Court Opinion

ID: 9368704
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-06 19:00:46.845713+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:10.006015
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-10914        Document: 00516635646            Page: 1      Date Filed: 02/06/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit                                       United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                       Fifth Circuit

                                                                                     FILED
                                       No. 22-10914                           February 6, 2023
                                                                                Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                     Clerk
   Desmond L. Askew, Chief Justice Ex Rel.,

                                                                   Plaintiff—Appellant,

                                            versus

   United States of America; State of Texas, a Public Body
   Corporate,

                                                                Defendants—Appellees.

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Northern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 3:22-cv-01596

   Before King, Higginson, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Plaintiff-Appellant Desmond L. Askew filed a complaint against the
   State of Texas and the United States, seeking a declaratory judgment that he
   is a sovereign citizen—and therefore not subject to the laws of the United
   States—because of his purported status as a member of the Yamassee Creek
   Nation. The district court dismissed Askew’s complaint with prejudice,

         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-10914         Document: 00516635646                Page: 2        Date Filed: 02/06/2023

                                            No. 22-10914

   finding the complaint failed to “plead sufficient facts for the Court to
   determine the relief sought” and that the complaint was “fanciful” and
   “without merit.” 1 Askew now appeals.
           After reviewing Askew’s submissions and the record, we conclude
   that Askew’s complaint, which derives its argument from the so-called
   “sovereign citizen movement,” 2 is frivolous and entirely without merit. See
   5th Cir. R. 42.2; see also Watson v. Texas State Univ., 829 F. App’x 686
   (5th Cir. 2020) (dismissing complaint relying on “meritless legal theories
   associated with the sovereign citizen movement” as “frivolous and entirely
   without merit”).
           DISMISSED as frivolous.

           1
              As a general rule, a district court may dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint for failure to
   state a claim sua sponte “as long as the procedure employed is fair to the parties.” Century
   Sur. Co. v. Blevins, 799 F.3d 366, 372 (5th Cir. 2015) (citation omitted). Our court has
   explained that fairness requires that a litigant receive notice and opportunity to be heard
   prior to the dismissal unless the claim is patently frivolous. Id.
           2
             “The sovereign citizen movement is a loose grouping of litigants, commentators,
   and tax protesters who often take the position that they are not subject to state or federal
   statutes and proceedings.” United States v. Weast, 811 F.3d 743, 746 n.5 (5th Cir. 2016).

                                                  2