Randall Beane Appeal
Randall Beane Appeal
Randall Beane Appeal
IN THE
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
v.
Stephen L. Braga
Sarah Crandall (Third Year Law Student)
Brian Diliberto (Third Year Law Student)
Elizabeth Joynes (Third Year Law Student)
Amanda Lineberry (Third Year Law Student)
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
SCHOOL OF LAW
Appellate Litigation Clinic
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1789
(434) 924-3825
[email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION.......................................................................... 2
ARGUMENT ........................................................................................................... 18
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CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 41
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
Drope v. Missouri,
420 U.S. 162 (1975)...................................................................................21, 24
Faretta v. California,
422 U.S. 806 (1975)......................................................................................... 18
Godinez v. Moran,
509 U.S. 389 (1993)...................................................................................20, 24
Indiana v. Edwards,
554 U.S. 164 (2008).......................................................................18, 20, 22, 25
Johnson v. Zerbst,
304 U.S. 458 (1983)......................................................................................... 28
Lott v. Coyle,
261 F.3d 594 (6th Cir. 2001) ........................................................................... 19
McFarland v. Yukins,
356 F.3d 688 (6th Cir. 2004) ........................................................................... 35
McKaskle v. Wiggins,
465 U.S. 168 (1984) ......................................................................................... 25
Moore v. Mitchell,
708 F.3d 760 (6th Cir. 2013) ........................................................................... 19
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Nelson v. Riddle,
217 F. App'x 456 (6th Cir. 2007)..................................................................... 19
People v. Rath,
121 Ill. App. 3d 548 (1984) ............................................................................. 27
Raulerson v. Wainwright,
732 F.2d 803 (11th Cir. 1984) ......................................................................... 27
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STATUTES
OTHER AUTHORITIES
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“I am the source of all that is . . . ,” Randall Beane (“Beane”) told the Court,
and with that startling self-identification his Faretta hearing began. Faretta
Hearing, R. 40, Page ID # 1911. When Magistrate Judge Shirley followed up and
asked Beane whether he was God, Beane replied again: “I am the source of all that
is.” Id. at 1913. In response to the magistrate asking whether Beane was “the
source of the sun and the moon,” Beane replied – for the eighth time – “I am the
source of all that is original.” Id. Despite all of this (and more), the magistrate
somehow found Beane competent to represent himself at trial and the district judge
did nothing to revisit that finding. This appeal is about the catastrophic
constitutional issues concerning the right to a fair trial. Beane believes that
counsel’s discussion of these issues with the Court will aid this its examination of
the merits. Because Beane represented himself in the court below, he has never
had the benefit of counsel defending his interests. This appeal presents a
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
The district court had jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331
(1980) as it arose under laws of the United States, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343–1344 (2008)
and 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (2016). This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291 (1982) because the district court entered a final judgment against Beane on
all counts on February 1, 2018, from which he timely appealed on July 25, 2018.
1. Whether the trial court erred in granting Beane’s request to proceed pro se,
demonstrations throughout every stage of the proceedings below that under any
trial where he was subject to being unduly influenced by his alleged coconspirator?
On July 18, 2017, Beane was indicted on five counts of wire fraud, one
conspiracy. After a jury trial, at which Beane and Tucci-Jarraf both represented
themselves, the defendants were convicted on all charges. Transcript, R. 168, Page
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wire fraud, twelve to thirteen years’ imprisonment for bank fraud, and twelve to
In the summer of 2017, Beane sought deferment on several of his loans from
United States Automobile Association Bank (“USAA Bank”), which declined his
watched Harvey Dent’s video on YouTube, “Pay Bills Now Using Your Secret
Account.” Transcript, R. 181, Page ID # 18080.1 This video informed Beane that
the Federal Reserve Bank (“Federal Reserve”) was in possession of his money and
kept it in a secret account, and he sought to claim his money through the tools
this account possessed two numbers for wire transactions: (1) a routing number
unique to the Federal Reserve, and (2) an account number that matched Beane’s
1
This video is still available for viewing on YouTube. “Harvey Dent” appears to
be athe presenter’s pseudonym, drawn from a well-known Batman Comics
character of the same name. In the video, “Dent” welcomes viewers to the
“Intellectual Freedom Movement” and describes the movement’s unique set of
beliefs.
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Social Security Number. Id. at Page ID # 17018–19. Beane used this new account
number to retrieve money from what he believed to be his account at the Federal
Reserve, and he quickly used the funds to pay his credit card debt. Transcript, R.
Following this initial success, Beane created a second account with the
Federal Reserve and organized this account as a trust using his Social Security
Number again, changing one digit. Transcript, R. 165, Page ID # 17011. Through
this account, Beane purchased thirty jumbo certificates of deposit, totaling $31
after a bank agent informed him that liquidating only incurred a small fee, and he
then placed the cash in his account with USAA Bank. Id. at Page ID # 16997–
98. Beane later made two significant purchases with this money. First, using a
personal check, he bought a car for $86,000 from Ted Russell Ford. Id. at Page ID
# 17015. Second, he bought a motor home for $500,000 from Buddy Gregg. Id. at
Page ID # 17025. Beane paid for the motor home by executing a wire transfer
from his account at USAA Bank to Buddy Gregg’s account at Whitney Bank. Id.
was “dirty dealing” at USAA Bank and urged Beane to title his motor home in the
name of a trust rather than in his personal name. Id. at Page ID #17026; id. at Page
4
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lawyer. She created and signed documents for a “factualized trust” as Beane’s
lawyer, and she ensured that her name appeared on the deed to Beane’s motor
home as his attorney. Id. at Page ID #17026. Tucci-Jarraf also represented herself
as Beane’s lawyer while she was on a call with Lauren Palmasino, an employee at
Whitney Bank. Id. at Page ID # 17035. Perhaps most significantly, after Beane
attempted to take possession of his motor home and was arrested, Tucci-Jarraf
repeatedly told the law enforcement officers present at the scene that she was
federal wire fraud and bank fraud charges. He was indicted as well on a charge of
Beane’s coconspirator in that conspiracy, which was alleged to have begun “on or
The month after their indictment, Beane and Tucci-Jarraf asserted their
R. 20, Page ID # 649; Minutes, R. 26, Page ID # 967. The record does not indicate
how Beane, a non-lawyer, learned of this right. Tucci-Jarraf, who had legal
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As the first step in exercising his right to represent himself, Beane filed a
motion seeking the removal of his initial court-appointed counsel, Bobby Hutson,
# 649. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan was assigned to Beane’s case and, as
almost immediately. Faretta Hearing, R. 40, Page ID # 1911. The trouble began
when Beane supplemented his own version of the oath to be sworn in, stating:
“Standing due identification correction, I am source of all that is, original nunc pro
tunc, praeterea, pre terea, and I do swear to speak only true, accurate, and
complete.” Id. at Page ID # 1912. The conversation quickly devolved when the
magistrate asked Beane to elaborate on the meaning of his oath, leading him to ask
Beane if he was “the source” of a Kleenex Box and to state that his “guess [was]
that [they’d] have to have another hearing on this.” Id. at Page ID # 1913.
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At that time, Hutson asked the court for a few minutes to counsel Beane on
the “implications” of his decision not to provide the normal oath. Id. at Page ID #
1914. Knowing that Beane was interested in having a detention hearing, Hutson
and Magistrate Shirley used this information to move Beane to changing his oath at
the last minute. Id. After this recess, Beane acquiesced and took the traditional
1922. While doing so, the magistrate indicated that “Mr. Hutson seemed to think
that [Beane] might have a different idea of what [self-representation] means from
what [Hutson] told [Beane] it meant.” Id. at Page ID # 1922–23. Assistant United
States Attorney Davidson elaborated indicating that she “seemed to think [Beane]
might be of the notion that [his] codefendant in this case, Ms. Tucci-Jarraf, might
cannot.” Id.
Beane’s request to remove Hutson and proceed pro se. Memorandum and Order,
R. 37, Page ID # 1808–09. The magistrate granted a similar motion for Tucci-
Jarraf, id. at Page ID # 1806–09, and appointed “elbow counsel” to assist both
defendants at trial. In his order granting both Beane’s and Tucci-Jarraf’s motions
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to proceed pro se, Magistrate Shirley admonished Beane that he could not have
Tucci-Jarraf represent him and he similarly admonished Tucci-Jarraf that she could
not represent Beane. Id. The magistrate’s order nowhere even mentioned Beane’s
Shortly after becoming his own counsel, Beane filed several motions. On
Beane also filed some motions jointly with his codefendant, Tucci-Jarraf,
“Praecipe”, R. 47, Page ID # 2102. The Praecipe was the foundation upon which
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he and Tucci-Jarraf built their defense that the court had no jurisdiction over them.
The Praecipe was obviously Tucci-Jarraf’s initiative since Beane “could not
explain the Praecipe to dismiss or his legal basis for claiming that the Court has no
2901.
During the hearing before the magistrate regarding the Praecipe, Tucci-
Jarraf alleged that the United States was a corporation that had been terminated.
Motion Hearing, R. 61, Page ID # 2807. Because the United States had been
foreclosed upon, she alleged, the district court had no authority to exercise
jurisdiction and did not exist. Id. at Page ID # 2829. Therefore, the Praecipe
argued, any action taken by the United States prior to March 18, 2013 was legally
void and unenforceable because that was the day that the United States corporation
had been terminated. Id. at Page ID # 2843. As a result, the Praecipe insisted that
the district court did not have jurisdiction over the codefendants because they were
not parties to the United States Constitution, which they considered to be a contract
praecipe was and whether he could explain the legal basis for his claim that the
court lacked jurisdiction. Id. at Page ID # 2806. The court immediately called
attention to Beane’s inability to answer either question. Id. And although Tucci-
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Jarraf argued with the magistrate at length about various “legal” issues she
believed the Praecipe addressed, Beane spoke very seldom. Instead, he largely
one point, however, Beane asked Magistrate Shirley why he could exert authority
over Beane if he was not God and why he had not provided the codefendants with
order striking the Praecipe from the Record. Order Striking the Praecipe from the
Record, R. 90, Page ID # 3204.2 Beane and Tucci-Jarraf were, thus, unable to raise
ruling on this Praceipe, Magistrate Shirley expressly noted that “the defendants’
disturbing questioning of him about God at the hearing, or how that might reflect
2
On the same grounds, the magistrate also recommended granting and the district
judge ultimately granted the Government’s Motion in Limine to Prohibit
Jurisdictional Argument, R. 78, Page ID # 3041.
3
District Judge Varlan similarly indicated that “[t]he Court is, frankly, unclear
what these objections mean.” Memorandum Opinion & Order, R. 69, Page ID #
3001.
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Beane did not supplement her introduction of evidence. Transcript, R. 165, Page
well. She was able to engage in oral argument and discussion with the lower court,
possessed some limited knowledge of legal trusts and the process of criminal
17031. Beane, on the other hand, was not able to do so because he had no legal
explained that “one of the things that [he] learned at some point was that [his] birth
even if his birth certificate did not have value to him, it must have value to
someone else because it was “printed on bank bond paper.” Id. at Page ID #
17001.
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When asked about his actions, Beane responded that he relied on Tucci-
Jarraf for legal counsel on the issue: “[a]ccording to speaking with [Tucci-Jarraf],
she said that that was the best way to do [it] . . . , so I was just trusting that that was
the right way, correct way to do it, and it made sense what she explained to
me.” Id. at Page ID # 17031. Beane testified that he was “enamored” with Tucci-
Jarraf and believed he had much to learn from her. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID #
15987.
During her testimony, Tucci-Jarraf asserted that “[o]ne of [her] big family
friends was actually the head of all of the U.S. National Guard. So, [she was]
familiar with [the birth certificate theory].” Transcript, R. 162, Page ID # 16302.
She claimed to be a high-level intelligence official who was involved with Beane
and this case was part of her official investigation of “the theft scheme that the
Federal Reserve and its member banks concocted by using unknowing and
point during the presentation of evidence did District Judge Varlan raise any
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Closing Arguments
Beane’s closing arguments demonstrated the same theme that he and Tucci-
Jarraf had espoused throughout trial. He continued to insist that he was seeking
access to his own account with the Federal Reserve, and he implored the jury to
believe that these accounts do exist and they “belong to us.” Transcript, R. 181,
Page ID # 18085. From Beane’s perspective, the only reason these accounts had
not been publicly acknowledged was the failure of others to use the “correct
verbiage to prove it.” Id. at Page ID # 18087. He urged the jury that his conduct
was the result of his “duty as an informed American and sincere living man.” Id.
at Page ID # 18086.
Beane did not limit his claims to the Federal Reserve. He claimed that the
federal government was a “morally corrupt and bankrupt” institution that colluded
with a “corrupt financial institution, which has been proven [to be corrupt] through
the mortgage crisis, the Libor scandal, the bank bailouts . . . .” Id. He asserted that
his reason for not presenting a single objection throughout the government’s case
was “to see exactly how low the government was willing to go in a continuous
scheme to hide the truth from the people and perpetuate a system of slavery.” Id.
at Page ID # 18087. Beane claimed that this scheme was so pervasive that the
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Beane explained to the jury that a book, Creature from the Jekyll Island,4
detailed this corruption from its inception. Id. He stated that the federal
government created a secret banking system with the intent to exert control over
the American people. Id. at Page ID # 18089. Invoking the Bible, he begged the
jury to “take a stand with [him] in exposing the evil that has undermined and
camouflaged itself with the authority over all.” Id. He claimed he was kidnapped
and assaulted by federal agents because of his efforts to bring this scheme to
light. Id. He concluded by explaining to the jury that this trial was merely another
piece of the “grand scheme to put [him] away and make [him] disappear. Id. at
scheme that had nothing to do with the specific elements of the crimes with which
he was charged.
themes she had raised throughout the course of the proceedings, as discussed
above. And she told the jury that “inside these [defense evidence] filings, you’ll
see everything, all the laws, all the – everything we went through to be able to
secure, and we secured it, took it back and secured it, the same way it was taken, a
reversal.” Id., Page ID # 18113. The prosecution agreed that the jury should
“review” these filings because: “They do not say what she says they say. There is
4
This book is still available for purchase online. In it, the author “unveil[s]” many
far-out conspiracy theories, including the “money magicians’ secrets.”
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no support for a secret account. These were all filed at the Register of Deeds in
Washington, D.C. That’s where they’re filed. They have a whole bunch of
misuses of legal terms and gobbledygook. That’s what these documents have.”
Davison told the jury: “She would have you believe that she totally believes this.
And it’s – maybe she’s crazy.” Id., Page ID # 18116. Davison then directed the
jury not to accept such a conclusion. “Neither one of these defendants are crazy.
They don’t believe what they’re saying, and both defendants are guilty.” Id.
Despite the incredible nature of the defendants’ closing arguments and the
prosecution’s express argument against the jury considering them “crazy,” the
district judge did not revisit the competence of Beane and/or Tucci-Jaraff to have
After the closing arguments and jury instructions, the jury retired to
deliberate at 3:12 PM on January 31, 2018. Minute Entry, R.115, Page ID # 3488.
At 4:50 PM, the jury went home for the day. Id. The next morning the jury
Minute Entry, R. 117, Page ID # 3491. After less than four hours of deliberations,
the jury found Beane and Tucci-Jaraff guilty as charged on all counts.
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The right to represent oneself is not absolute. A court must ensure that the
represented. Under any objective view of the record, Beane should not have been
allowed to represent himself given his strange personal beliefs, his demonstrated
inability to respond to simple questions by the judge and his incredible rationales
for his actions. Both the magistrate and the district judge failed Beane, and the
have a clear duty to monitor competency up to and throughout the trial. If the
defendant’s competence is called into question at any point, then the court must
pro se. That never happened here, although it certainly should have – on multiple
occasions.
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For example, at the Faretta hearing, the judge described Beane’s assertions
lack of basic judicial procedure but also could not explain to the court the grounds
for the motion. His incompetence to represent himself only became clearer when
his trial began. There, Beane made delusional statements throughout the
had relied on her legal advice in conducting the transactions underlying his
charges. The court admonished Tucci-Jarraf that she could not represent Beane on
multiple occasions, but that was insufficient to protect Beane. Trying the
of culpability and lack of intent to the jury, since Tucci-Jarraf frequently undercut
his lack of intent in order to protect herself. The two collaborated on their defense,
but Tucci-Jarraf frequently took the most advantageous positions at trial to Beane’s
detriment, convincing him to present his opening statement and case-in-chief first
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at the last minute even though he needed more time to prepare. The court’s
warnings indicate that it saw the prejudice Beane suffered, yet it took no steps to
When all is said and done, the trial court abandoned Beane to his own
devices and to the whims of his codefendant without first assuring itself that Beane
was competent to handle his own defense. In doing so, the court erred in its
responsibility to administer a fair trial for Beane. Although it may have been
trying to respect his dignity and autonomy by granting his motion to proceed pro
se, the court’s decision ultimately led to Beane’s fundamentally unfair conviction.
ARGUMENT
The court below should not have allowed Beane to represent himself in the
California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975). But the right is not absolute. A trial court must
find that a criminal defendant is both competent to conduct trial proceedings and
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competence to conduct the trial himself or when waiver of counsel is not both
knowing and voluntary. Beane did not knowingly and intelligently elect to
represent himself in this complex criminal trial alongside his trusted former
fact and is reviewed de novo. Lott v. Coyle, 261 F.3d 594, 610 (6th Cir. 2001); see
also Moore v. Mitchell, 708 F.3d 760, 774 (6th Cir. 2013); Nelson v. Riddle, 217 F.
knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to counsel. Beane made it clear through
his conduct before and during trial that he did not satisfy this standard. There are
many examples throughout the proceedings where the district court should have,
but failed to, sua sponte conduct and/or order further competence evaluations for
Beane. Yet the court below never reconsidered its initial decision to allow Beane
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to play the violin.” Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 413 (1993) (Blackmun, J.,
represent oneself at trial. 554 U.S. 164, 174–75 (2008) (“These standards
[capacity to consult with counsel, ability to assist counsel in preparing his defense]
thus suggest . . . that an instance in which a defendant who would choose to forgo
counsel at trial presents a very different set of circumstances, which in our view,
The Court held that the state may force counsel upon a defendant where the
sufficiently mentally competent to be tried. Id. at 167; see also id. at 177
(“[G]iven the different capacities needed to proceed to trial without counsel, there
is little reason to believe that Dusky alone is sufficient.”). The Court recognized a
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Id. at 175–76. Thus, the threshold for competence to represent oneself is more
difficult to satisfy than the threshold for competence to stand trial. Id.
United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402 (1960); Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 171
able to stand trial if he has reasonable cause to believe a defendant “is unable to
understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist
so. However, an incompetent defendant is not likely to make such a request for
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Applying Edwards, this Court has noted that “competence needed for self-
representation is greater than the competence needed to stand trial.” United States
v. Gooch, 595 F. App’x 524, 529 (6th Cir. 2014) (citing Edwards, 554 U.S. at 177–
78). “The threshold for finding that a defendant may be incompetent to stand trial
is lower than the baseline for competency to represent oneself.” United States v.
Ross, 703 F.3d 856, 869 (6th Cir. 2012) (italics in original) (internal citations
omitted). This Court has acknowledged that the defendant’s mental state is a factor
in this determination. United States v. McDowell, 814 F.2d 245, 251 n.2 (6th Cir.
This Court has found daylight between the standard to stand trial and to
represent oneself previously. In United States v. Carradine, for example, the Sixth
Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the
trial, the defendant did not understand questions asked of him in his Faretta
hearing. 621 F.3d. 575, 578–79 (6th Cir. 2010); see also United States v. Arnold,
630 F. App’x 432, 435–36 (6th Cir. 2015) (district court did not err in denying
defendant’s motion to represent himself when the defendant would not, or could
not, respond adequately to even the most basic question required by the model
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inquiry); United States v. Kidwell, 217 F. App’x 441, 446 (6th Cir. 2007) (district
court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion for self-
representation when defendant’s assertion of the right was confusing and he was
under the influence of narcotics). Thus, more than the mere assertion of one’s
himself. “The fact that an accused may tell [the judge] that he is informed of his
right to counsel and desires to waive this right does not automatically end the
judge's responsibility.” Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. 708, 724 (1948) (plurality).
competency hearings was consistent with the Constitution, this Court compared the
hearings are more than a mere formality. They should be substantive and
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782 F.3d. 786, 790 (6th Cir. 2015). Sister circuits have also ordered medical
only generally call absurd.” See, e.g., United States v. Berry, 565 F.3d 385,
present.
F.3d 1036, 1041 (8th Cir. 2007). The court has a duty to monitor and investigate
issues of competency throughout trial, “from the time of arraignment through the
return of the verdict.” Godinez, 509 U.S. at 403 (1993) (Kennedy, J., concurring);
see also Drope, 420 U.S. at 180-81 (“[I]f a defendant stands trial instead of
pleading guilty, there will be more occasions for the trial court to observe the
condition of the defendant to determine his mental competence. Trial courts have
defendant is found competent at the beginning of a trial, the court ‘must always be
alert to circumstances suggesting a change that would render the accused unable to
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meet the standards of competence to stand trial.’” Ghane, 490 F.3d at 1041
(quoting United States v. Robinson, 253 F.3d 1065, 1067 (8th Cir. 2001)). The
Throughout this entire process, the court is driven by one primary concern:
States ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269, 279 (1942). As the Supreme Court has
stated, “evidence and truth are of no avail unless they can be adequately presented.
court.” Id.; see also Edwards, 554 U.S. at 177. The acknowledgement of
individual dignity and autonomy that underlies the right of self-representation will
without the assistance of counsel, leading to proceedings “at least as likely to prove
The record reflects many reasonable instances leading up to trial that should
have prompted the judge to conduct a competency evaluation. While any one of
these instances was enough to satisfy the reasonable cause standard, the aggregate
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purpose. Because of its importance, judges have a responsibility to err on the side
of the criminal defendant to ensure their due process rights are not violated and
that they receive a fair trial, even in cases that present fewer red flags than the
present case. Here, the court neglected its responsibility by never once following
Theodore Jackson was charged with armed robbery of a bank. 179 F. App’x 921,
923 (6th Cir. 2012). Jackson was initially appointed an attorney, who quickly filed
a motion for a mental competency evaluation of his client. Id. The court granted
this motion and later adopted the Forensic Report’s finding that Jackson was
competent to stand trial. Id. But thereafter, Jackson “filed pro se a number of
against him” and “claimed that he was entitled to conduct pretrial depositions of all
The lower court ultimately deferred Jackson’s request to proceed pro se, and
Jackson never reasserted this right. Id. This Court found that the trial judge was
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(emphasis added). Thus, “the district court prudently deferred ruling on Jackson's
motion.” Id.; see also People v. Rath, 121 Ill. App. 3d 548, 549–51 (1984)
(defendant required to have counsel “even against his will” when not yet
determined fit to stand trial and claimed during pretrial proceedings to be the royal
son of the Sultan of Turkey and Ethel Barrymore, a diplomat with immunity from
(11th Cir. 1984) (affirming the denial of a Faretta request when defendant walked
out of hearing); United States v. Brock, 159 F.3d 1077 (7th Cir. 1998) (similar).
Beane’s conduct was even more extreme than that of the defendant in United
States v. Jackson, and the court below should have similarly deferred its ruling, at a
minimum. During his Faretta hearing on August 29, 2017, Beane initially refused
to take the standard oath to tell the truth. When asked by the courtroom deputy to
affirm that he would tell the truth during his Faretta hearing, Beane responded:
“No. Standing due identification correction, I am source of all that is, original,
nunc pro tunc, praeterea, pre terea, and I do swear to speak only true, accurate, and
complete.” Faretta Hearing, R. 40, Page ID # 1912. Magistrate Shirley was quick
The bizarre exchange between Beane and Magistrate Shirley that took place
immediately after his refusal to take the oath is further evidence that a competency
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hearing was necessary. The trial judge had reasonable cause to believe that the
nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and to properly defend
himself. Although the court noted Beane’s highly unusual behavior before and
throughout the trial, it failed to inquire into Beane’s competency. Id. at Page ID #
1911.5
The transcript of the hearing reflects that Beane was incapable of answering
basic questions posed by the judge. When Magistrate Shirley asked Beane whether
he was God, Beane replied, “I am the source of all that is.” Faretta Hearing, R. 40,
at Page ID # 1913. After trying to clarify what Beane meant, Magistrate Shirley
asked whether Beane was “the source of the sun and the moon,” and Beane replied,
for the eighth time, with the response: “I am the source of all that is
original.” Id. The court should then have inquired further into Beane’s
competency and, at the very least, deferred its decision on Beane’s request to
proceed pro se. Instead, the magistrate simply moved forward, as if nothing
5
As the Supreme Court has indicated, “courts [are to] indulge every reasonable
presumption against waiver of fundamental constitutional rights.” Johnson v.
Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464 (1983); see also United States v. Purnett, 910 F.2d 51,
55 (2d Cir. 1990) (finding that the trial court could not find that a defendant’s
waiver of counsel was knowing and intelligent when it also questioned defendant’s
competence, though medical evaluation ultimately showed defendant was
competent to stand trial).
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demonstrated incompetence to which the court failed to respond. The court noted
that Beane subscribed to the theory that, among other things, “the United States is
a corporation, which has been foreclosed”; that “the United States government
(including the judicial branch) no longer exists” and so the “law . . . no longer
exists”; that “the only authority over Beane was that to which he consented”; “that
the courts are the functional equivalent of banks; that judges are the bank tellers; []
that the Federal Reserve and Morgan Stanley amortize all indictments”; and that he
could cancel the indictment against him by writing “VOID” across each
Beane lacked a basic understanding of the American legal and political systems.
More than that, Beane lacked an understanding of his own case as presented
Beane . . . could not explain the Praecipe to Dismiss” or the “basis for claiming
that the Court has no jurisdiction over him,” even though that was the only motion
under consideration at the hearing and even though his codefendant had already
provided an explanation to the court. Motion Hearing, R. 61, Page ID # 2806. The
court simply asked Beane to independently restate his position, which his
codefendant had also just articulated. However, as the court noted, Beane was
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incapable of answering the question. Id. at Page ID # 2806. This inability further
shows that Beane could not understand the nature and consequences of the
Beane’s conduct should have put the court on notice that his inability to
understand the proceedings went beyond a mere lack of legal expertise. Rather, his
lack of basic understanding of the proceedings and his documented and repeated
confusion by the court’s questions indicate that Beane lacked the requisite
competency to represent himself. Trial judges have great power over these
proceedings and with great power comes great responsibility. The lower court was
engaged in a more searching inquiry, like the one this Court upheld in United
States v. Stafford. 782 F.3d 786, 790 (6th Cir. 2015) (conducting three separate
hearings to determine if a defendant could proceed pro se); see also United States
v. Berry, 565 F.3d 385, 387–88 (7th Cir. 2009). Instead, the lower court opted to
though he could not explain the argument he had endorsed. By doing so, the court
abdicated its responsibility to monitor and ensure the competency of the defendant
before it.
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The trial itself also raised numerous red flags about Beane’s competence, on
which the lower court again failed to act. Beane was consistently confused when
asked to respond to the most basic questions throughout the proceedings, and he
made delusional statements throughout the trial that had no basis in reality. For
example, he described how the government monetized his physical body at his
birth and posited that he was entitled to the proceeds. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID
# 15982. Beane stated, “The trust is created from the value that we have as a
17006. Beane told the jury that he believed that the value of his trust fund was an
Beane also argued in detail that his case involved a massive global
18096. At trial, he relied on the argument that this massive conspiracy included
General Guanzhong Wang of the People’s Liberation Army, Putin, “high level
cabinet officials,” “the Italian version of Jeff Sessions,” Bill Gates, Sr., and “the
English [Rothchilds] as well as the Swiss and the French Rothchilds].” Transcript,
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Report and Recommendation, R. 62, Page ID # 2905. And, as the door closed on
his chance to defend his freedom, the trial court did nothing. In the words of
criminal law scholar John F. Decker, “[c]onsidering the stakes involved, one must
consider the wisdom of permitting persons to enjoy the right to shoot oneself in the
foot,” particularly when the policy behind the Sixth Amendment is protecting the
trial interests of the accused. The Sixth Amendment Right to Shoot Oneself in the
Faretta, 6 Seton Hall Const. L.J. 483, 520–521 (1996). Beane’s case exemplifies
that point better than any law review hypothetical ever could.
“[P]roceedings must not only be fair, they must appear fair to all who
observe them.” Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153, 160 (1988) (quotation
omitted). The criminal prosecution Beane faced fell below the standard of
by the joinder of his case with Tucci-Jarraf’s case. Beane did not move for a
severance, which enabled Tucci-Jarraf to influence his case and limit his
representation of himself. The trial court allowed this to occur despite its own
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this record, it would be “blinking reality” to suggest that Tucci-Jarraf was anything
certain cases. Fed. R. Crim. P. 8(b) (2002). But “[i]f the joinder of offenses or
prejudice a defendant or the government, the court may order separate trials of
counts, sever the defendants’ trials, or provide any other relief that justice
requires.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 14(a) (2002). As a result, a district court should grant
a severance “if there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific
trial right of one of the defendants, or prevent the jury from making a reliable
judgment about guilt or innocence.” Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539
(1993).
Applying Zafiro, a district court within the Fourth Circuit indicated the
2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85618 (Md. 2011), aff'd United States v. Hickson, 506 F.
App’x 227 (4th Cir. 2012). There, two represented defendants–Smith and Gunn–
moved to sever pro se codefendant Hickson’s trial. The district court denied the
motion, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed. Hickson had made “the occasional
blunder,” but the court was “able to minimize any prejudice by appointing standby
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counsel,” and, unlike the court below in the present case, “diligently polic[ed]
Hickson’s conduct throughout the trial.” Id. at 7. Notably, the court concluded
that the claims of innocence were not dependent because the codefendants could
(“To the contrary, had the evidence at trial supported such a theory, the jury could
well have believed that all three Defendants were persuaded by the undisputedly
charismatic Andrew Williams such that they lacked the requisite intent to
defraud.”).
codefendant to take the blame in absentia. Instead, the person upon whom Beane
could have pinned responsibility, enabling him to argue that he lacked the requisite
intent to defraud, was his current codefendant and de facto attorney. But Beane
never made a motion to sever. His failure to do so further suggests that he was not
not to represent Beane, the trial transcripts show that Tucci-Jarraf and Beane
Jarraf’s legal advice prior to trial, though she is not an attorney.6 Tucci-Jarraf held
6
Tucci-Jarraf stated at trial that she graduated from Gonzaga University School of
Law and was at one time licensed to practice law. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID #
16108; Transcript, R. 159, Page ID # 16157. However, it is undisputed that Tucci-
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17093. Tucci-Jarraf also signed documents for the factualized trust as Beane’s
lawyer and was listed as such on the deed for his motor home. Transcript, R. 164,
relied on Tucci-Jarraf’s legal advice to determine that the funds he withdrew were
his own. See Transcript, R. 165, Page ID # 16988–89; Transcript, R. 159, Page ID
detrimental reliance on Tucci-Jarraf’s counsel and the potential for prejudice, the
court below would have been justified in severing the trials sua sponte, as it has
done in other cases. See, e.g., McFarland v. Yukins, 356 F.3d 688, 701 (6th Cir.
interest).
trial. Beane stated that he was “enamored” with her and felt that he had much to
learn from her about this widespread corruption. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID #
Jarraf was not a licensed attorney throughout the time she provided legal counsel to
Beane in 2017. Tucci-Jarraf testified that she “cancelled” her bar license on or
around March 24, 2011, following her arrest for conduct unrelated to the facts of
the present case. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID # 16158. Furthermore, FBI Agent
Parker Still testified that on or around July 10, 2017, his office investigated
whether Tucci-Jarraf was a licensed attorney and “determined she was not licensed
in the state of Tennessee or in the state of Washington.” Transcript, R. 162, Page
ID # 16298.
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15987. She instructed Beane on the alleged corruption of the federal government.
And she understood that the funds in the Federal Reserve accounts were “the
people’s” money. From Beane’s perspective, why would Beane seek legal counsel
created a situation where Beane’s most trusted source of counsel throughout his
Tucci-Jarraf’s legal training. From the start, Beane indicated that he and Tucci-
Jarraf collaborated on their defense. Beane stated early in his testimony that
“[they] decided last minute [he] was going to go first,” which prejudiced Beane
since he “thought [he] was going to have a little more time to get
The court below was aware of the risk that Tucci-Jarraf would attempt to
serve as Beane’s counsel during their joint criminal case in which antagonistic
defenses could be presented against each other. Faretta Hearing, R. 40, Page ID #
1922–23. Tellingly, the court sought to remind Beane of his precarious position
And remind you, Mr. Beane, as I did at the final pretrial conference,
that while you heard Ms. Tucci-Jarraf says she’s inquiring of certain
matters pertaining to you relevant, she believes, to her defense, that
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you are representing yourself, you face counts above and beyond what
Ms. Tucci-Jarraf faces, and potential punishment, depending on the
jury’s verdict, above and beyond what Ms. Tucci-Jarraf may face. So
just keep that in mind, that you are, while the questions she’s asking
may be relevant to your defense in your mind, you have the right to
ask whatever questions you want in terms of representing yourself. In
fact, you have a right to object to questions that Ms. Tucci-Jarraf may
ask.
Transcript, R. 165, Page ID # 16874. The court’s statement shows one example of
where it intuited that Mr. Beane was being prejudiced by his codefendant.
the court to make sure that a defendant’s waiver is knowing and intelligent. See
United States v. Clemons, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 5977, *3 (6th Cir. 1999)
The court’s attempt to assist Beane in distinguishing his case from Tucci-
Jarraf’s indicates that the court was worried Beane was not making decisions about
the presentation of his case independently. At least one criminal law scholar, Anne
Bowen Poulin, argues that such an inability should disqualify a defendant from
should not permit the defendant to proceed pro se unless the defendant has
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assistance of counsel . . . .”). Another red flag that should have been considered
here as well.
However, no matter what the district judge said and obvious to all, Beane’s
17007. He trusted her knowledge of the Uniform Commercial Code, which he did
not pretend to understand. Transcript, R. 159, Page ID # 16095. Beane trusted her
legal knowledge of trusts, including for the trust he put in his own
Beane relied on Tucci-Jarraf despite the fact that her conduct at trial tended
herself as playing a passive, merely supportive role in the scheme and her
relationship with Beane, rather than one as his chief advisor and instigator. In one
instance, Tucci-Jarraf stated her “actions were based on the actions that were done
against Beane, which is why [she] inserted [her]self in.” Id. at Page ID #
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herself from him and highlight areas where she did not counsel him. Transcript, R.
Furthermore, Beane relied on Tucci-Jarraf despite the fact that her testimony
who believes that her conduct, as well as Beane’s conduct, were part of a
said in her opening statement that “[Tucci-Jarraf’s] actions [] were taken in July
[2017] to be able to mitigate, if not terminate, that particular threat against the
people in America, as well as around the world. And it was in connection with a
threat that was being made against the president of the United States, Donald
Trump.” Transcript, R. 159, Page ID # 16104. Tucci-Jarraf also stated that the
present case eventually brought her to Texas to “deal[] with the Bush family”
because the “unlawful” interaction between the FBI and Beane indicated that “the
highest levels [of the] military” were involved. Transcript, R. 166, Page ID #
17185. When Tucci-Jarraf stated that she believed her orders in this “cleanup”
came from Commander Thorak, the government was quick to point out that he is a
as a “lawyer,” arguing that “many people don’t know the difference between
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suggested an “attorney” must pass the bar and be licensed, while a “lawyer” can be
there. They were just always lawyers.” Id. at Page ID # 16146 (emphasis
added). Tucci-Jarraf stated at trial that she was Beane’s “lawyer” throughout the
underlying transactions. Tucci-Jarraf made every attempt to show that she did not
act as an “attorney,” in order to justify her actions, but admitted at trial that even
she had described herself as Beane's “attorney” in some instances. Id. at Page ID #
16052.
trust account, Beane made sure to emphasize, “I’m not a lawyer or an attorney,”
her detailed theories about the Federal Reserve and other corruption in the United
himself. The lower court had many opportunities to either inquire further into his
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waiving the right to counsel, defendants may assume great risk, but they assume it
individually and should not be placed at the mercy of their codefendants. Because
Beane’s and Tucci-Jarraf’s cases were not severed but Beane was permitted to
represent himself and proceed pro se, Beane’s due process rights were
violated. Accordingly, the district court erred either in allowing Beane to represent
himself and proceed pro se during the proceedings below or in failing to sever the
CONCLUSION
This is a deeply troubling case. As Justice Jackson noted long ago, “[a]
own case stand on its own merits in the minds of jurors who are ready to believe
that birds of a feather are flocked together.” Krulewitch v. United States, 336 U.S.
440, 454 (1949)(Jackson, J., concurring). Now imagine that individual in that
same “uneasy seat” without a lawyer because he is proceeding pro se, despite a
“enamored” with, Transcript, R. 159 Page ID ## 17031 & 15987, is proceeding pro
se right alongside of him despite potential competence issues of her own. What is
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For unknown reasons, the court below did the minimal amount of work
Magistrate Shirley’s efforts in that regard were comprised almost entirely of asking
Beane the prescribed fifteen questions to determine that his waiver of the right to
counsel was knowing and voluntary. See generally Federal Judiciary Center,
Benchbook for U.S. District Judges, § 1.02(C) (6th ed. 2013). But competency to
represent oneself involves more than just the question of waiver, it also involves
the question of ability to do so. Here that ability was called into question at
virtually every stage of the proceeding by Beane’s strange behavior, beliefs and
questions, but neither judge followed up on those “red flags.” It is, quite frankly,
hard to imagine any judge allowing a defendant who claims to be “the source of all
that is” to represent himself at trial. But here two judges did just that. There is no
Beane’s difficulties at trial were also compounded by the fact that his
codefendant Tucci-Jarraf was tried with him and was also proceeding pro se. To
the best of our knowledge, this fact pattern appears to present a question of first
impression. Our research has not uncovered any other case where two conspiracy
co-defendants have been tried together with each proceeding pro se. Of course, if
Beane was represented by counsel, he could have filed a motion for severance to
alleviate the difficulties caused by this aspect of his situation below. But with no
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legal training, Beane himself never did so. As the Supreme Court made clear in
Zafiro, “The risk of prejudice will vary with the facts in each case, and district
courts may find prejudice in situations not discussed here.” 506 U.S. at 539. This
Any impartial reading of this record can only leave one to wonder why
Beane was deemed competent to represent himself, why Tucci-Jarraf was deemed
joint jury trial? Trial court judges have a duty to protect the rights of individual
criminal defendants and to ensure the fair administration of justice. They failed to
Respectfully submitted,
__________/s/______________
Stephen L. Braga (Counsel of Record)
Sarah Crandall (Third Year Law Student)
Brian Diliberto (Third Year Law Student)
Elizabeth Joynes (Third Year Law Student)
Amanda Lineberry (Third Year Law Student)
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
SCHOOL OF LAW
Appellate Litigation Clinic
580 Massie Road, SL-251
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1789
(434) 924-3825
[email protected]
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CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
1. This brief complies with the word limit set forth in Fed. R. App. P.
Word, it contains 10,347 words, excluding the parts of the brief exempted by Fed.
R. App. P. 32(a)(7)(B)(iii).
32(a)(5) and the type style requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(6) because it has
Respectfully submitted,
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Beane with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which sent electronic
Respectfully submitted,
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DOCUMENTS
Record Entry Description Of Entry Date Document Page ID #
Number Entered Range
3 Indictment 7/18/2017 3–10
20 Motion to Review the 8/14/2017 649
Attorney/Client
Relationship
26 Minutes 8/24/2017 967
37 Memorandum and Order 8/31/2017 1806–09
42 Supplement 9/26/2017 1943–46
45 Request for Due 10/2/2017 2083
Identification and
Verification of Authority
and Jurisdiction
47 “Praecipe” 10/13/2017 2102
50 Original Instrument 10/16/2017 2118
Cancelled Truebill
51 Original Instrument 10/16/2017 2125
Rejected Without
Dishonor
62 Praecipe Report and 11/16/2017 2899–2905
Recommendation
78 Motion in Limine to 1/5/2018 3041
Prohibit Jurisdictional
Argument
90 Order Striking the 1/19/2018 3204
Praecipe from the Record
228 Judgment 7/25/2018 18763
230 Notice of Appeal 7/25/2018 18780
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TRANSCRIPTS
Record Entry Description Of Entry Date Document Page ID #
Number Entered Range
40 Faretta Hearing 9/6/2017 1911–24
Transcript
61 Praecipe Hearing 11/2/2017 2806–92
Transcript
159 Trial V of VIII Transcript 3/30/2018 15598–16225
162 Trial I of VIII Transcript 4/20/2018 16298–16346
164 Trial III of VIII 4/20/2018 16605–16730
Transcript
165 Trial IV of VIII 4/20/2018 16874–17041
Transcript
166 Trial VI of VIII 4/20/2018 17093–17187
Transcript
168 Trial VIII of VIII 17380–17382
Transcript
181 Closing Argument 5/17/2018 18080–18096
Transcript
47