By Edward
Snook
Investigative Reporter
Jackson County, Oregon – Article
1, Section 17 of the Oregon Constitution states in plain English: “Jury
Trial in civil cases. In all civil cases the right of Trial by Jury shall
remain inviolate.”
The 7th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “In
Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars,
the right
of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall
be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according
to
the rules of the common law.”
In clear violation
of these edicts, Jackson County Commissioners John Rachor, Don Skundrick
and Dennis “C W” Smith have placed their stamp
of approval on the theft of jury trial rights in Jackson County, Oregon.
Ignoring their solemn “Oath of Office” to uphold the Constitutional
rights of the citizens they represent, they have chosen to steal those rights,
by allowing Jackson County administrators and employees to extort from and
wrongfully ruin the lives of Jackson County business owners. Oregon’s
corrupted judiciary has been a silent, yet willing partner in their conspiracy.
Here is the story of one documented, undeniable case:
ALLOW US TO EXTORT $1,190.00
OR SHUT-DOWN YOUR BUSINESS
For the last 39-years
Curt Chancler has owned and operated Curt Chancler Transmission at 6865
Table Rock Road
in Central Point, Oregon. In early 2009,
Curt and his wife Carolyn applied for a business loan. While they were waiting
for loan approval Curt received a call from his banker telling him that while
the bank was checking his property status, they were told by Jackson County
Development services staff that the county had no record of his having a
business at that address, and if he was operating a business at that address
he was in violation of the law. The banker informed the Chanclers that they
passed the credit check, but with Jackson County’s position on their
property, their loan had to be denied.
Click
here to listen to Curt Chancler's very well put, and informative
interview on Bill Myers radio show.
Over the next two-years Curt tried to clear up the county’s misunderstanding
of his business status. Chancler held the belief that “grand-father” rights
still existed in Oregon. In that period he spoke to and debated with Jackson
County Administrator (JCA) Danny Jordan, Development Services Director
(DSD) Kelly Madding and Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Jason Zanni. Getting
nowhere,
he then contacted current county commissioners John Rachor, Don Skundrick
and CW Smith, as well as past commissioners Jack Walker and Dave Gilmore
about his case.
Chancler recounted, “Commissioners Smith, Walker and Gilmore all
told me, ‘don’t worry about it, they can’t do that, your
grand-fathered rights are clear.’ CW Smith told me that he would
look into it and get back to me. Commissioner Smith told me at a later
date that my case
was all administrative and he had very little input.”
Smith obviously, yet
conveniently “forgot” that
he and the other commissioners are the top officers of the county and that
all
the thieves
under them are answerable to them…
![](images/danny-jordan-salary.gif)
On or about July 22,
2009, Chancler received a letter from JCA Danny Jordan responding to issues
about his
case that Chancler had brought
up at a commissioner
meeting on July 15, 2009. Jordan stated that the county was correct
in that they had no record of his business ever existing and he could
certainly
understand
Chancler’s frustrations. Jordan then told him he had to give
Jackson County an $1190.00 non-refundable fee and complete a type II
verification
of non-conforming use status in order to keep conducting business at
his shop-site.
At this point the
Chanclers decided they would take a stand against Jackson County’s corrupt system of government. Jackson County was clearly raping
their rights and attempting to “extort” $1190.00 from them. In
September of 2010, Curt Chancler told CEO Jason Zanni, “Jackson County
can kiss my backside; I’m not going to give you unaccountable
government con-men the opportunity to extort from me.”
On August 16, 2011,
the Chanclers were cited with a Code Violation via the mail, claiming
that
Curt had violated
a zoning ordinance by
having
his business
located at the same address it has been for the last 39 yrs. Chancler
stated, “This
citation put my case into a court-like setting, in the same room where our
previous oath-violating Jackson County Commissioners created this Judicial
morphodite called Chapter 294 of Jackson County’s codified ordinances.” An
administrative hearing was scheduled for November 8, 2011.
DETAILING THE CORRUPTED HEARING
Jackson
County Hearings Officer Donald Rubenstein was to be the ring master of
this three-ring-circus called an administrative hearing. Rubenstein’s
position as hearing’s officer is a re-creation of chapter 294, and
he is proud to tell you he works at the pleasure of the county commissioners
and has the authority to adjudicate all county violations. He is empowered
by the county commissioners with the power to impose civil and criminal remedies
for such issues as land use violations, code violations, building and permit
violations, and apparently believes he has the authority to deny the citizens
of Jackson County their constitutional right to a “jury trial in
all civil cases.”
Chancler specifically
asked Mr. Rubenstein during the hearing, “Are
my constitutional rights guaranteed in these proceedings and are they being
observed or are they not.” Mr. Rubenstein thought for a moment, then
said, “I would say they are guaranteed and are being preserved.”
With hesitation and
obvious thought, Mr. Rubenstein then denied Chancler his right to a jury
trial
and ruled
from the bench that he did not need
to hear from Chancler’s witnesses or hear any further testimony
from Mr. Chancler about how long he had been in business at that location,
because
he believed Chancler was there since Feb 3, 1972. This my friends is
pure insanity and Rubenstein at this juncture documented the fact that
he is
a
pathetic liar as well as a thief.
At Chancler’s hearing, code enforcement officer Jason Zanni was actually
Chancler’s prosecutor and there were three armed Jackson County
Sheriff Deputies present, as an obvious show of force. Is it any wonder
that bad
people in government always seek protection from law enforcement when
they are stealing from people.
There were several times during the video-taped 1-hour hearing where
you can see Development Services Director Kelly Madding standing next
to Jason
Zanni helping him with his prosecution. Just off camera, Ms. Madding
had a half a dozen of the planning department staff helping the prosecution.
Keep in mind, Rubenstein was an eye witness to this charade, as was
Commissioner
John Rachor, who sat in the audience.
At the same time Senior Assistant County Counsel Teresa Campbell was up and
down giving documents to Ms. Madding. She was testifying and making legal arguments
for the county, while attacking Chancler.
Rubenstein then committed
outright extortion in this writer’s view and
told Chancler that he had to pay the $1,190.00 application fee in order to
comply with Jackson County’s Ordinance that eliminated Chancler’s
grand-father rights. Chancler stated, “That’s not going to happen,
so you’ll just have to find me guilty and fine me.”
Mr. Rubenstein ended the hearing saying he would make his ruling and give Chancler
his order at a later date. On the 6th of December Mr. Rubenstein found Chancler
guilty and fined him $600.00. Rubenstein also ordered Chancler to immediately
cease doing business at his property, located at property at 6865 Table Rock
Road.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
After some pressuring
of Jackson County Commissioners at commissioner meetings in mid-January
2012, CW Smith
instructed county counsel Ryan Kirchoff, to
explain to Chancler why the county felt it had the authority to deny the
people of Jackson County their constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury
trial in all civil cases and place them in Jackson County’s administrative
tribunal.
Starting on January
27, 2012, Jackson County counsel Ryan Kirchoff, through a series of emails,
explained
to Chancler that the legal basis in that
regard derives from Jackson County’s home-rule status under the Oregon
Constitution - Article Vl section 10.
Mr. Kirchoff stated, “Home-rule status authorizes the county to establish
a forum, separate from circuit or justice court’s, in which to
adjudicate violations of county law. Such a forum as the Oregon Supreme
Court explained
in Caffey v Lane County (1984) may be one in which violations of county
law are adjudicated by a county hearings officer.”
We studied the verbiage
in Article VI section 10 of the Oregon Constitution and the Oregon Supreme
Court’s
explanation in Caffey v Lane County. We also looked at ORS 3.130 and ORS
203.810, which were the governing
statutes and realized that there is no limit to the Constitutional
Fraud that these
oath-violating, unconscionable bureaucrats are willing to aspire to,
in an attempt to steal constitutional rights away from the people of
Jackson
County.
These modern day con-artists have turned black into white and night into day
using their deceitful lawyer-language, and they desperately need to go back
and review the Supreme Court case of Marbury vs Madison, which
clearly holds that any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is
null and void.
Commissioner John
Rachor has used the analogy: "If we were to have given Chancler a
jury trial, we
would have
to provide the same for everyone
that runs a
stop sign." Rachor’s statement proves three things.
(1) Commissioner
John Rachor and all who share his ridiculous, yet dangerous thinking on
this subject,
have violated their solemn oath
of office – this
would include each and every thief who took part in the Chancler case.
(2) A false charge
of running a stop sign is exactly why the Constitutions were written,
in order to protect those who were violated
at the hands
of King George, his Code Enforcement Officers and his “Star Chamber
Judges (Hearings Officers).”
(3) Absolutely
none of us are safe when those in government can create unconstitutional
laws or
rules, enabling them to steal our rights that
are recorded in plain,
simple and easy to understand English…
Anytime a public official denies anyone a jury trial, in any civil case, he
is in violation of the oath he/she swore, which was to uphold and defend the
U.S. and Oregon Constitutions, and therefore he/she should be impeached and
removed from office as quickly as possible - with no exceptions!
The answer to all
of America’s problems has always been the same, and
that answer lies within her people and the gift given to all Americans by our
founding fathers and God himself – the gift of freedom, insured
by our Constitution(s) that gives all who love freedom the ability
to defend
and demand
that liberty.
In closing this all-important
article, I would ask my readership one simple question... If someone called
you a thief publicly and it wasn’t
true, would you sit back and take it or would you sue that person for
slander/libel? What would you do if you knew that each and every morning
when you awaken,
the information about you being called a thief is being spread all
throughout the internet for the entire world to read?
Let me state it plainly.
Each and every person who had anything whatsoever to do with stealing Curt
Chancler’s
business, his constitutional right to a jury trial, is factually nothing
more than a coward and
thief, operating
under the color of law, and that my friends, is repugnant.
![JCA - Danny Jordan](images/danny-jordan.jpg)
Editor’s Note: Jackson County’s unaccountable and completely
out of control commissioners have given Jackson County Administrator
Danny Jordan
a 5% raise. Jordan is now making well in excess of $200,000.00 per-year.
Why in the world
would Jackson County citizens stand for this? In light of the financial
struggle
that a majority of constituents are experiencing
today,
it is way beyond me how they continue to put up with this absolute
lack of representation. Don’t Jackson County citizens realize
they are paying Jordan $200K to do the very job that they are over-paying
their
commissioners
to do? Do business owners in Jackson County realize that the very same
abuse that Curt Chancler has experienced could happen to them?
And, how in the hell can the crooked county personnel and officials I am writing
about, look at themselves in the mirror or face their own families or constituents?
Don’t miss our next edition where we will get into the commissioners
wages and perks, the house the county bought for Jordan and much more… We
will expose the history of the unconstitutional actions, and dictatorial
revenue-generating schemes that Jordan and his cohorts have created
and that three spineless and
corrupted county commissioners publicly endorse.
As we go to press,
Curt Chancler is serving Jackson County with a Tort Claim Notice and
plans
to file suit in the near future. Any of our
readership who
are as irate as we are over Jackson County government violating Curt
Chancler’s
civil rights should call Jackson County Commissioners at 541-774-6116
and let them know it.