Introduction
This Web Site has Three (3) Parts:
- Left
Hand Menu: The Avery v. Murphy et al lawsuit, concluded as of
January 16, 2008.
- Right
Hand Menu: The ongoing attempt by citizens to obtain judicial access to
the current Texas Constitution. You may learn all about how you are being
cheated out of trillions of dollars by 10 Banks (#8 RH Menu) and how the
courts keep citizens from correcting the law (#3 RH Menu) and how the public
schools are unlawfully indoctrinating students to harm your property by
reading the right hand links from #3. Also learn how the School
District lawsuits against the State of Texas will not result in lawful funding
or curriculum for Public Education.
-
The third part is a new screen showing Avery's property tax protest and appeal to the District Court, 4th Court of Appeals and now the Supreme Court of Texas
showing that ad valorem property taxes are feudal and repugnant to the common law that should have been instituted in the Texas Constitution making them a criminal offense.
Access available now at:
Avery's Appeal of the rulings of the Guadalupe County Appraisal District
to The 25th State District Court in Seguin, Texas, the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio, Texas, and the Supreme Court of Texas.
Avery v. Murphy:
“Property tax” is an oxymoron for the definition of property
is that the owner need not pay any money to possess it or occupy it or ask
permission of any concerning what they can do with or on their property.
Therefore, if you own property you pay no tax to any nor ask anyone what you
may do on it. “Property tax” is rent charged by the state against the tenant. America
was built upon the idea that all property consisting of life, liberty and
possessions belongs to the citizen not the state, its subdivisions or a
federation of states. People owning property create the state to protect their
property. There can be no lawful tax on life, liberty or property. Property tax
is a "statist" idea that is not lawful in America.
Cause of Action:
Plaintiff, Ronald Avery, sued Tavie Murphy, Guadalupe Co.
Tax Office and the Seguin Independent School District for taking money from
Avery for use by the free public schools in Texas without a law under Article
1 Section 17 of the Texas Constitution. The Supreme Court of Texas on
11/22/05 ruled that the ad valorem taxes charged to property owners in 2005 for
the support of free public schools constituted a State ad valorem property tax
which is forbidden under Article 8 Section 1e.
Essence:
The Supreme Court in 2005 based their decision on the notion
that if the taxes charged by local areas become uniform across Texas the tax becomes a
state ad valorem property tax which is forbidden under Art 8 Sec 1e1 of
the Texas Constitution. Avery, however, claims that any ad valorem tax on
private property collected for a state function is a state ad valorem property
tax forbidden under Art 8 Sec 1e. Article 7 Section 1 of the Texas
Constitution says “it shall be the duty
of the legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for
the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”
Therefore, the provision and maintenance of free public schools in Texas is not a local
duty to be paid for or supplemented by the local areas or districts or counties
etc. And Article 8 Section 1e1 says “No State ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon any property within this
State.” Therefore, public free schools in Texas cannot be paid for or supplemented
with an ad valorem property tax. Avery’s main claim is that, it is not the
amount of the tax or its degree of uniformity or its assessment that makes a
State ad valorem tax but the function that the tax is applied to. In fact the
Supreme Court has mandated a contradiction by saying that local ad valorem
taxes supporting schools should be non-uniform yet produce a uniform education
through out Texas.
This is absurd.
How to use:
There are three ways:
- The
most grueling: Read it all starting at number 2 on the left menu all the
way down.
- The
long method: Read the Plaintiff’s First Amended Original Petition (# 18 on the left menu) starting
with paragraph 17 and then read Seguin ISD Amended Plea to the
Jurisdiction (#16) which is
identical to Murphy and GCTO Plea to Jurisdiction (#19). Then read Plaintiff’s Response to Amended Plea (#17). Then read Trial Court’s
dismissal of lawsuit (#21).
Then read Appellant’s Brief to the Forth Court of Appeals in San Antonio (#27). Then read Appellee’s Brief (#29). Then read Appellant’s Reply
Briefs (#31 & #32). Then read Fourth Court of Appeal’s
Memorandum Opinion (#35). Then
read Appellant’s Petition for Review at the Texas Supreme Court (#36). Then read Denial of
Petition for Review (#41).
- The
best and short Method: Read Fourth Court of Appeals Memorandum Opinion (#35). Then read Appellant’s
Petition for Review at the Texas Supreme Court (#36). Then read Denial of Petition for Review (#41).
Impact on Public Policy:
People ask, “How, then, are we to pay for public school?”
The problem is, that the State is trying to “teach all things to all people,”
which is the exercise of authority they do not possess. They only have our
delegated authority to teach the fundamental principles of property “essential
to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people” (Art 7 Sec 1).
Not every thing taught today in public school can be said to preserve the
liberties and rights of the people. In fact most of it obscures those liberties
and rights or advocates the opposite. Therefore, public free schools should be
identical through out all of Texas teaching
only the Principles of Property for the preservation of the liberties and
rights of the people and it should be supported by a uniform tax applied all
across Texas
in conformity with Article 8 Section 1a.
Since Legislators are talking about privatization of public
education they can now lease portions of the schools to private corporations to
teach appropriate technologies while the State retains the principles of
property to protect the liberties and rights of the people. This preserves the
right curriculum for the correct parts of society. The people of Texas should not trust
private corporations to teach the principles of property to protect the
liberties and rights of the people and why should private citizens pay for
training workers in companies? Private Citizens should pay for only those
things that protect their own property. All this can be corrected by the proper
suit and the application of the present laws of the land.
“Conundrum:”
The 11/22/05 Opinion of the Supreme Court generating the
Special Session of the Texas Legislature to come up with a lawful way to fund
“free public schools” in Texas expressed the notion that ad valorem taxation on
land and buildings is not a way to support public schools: “Each case must
necessarily turn on its own particulars. Although parsing the differences may
be likened to dancing on the head of a pin, it is the Legislature which has
created the pin, summoned the dancers, and called the tune. The Legislature can
avoid these constitutional conundra by choosing another path altogether.”
Under the present state of Supreme Court rulings in Texas no one knows when
the local ad valorem property tax becomes an unlawful State ad valorem property
tax. This is absurd. Under Avery’s suit, if ruled upon correctly, this can be
repaired forever so that the citizens and tax collectors can know how to avoid
the courts and know immediately when an unconstitutional tax is charged and all
can immediately resist it. The present situation is unfair to all including the
tax collectors and the school system which cannot stay up with the current
false propaganda mandates without bankrupting the citizens and seizing all
their property.
However, Avery is not attempting to tell any public authority
how to do anything or how to exercise their authority or attempting to
interfere with it. Avery is merely asking the court to prevent the Defendants
from violating the Constitution to his damage. Further, all should be able to
comment on public policy as it relates to the law, which alone, cannot
interfere with the operation of those in authority and this conversation is the
exercise of guaranteed First Amendment rights.
Enjoy:
Have fun here considering the fundamental laws of property
and authority as it applies to the limits of taxation imposed on government by
the people. The power of government is limited by that held in the people and
that applies to taxation and curriculum as well.
Read the hearing transcript here
or click on #20 on the left menu.

“Disposal:”
Now that this case has been “disposed” by the Supreme Court of
Texas we can analyze their decisions to try to see if they have used good law
and logic to dismiss this case:
- The
Trial Court dismissed this case by granting the “Plea to the Jurisdiction”
for all Defendants and all issues. As is typically done the Court does not
reveal the basis of their decision.
- Avery
appealed the Trial Court ruling to the Fourth Court of Appeals which
issued a Memorandum Opinion (#35 Left Menu) that said Avery did not and
could not show that he had been injured in a unique way from all his
fellow citizens.
- Avery
then filed a “Petition for Review” in the Supreme Court of Texas
complaining that:
- The
“unique injury rule” of precedent to close the courts to a Article 1
Section 17 claim violates another Texas
constitutional provision, namely, Article 1 Section 13.
- The
use of the “unique injury rule” as it applies to “inverse condemnation”
cases does not apply to the claim of a direct taking of property without
a law.
- The
use of mere statutes made by the legislature and erroneous judicial precedents
to deny living breathing individuals the constitutional protections
without a statewide vote required under Article 17 of the Texas
Constitution is unconstitutional.
- Fictions
such as school districts cannot be magically bestowed with the constitutional
rights of living breathing persons by the judiciary.
- The
Supreme Court “Denied” Avery’s Petition for Review.
Result:
The results of this suit is that we all learn that
individual citizens cannot get constitutional protections guaranteed under the
Texas Constitution to obtain compensation for their injuries because of bogus
unconstitutional judicial precedents. We can also discern the bogus logic being
applied to the citizens when they attempt to procure these constitutional
protections under the “unique injury rule:”
- The
courts tend to think that the judiciary has no role in an issue where all
the citizens are injured along with the complainant.
- The
courts tend to think that the citizen if injured in common with all others
must seek the “democratic” process of influencing the legislature to pass
laws that would change the wrong.
- This
simply is an erroneous view that is not in keeping with the Texas
Constitution as the role of the judiciary is to act as a separate and
distinct branch of the government to correct the executive and the
legislature when they are wrong and in violation of the constitution.
- But
the judiciary does not exercise their own authority and have joined with
the legislature and executive to oppress the people and protect the government
officials that harm and plunder the whole society.
Ruling in a Nutshell:
- Avery
sues state officials for charging taking money without a law, that is to
say charging and collecting what the defendants called a “tax.” But they
did not have authority to charge and collect that money because there is
not law providing for that “tax” and in fact that kind of a “tax” is
forbidden in Article 8 Section 1-e of the Texas Constitution.
- The
Trial Court dismissed Avery’s lawsuit for several possible reasons. The Fourth
Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court ruling based upon their finding
that Avery did not and could not show a “unique injury” separate from that
of his fellow citizens and therefore had no standing to bring the lawsuit
proving that the so-called “tax” was not lawful.
- The
so-called “unique injury” rule of precedent is based upon the idea that
citizens should not use the courts to interfere with the lawful authority
of elected officials in the execution of their duties and their lawful
discretion. This Avery did not argue with. But Avery showed and proved
that the defendants did not have lawful authority to assess, charge, or
collect a “tax” upon the property of Avery for the purpose of funding
public education in Texas.
Article 8 Section 1-e forbids a tax on property for any state function.
Therefore Avery could not interfere with authority that the defendants did
not have. The unique injury rule is to prevent citizens from suing their
public servants because they simply don’t like what they are doing with
the lawful authority they have. Therefore, the so-called “unique injury”
rule did not apply to Avery’s lawsuit. But his case was dismissed and the
dismissal was affirmed at both the Appellate and Supreme Court level.
- Therefore,
the courts are closed to individuals to correct the Legislature and State
crimes if the crimes are committed against all citizens. If the State
rules that the left hand should be amputated from all citizens, no
individual or group of individuals could bring a suit to challenge that
ruling and obtain damages as none of them were harmed in a unique way
separate from their peers. Is this judicious thought and principle or just
a crude and disgusting attempt to protect the State when they plunder the
people’s property?