that the attendees followed the instruction and advice of the defendants, that the attendees' unlawful actions were solicited by the defendants, and that the defendants were aware that the attendees were following their instructions and advice. The evidence discloses that a purpose of the meetings was to encourage people to unlawful actions by convincing them that it was legal to claim false exemptions, to hide income, and to refuse to file income tax returns or pay income tax [...] We conclude that no reasonable juror could conclude that the defendants' words and actions were merely advocating opposition to the income tax laws.[8]
Following his release from prison, Clarkson co-founded an organization called the Patriot Network. He held tax protester meetings and sold books that claimed to teach individuals how to avoid paying taxes.
In May 2004, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Clarkson had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister, solicitor, or civil law notary. However, there is and held that Clarkson was guilty of criminal contempt Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority. Often referred to simply as "contempt", such as a person "held in contempt", it is the judge's strongest power to impose sanctions for acts. He was sentenced to six months in jail. The sentence was suspended A suspended sentence is a legal construct. Unless a minimum punishment is prescribed by law, the court has the power to suspend the passing of sentence and place the offender on probation. It is the passing of the sentence, not the sentence itself, that is being suspended. This means that if the defendant is convicted of another offence during the for five years, however, on three conditions: firstly, that Clarkson and the South Carolina Office of Disciplinary Counsel submit to the Court an agreed-upon disclaimer stating that Clarkson is not an attorney and is not licensed to practice law in South Carolina or in any other state; secondly, that Clarkson file an affidavit An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon oath. An affidavit is a type of verified statement stating that the disclaimer has been prominently and permanently placed on any and all of his websites and on all literature authored and/or published by Clarkson; and thirdly, that Clarkson no longer engage in the unauthorized practice of law.[9]
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries filed a lawsuit requesting an injunction against Clarkson in a U.S. District Court in South Carolina, asking that the court bar Clarkson from selling his tax schemes and holding classes.[10] The Department also asked that the court require Clarkson to hand over the names and addresses of his clients. The requested permanent injunction was issued in July 2007.[11] According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 3, 2007, the court "found that Clarkson falsely instructed Patriot Network members that they need not file federal income tax returns. The court also held that Clarkson helped members obstruct IRS efforts to collect taxes."[12] Clarkson was also ordered "to give copies of the injunction to people who bought his products and to post the injunction on the Patriot Network Web site."[12]
On September 16, 2008, Clarkson and his wife were arrested in their home town of Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 25,514 at the 2000 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530. It is the principal city of the Anderson, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area , which is further included in the larger Greenville- and each was charged with criminal domestic violence Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence , can be broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation. Domestic violence has many forms including physical aggression (hitting,. In a court hearing on September 17, Clarkson pleaded not guilty and accused his wife of becoming hooked on drugs he said he had given to her. Clarkson stated that he had given his wife cocaine because of "chronic fatigue."[13] A few days later, Clarkson was again arrested and was charged with violating a trespass order, unlawful use of the "911" emergency phone service, and first-degree harassment.[14]
Clarkson died on March 1, 2010.[15]
Notes
- ^ Daniel B. Evans et al., "Robert B. Clarkson," from Tax Protester Dossiers: Gurus and Other Big Fish, at [1].
- ^ In the Matter of Clarkson, 271 S.C. 5, 244 S.E.2d 512 (1978).
- ^ a b See also Daniel B. Evans et al., "Robert B. Clarkson," from Tax Protester Dossiers: Gurus and Other Big Fish, at [2].
- ^ a b "Justice Department Moving to Smash Tax Scams," Intelligence Report, Southern Poverty Law Center, Winter 2005, at [3].
- ^ See Fleschner v. United States, 98 F.3d 155, 96-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,536 (4th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 2484 (1997).
- ^ United States v. Clarkson, No. 5:1994cr00010, Entry 137 (W.D.N.C. 1994).
- ^ Prisoner number 00108-177, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, at [4].
- ^ See Fleschner, 98 F.3d at 158-59.
- ^ In the Matter of Robert Barnwell Clarkson, Order No. 94 of 2004 (5/24/2004). [5]
- ^ News release, U.S. Department of Justice.
- ^ United States v. Clarkson, case no. 8:05-2734-HMH-BHH, 2007-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,558 (D.S.C. 2007).
- ^ a b News release, July 3, 2007, U.S. Department of Justice.
- ^ Pearce Adams, "Domestic dispute plays out in Anderson city court", Anderson Independent-Mail, September 17, 2008.
- ^ Pearce Adams, "Former anti-tax instructor faces legal troubles in Anderson," Anderson Independent-Mail, September 25, 2008, at [6].
- ^ Announcement, March 2, 2010, Shives Funeral Home, Columbia, SC, at [7]; Obituary, March 2, 2010, The Item (Sumter County, SC), at [8].
Categories: Americans convicted of tax crimes Categories: Tax evaders | Taxation in the United States | American white-collar criminals | Disbarred lawyers | American lawyers To reduce the size of this category, please use a subcategory instead if possible, such as placing articles in the appropriate subcategory of Category:American lawyers by state | Living people Possibly living people, disappeared people and dead people are not included here, including the recently deceased, for which see Category:2010 deaths and preceding categories listing deaths for 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, etc | 1947 births
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