U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2023

Askew v. United States

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Decided February 6, 2023

Opinion

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,

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.

* This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. 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).

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