Purported Missouri ‘Sovereign Citizen’ With Revoked Driver’s License Loses DWI Trial After Citing U.S. Declaration Of Independence And Telling Jury Government Had No Authority Over Him, Prosecutors Say

“I give you no jurisdiction over me, and I do not submit to anything you say about me.” — Adam David Mael, purported “sovereign citizen” and “indigenous American,” to Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper, Oct. 2, 2010.

Adam David Mael.

A Greater Kansas City man whose driver’s license was revoked for refusing a breath test in July 2010 continued to drive and was pulled over by the Missouri Highway Patrol for following too closely in October 2010.

The trooper who made the stop smelled alcohol on the breath of Adam David Mael, who performed poorly on a field-sobriety test, according to the office of Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.

Mael was arrested for drunken driving, and again refused a breath test,  Zahnd’s office said today.

After Mael was read his rights, he replied, “I give you no jurisdiction over me, and I do not submit to anything you say about me.”

Prior to trial, Mael — who represented himself — repeatedly asserted “that the Court had no jurisdiction over him,” Zahnd’s office said.

“This defendant is one of a growing number of people who claim they have not consented to the government’s jurisdiction,” said Zahnd.

In his opening statement at the trial, Mael argued the government had no authority over him, citing the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation in a bid to influence the jury, Zahnd’s office said.

But the jury didn’t buy it, returning guilty verdicts yesterday for drunk driving and driving with a revoked license. The jury recommended a jail sentence of six months. Formal sentencing before Judge Dennis C. Eckold is set for Jan. 11.

As part of his failed defense strategy, Mael subpoenaed Platte County Recorder of Deeds Gloria Boyer in an apparent bid “to show that the government did not own the roadway where he was stopped,” Zahnd’s office said.

“After a twelve-hour day hearing evidence and rendering a verdict, these jurors unanimously recommended this defendant spend six months in jail,” Zahnd said. “The jury sent a strong message to drunk drivers in Platte County, and we intend to ask the Court to follow the will of the community.”

In the end, Zahnd said, “this case was not about a distant government’s authority over one individual. It was about keeping our community safe from drunk drivers.”