Nov 28 2019 Transcript Charles Coody

1
1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
2 FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
3 NORTHERN DIVISION
5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
6 vs. CASE NO.: 2:15cr17-MHT
7 MICHAEL ALBERT FOCIA,
8 Defendant.
9 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
10 HEARING ON PETITION FOR
11 REVOCATION OF SUPERVISED RELEASE
12 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
13 BEFORE THE HONORABLE CHARLES S. COODY, UNITED STATES
14 MAGISTRATE JUDGE, at Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday,
15 November 29, 2018, commencing at 9:58 a.m.
16 APPEARANCES
17 FOR THE GOVERNMENT: Mr. Jonathan S. Ross

Assistant United States Attorney
18 OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
131 Clayton Street
19 Montgomery, Alabama 36104
20 FOR THE DEFENDANT: Mr. Michael Albert Focia

Pro se
21
STANDBY COUNSEL: Mr. Spencer J. Hahn
22 FEDERAL DEFENDERS
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
23 817 South Court Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
24
Proceedings recorded by digital sound recording;
25 transcript produced by stenography and computer.
PATRICIA G. STARKIE, RDR, CRR, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
One Church Street, Montgomery, AL 36104 334.262.1221
2
1 EXAMINATION INDEX
2 MARCUS SIMMONS
3 DIRECT BY MR. ROSS 14

CROSS BY MR. FOCIA 25
4
MICHAEL ALBERT FOCIA
5
DIRECT BY MR. FOCIA 34
6
7 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
8 (The following proceedings were heard before the Honorable
9 Charles S. Coody, United States Magistrate Judge, at
10 Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday, November 29, 2018,
11 commencing at 9:58 a.m.)
12 THE COURT: ... court this morning is in United States
13 versus Focia, 2015 criminal 17.
14 Good morning, Mr. Focia.
15 THE DEFENDANT: Good morning. And may I address the
16 Court before we begin?
17 THE COURT: You may.
18 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Just want to make it clear
19 that -- a couple of things.
20 Number one, I would request an in camera hearing
21 because of privileged information that's exempt from public
22 disclosure for national security reasons, national security
23 directives, and other matters. That's the first thing.
24 THE COURT: That motion is denied.
25 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Let the record reflect that it's

3
1 been denied.
2 The next thing I want to say is that I am here after
3 being assault, battered, seized by force of arms, kidnapped,
4 imprisoned, falsely imprisoned, for no crime at all. So I'm
5 here under special limited appearance to address this Court
6 regarding the matter of Michael Albert Focia, who I am the
7 creditor, secured party, grantor, grantee, executor of the --
8 occupant of the executor office, and authorized representative
9 for Michael Albert Focia. That is the idem sonans and created
10 by operation of law.
11 So as a special limited appearance, I would address the
12 Court that for nine days I've been falsely imprisoned for no
13 crime at all. I've been without my reading glasses, without
14 access to the courts, without the ability to petition the court
15 for redress of grievances in those nine days. I've been held
16 without any pencil or paper or stamps or envelopes to write
17 anybody.
18 When this Court failed to summons me properly under
19 4.1(e), I requested it to be delivered to me, and there was no
20 summons delivered.
21 The next thing I have a problem with is that I
22 addressed the Court on the initial hearing I had, and I demanded
23 that the Court present me with the documents that it was holding
24 me with, and it didn't present me with any documents. And at
25 that time, I had no eyeglasses. I didn't get my eyeglasses

4
1 until just now, this morning. And --
2 THE COURT: Let me interrupt you one second. Have you
3 received a copy of the petition?
4 THE DEFENDANT: I just received that yesterday or --
5 THE COURT: All right. So you have received --
6 THE DEFENDANT: Or the day --
7 MR. HAHN: I gave it to you.
8 THE DEFENDANT: We got it Tuesday.
9 THE COURT: All right. So contrary to what you just
10 said, you have received a copy of the petition.
11 THE DEFENDANT: That was the first time I received it,
12 Tuesday.
13 THE COURT: Well, you've received it.
14 THE DEFENDANT: That was the petition, but that's not
15 the charges.
16 THE COURT: That contains the charges, Mr. Focia.
17 THE DEFENDANT: But that's not the certified, audited
18 trail of the charges, the assessment of the charges.
19 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, it states the charges. That's
20 all it needs to do as a matter of law.
21 MR. FOCIA: Well, I don't see where it states an actual
22 criminal charge. And I've got United States versus Cunningham
23 right here in the Eleventh Circuit, and it says plainly that --
24 it says right here, it says that proceedings generally have not
25 been considered criminal prosecutions. They have not been

5
1 subject to the procedural safeguards, including the rights to a
2 trial by jury, and to accusation proof beyond a reasonable
3 doubt.
4 So I would dispute -- and if we're in a criminal
5 proceeding, I have a right to know the nature and the cause of
6 the criminal proceeding. Under the constitution, there's only
7 three jurisdictions. There's common law, admiralty, and equity.
8 And since there's no injured party, we must be in admiralty
9 maritime law. And that's based on contract.
10 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, you were convicted of dealing in
11 firearms without a license, transferring firearms to an
12 out-of-state residence, and you were sentenced to 51 months
13 custody. When you were released from that custody, you were
14 placed on supervised release.
15 Just a minute.
16 As one of the conditions of your supervised release,
17 you were to report to the probation office in the district in
18 which you were released within 72 hours. You failed to do that.
19 That's the allegation. That's the basis of your custody at
20 present. That is the matter this morning which the Court is to
21 take evidence on to determine if there's probable cause to
22 believe that you violated that condition of your supervised
23 release.
24 Now, Mr. Focia, I have a job to do. I would appreciate
25 it, just as I have shown you the courtesy of allowing you to

6
1 speak and present your side, I would appreciate it if you would
2 allow me to do my job.
3 THE DEFENDANT: And I'm trying -- and I want to do
4 that. I want to resolve this matter as quickly as possible so
5 that we don't expend any more resources on it than is necessary.
6 THE COURT: Good. Then the first thing we need to do,
7 because we talked earlier this week about whether you were going
8 to represent yourself or whether you were going to have Mr. Hahn
9 represent you. What's your position on that now?
10 THE DEFENDANT: Well, before we get to that -- and I'll
11 address that matter shortly, I promise you.
12 Before we get to that matter, I need to put some
13 objections into the record that --
14 MR. HAHN: The Court needs to know if you're going to
15 be the one making the objections or if I'm going to be the one
16 making objections --
17 THE DEFENDANT: I'm going to be the one making
18 objections.
19 THE COURT: So you want to represent yourself.
20 THE DEFENDANT: I'm going to present my own case. Yes,
21 sir.
22 THE COURT: All right. And before we get to your
23 objections, then, I have to ask you a series of questions. And
24 you've done this before before Judge Kalon, so this is nothing
25 new to you. But I would appreciate it, so I can do my job,

7
1 Mr. Focia, if you would just directly answer my questions.
2 Okay?
3 THE DEFENDANT: Well, before we begin --
4 THE COURT: Mr. Focia.
5 THE DEFENDANT: -- I just want to say I accept for
6 value all the charges. And I would like to settle and close
7 this case --
8 THE COURT: Mr. Focia.
9 THE DEFENDANT: -- in the most direct manner possible.
10 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I need to ask you some questions
11 to do my job, and you need to give me answers. Just
12 straightforward answers. Most of them are going to be yes or
13 no.
14 THE DEFENDANT: And I plan on it.
15 THE COURT: Good. Let's try that.
16 THE DEFENDANT: But I --
17 THE COURT: Let --
18 THE DEFENDANT: I didn't get a copy of what I signed
19 with Judge Susan Russ Walker where I accepted the charges and
20 returned them for value to settle and close this case. So I
21 still haven't gotten a copy of what I signed.
22 THE COURT: I don't know what you signed and, frankly,
23 you don't need it.
24 What did he sign?
25 THE DEFENDANT: Because I couldn't see.

8
1 THE COURT: Mr. Hahn?
2 THE DEFENDANT: He wasn't here.
3 MR. HAHN: I wasn't here. It was an initial
4 appearance.
5 THE COURT: Well, I suspect it was the affidavit
6 concerning your financial condition.
7 MR. HAHN: It was the request for appointment of
8 counsel, the affidavit where you just said --
9 THE DEFENDANT: I have no idea. I was under the
10 impression at the time that it was the charges for my acceptance
11 and return, my endorsement to settle and close the case at that
12 time.
13 MR. HAHN: If I could just -- Your Honor, it's possible
14 he signed releases that our office does. We never -- I've never
15 heard of an acceptance release type form.
16 THE COURT: No. There's not.
17 MR. HAHN: We would not have presented that. And in my
18 experience at initial appearances in this court, I have not had
19 a client presented with such a thing. But if I did, I assume
20 that I would have a copy, and I would turn it over to Mr. Focia.
21 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Focia, let's put it this way.
22 It's not something that the Court needs, and I suspect it's not
23 something that you need.
24 Mr. Focia.
25 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

9
1 THE COURT: You know that you have the right to be
2 represented by a lawyer. Do you understand that you have that
3 right?
4 THE DEFENDANT: I understand that as a duly authorized
5 representative for Michael Albert Focia that I do have a right
6 to have a lawyer appointed for him. Yes, sir. Or for the
7 entity.
8 THE COURT: And is it your desire, however, to
9 represent yourself?
10 THE DEFENDANT: It is my desire to act as a duly
11 authorized representative for Michael Albert Focia. Yes.
12 THE COURT: All right. Have you ever studied law?
13 THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
14 THE COURT: But you are not a lawyer; is that correct?
15 THE DEFENDANT: That's correct.
16 THE COURT: And you have, I believe, represented
17 yourself in the criminal case; is that correct?
18 THE DEFENDANT: That's correct.
19 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Focia, do you understand
20 that if the Court ultimately finds that you have violated a
21 condition of your release, that your release could be revoked
22 and you could be sentenced to additional time in prison for up
23 to two years?
24 THE DEFENDANT: No, I did not understand that.
25 THE COURT: Well, do you understand it now that I've

10
1 told you that?
2 THE DEFENDANT: My understanding, it's a class C
3 violation and only carries three to nine months.
4 THE COURT: That perhaps is under the guidelines,
5 Mr. Focia, but the maximum punishment is imprisonment for not
6 more than two years.
7 MR. HAHN: In other words, that's the most that a judge
8 could give you if they found a reason to depart from the
9 guidelines.
10 THE COURT: So do you understand that?
11 THE DEFENDANT: I comprehend that -- that that's what
12 you're telling me, is that I could be subjected to two years.
13 THE COURT: And do you understand that if you represent
14 yourself, you are on your own? The Court cannot tell you how to
15 represent yourself or advise you as to what you ought to do. Do
16 you understand that?
17 THE DEFENDANT: I understand that, with the caveat that
18 I would request that I have access to law resources and a
19 computer so I can type my own motions. And I would ask that you
20 be a neutral third party, as the court is supposed to be.
21 THE COURT: I am. As I told you, I can't give you
22 advice. I can't tell you what you ought to do when you have a
23 decision to make. That's completely up to you. And as I said,
24 you will be completely on your own.
25 I will tell you that if you decide to represent

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1 yourself, I'm going to appoint Mr. Hahn as a standby counsel to
2 perhaps give you some advice if you decide you need it.
3 MR. HAHN: And I'll be happy to accept that, Your
4 Honor.
5 THE COURT: And he's functioned in that capacity
6 before.
7 THE DEFENDANT: And I would be grateful if, while
8 you're appointing him as standby counsel, to allow --
9 appoint -- make an order to allow me with a computer and access
10 to some law resources and allow Mr. Hahn to file my documents
11 for the court.
12 THE COURT: We'll get to that later.
13 You also need to understand that in these types of
14 proceedings, the federal rules of evidence are not required. In
15 other words, the Court could take hearsay evidence. Do you
16 understand that?
17 THE DEFENDANT: I understand hearsay evidence, but I
18 also understand that the dead man statutes and part of Federal
19 Rule of Criminal Procedure 601 says that you can't have someone
20 testify on the part of a dead man. And the person making the
21 claim is the United States. They're a dead entity.
22 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, in light of the possible penalty
23 that you face and in light of all the difficulties of
24 representing yourself, do you still wish to go forward and
25 represent yourself?

12
1 THE DEFENDANT: One hundred percent.
2 THE COURT: Very good. I find that Mr. Focia has
3 knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to counsel. I will
4 permit him to represent himself. The Court appoints Mr. Hahn to
5 act as standby counsel to assist Mr. Focia if he desires.
6 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, just with the Court's
7 permission, I want to set maybe some ground -- just so that I
8 know how limited or not limited my role is.
9 Given that there's not a jury present and there's not a
10 risk that if I were to speak up it would impinge on the
11 impression that he was representing himself, I may from time to
12 time make an objection if Mr. Focia does not object to me
13 speaking to the Court with regard to that.
14 THE COURT: You may do so.
15 MR. HAHN: Thank you, Your Honor.
16 THE DEFENDANT: Could you -- I would ask also, Judge
17 Coody, that you give me the order to allow him to go ahead and
18 file documents for me in the court and allow me to have access
19 to my eyeglasses in the jail and allow me to have access to a
20 computer with some law resources on it. Because there's --
21 THE COURT: I will allow Mr. Hahn to file motions as
22 you suggest. But what happens in the jail is not something over
23 which I have control, Mr. Focia.
24 THE DEFENDANT: The last time I represented myself, the
25 judge did order that I had a computer in the jail. I did have a

13
1 computer in the jail. I was ordered and allowed to go to a
2 room --
3 THE COURT: That's because you were pending criminal
4 charges at that time, and you were under a presumption of
5 innocence. There is no such presumption at this point,
6 Mr. Focia.
7 So with all that, Mr. Hahn?
8 MR. HAHN: Yes, Your Honor. With regard to filing, I
9 would feel more comfortable filing some of his pleadings under a
10 cover that just says I'm filing them on behalf of Mr. Focia
11 without necessarily adopting them.
12 THE COURT: That would be fine.
13 MR. HAHN: Because I will be using my e-filing, and I
14 don't want to sign --
15 THE COURT: We will understand that.
17 THE COURT: All right. With that, Mr. Focia, the
18 government has the initial burden to demonstrate that there's
19 probable cause to believe that you have violated a condition of
20 your supervised release. Therefore, they get to present their
21 witnesses. You, then, will get to cross-examine them. So you
22 may have a seat while the government proceeds.
23 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, at this time the government
24 calls Officer Marcus Simmons, United States Probation Office.
25 And Ms. Hackett, could we get the Elmo?

14
1 MARCUS SIMMONS
2 The witness, having first been duly sworn to speak the
3 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, testified as
4 follows:
5 DIRECT EXAMINATION
6 BY MR. ROSS:
7 Q. Good morning.
8 A. Good morning.
9 Q. Mr. Simmons, please state your name.
10 A. Marcus Simmons.
11 Q. And Mr. Simmons, what do you do for a living?
12 A. I'm a United States probation officer for the Middle
13 District of Alabama.
14 Q. How long have you been a probation officer?
15 A. Ten years.
16 Q. And within the probation office, what are your specific
17 responsibilities?
18 A. I am assigned to the supervision unit, and I supervise a
19 caseload of offenders.
20 Q. All right. And at some point, were you assigned supervision
21 responsibilities for Michael Albert Focia?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And when did you get that assignment?
24 A. The case was actually assigned to me sometime in July, and
25 he was expected to report to me October 5th.

15
1 Q. And why is it that someone would report to you?
2 A. They were -- when someone is sentenced in the courts, after
3 their custody sentence they are sentenced to a term of
4 supervised release. He was sentenced to three years of
5 supervision. Once he's released from prison, he has 72 hours to
6 report to our office.
7 Q. Okay. So if he was supposed to report to you by October
8 5th, is that 72 hours after his date of release?
9 A. Well, October 5th is the day that his supervision would
10 begin.
11 Q. Okay.
12 A. He would have until October 8th to come in and report.
13 Q. Okay. To your knowledge, was Mr. Focia advised of his
14 obligation to report to you by October the 8th?
15 THE DEFENDANT: Objection. Hearsay.
16 THE COURT: Overruled.
17 A. Repeat the question.
18 THE DEFENDANT: Confrontation --
19 Q. Was Mr. Focia advised of his obligation to report to you by
20 October the 8th?
21 A. Yes.
22 THE DEFENDANT: He has no firsthand knowledge of that.
23 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I have overruled your objection.
24 Do not interrupt.
25 Q. Can you repeat your answer?

16
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And who advised him?
3 A. The Bureau of Prisons advised him. And his unit manager --
4 his case manager was a K. Richard --
5 THE DEFENDANT: I'm going to object again. That's all
6 speculation.
7 THE COURT: And your objection is overruled.
8 A. And the case manager was a K. Vernon.
9 Q. Okay. And did the unit manager or case manager give
10 Mr. Focia your contact information?
11 A. I'm not sure --
12 THE DEFENDANT: Objection.
13 A. -- if they gave him my --
14 THE DEFENDANT: He doesn't have any firsthand
15 knowledge. How would he know something like that?
16 THE COURT: Well, I think on that, you do --
17 MR. ROSS: Withdraw the question, Your Honor.
18 THE COURT: You do need to lay some foundation.
19 Q. (Mr. Ross, continuing:) Mr. Simmons, how do you know that
20 he was advised of his obligation to report?
21 A. He has a supervision release plan. It's basically a form
22 that's submitted to our office. It has his signature on it, his
23 case manager's signature on it, and unit manager's signature on
24 it. And on the top of the supervision release plan it checks a
25 box saying that he's on supervised release, and it has a

17
1 statement that reads, "I submit the following as my plans for
2 the service of the remainder of my sentence under supervision.
3 Pursuant to my sentence, I must report in person to United
4 States probation office within 72 hours of my release."
5 Q. Okay.
6 THE DEFENDANT: I'm going to object. There's no
7 evidence, no foundation for that.
8 Q. Mr. Simmons, do you have a copy of that release plan with
9 you?
10 A. I do.
11 Q. Okay.
12 MR. ROSS: May I approach, Your Honor?
13 THE COURT: You may. And let's show the form to
14 Mr. Focia.
15 Have you reviewed the form, Mr. Focia?
16 THE DEFENDANT: Oh, I have.
17 THE COURT: Proceed, Mr. Ross.
18 MR. HAHN: And just to make it clear, Your Honor, he
19 means he reviewed it here just now.
20 THE COURT: I understand that.
21 THE DEFENDANT: That's the first thing -- I don't have
22 any copies of it.
24 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, we just received this this
25 morning.

18
1 THE COURT: Proceed.
2 MR. ROSS: Ms. Hackett, may we have the Elmo --
3 THE COURT: I've got it. Do we have it on the counsel
4 table?
5 MR. HAHN: We do, Your Honor.
6 THE COURT: All right.
7 MR. HAHN: It is.
8 MR. ROSS: At this time the government moves to admit
9 this as Government's Exhibit 1.
10 THE COURT: Any objection, Mr. Focia?
11 THE DEFENDANT: I object.
12 THE COURT: On what --
13 THE DEFENDANT: There's no firsthand corroborated
14 witness. He's bringing in, again, evidence that hasn't been
15 corroborated by the person that's actually filed the form that
16 says they signed the form. This is a third-party witness, and
17 it violates due process and confrontation.
18 THE COURT: Your objection is noted and overruled.
19 Q. (Mr. Ross, continuing:) Mr. Simmons, you were discussing
20 this form a moment ago. The institution -- well, the
21 institution name that you see at the top, is that the
22 institution where Mr. Focia was incarcerated?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And what was that institution?
25 A. Oakdale.

19
1 Q. Okay. And did this form come from Oakdale?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. All right. Now, right below there you see where it says,
4 "Under the law I become eligible for"?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And what did he become eligible for?
7 A. Supervised release.
8 Q. And on what date?
9 A. On October 8th, 2018.
10 Q. Okay. And what is the sentence that you see directly below
11 there? Can you read that again?
12 A. It says, "I submit the following as my plans for the service
13 of the remainder of my sentence under supervision. Pursuant to
14 my sentence, I must report in person to the United States
15 Probation Office within 72 hours of my release."
16 Q. Okay. And what do you see below there? Do you see
17 residence?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. And where is the residence listed on there?
20 A. It's 3121 Milan Drive, Montgomery, Alabama, 36109.
21 Q. Okay. And is that the residence where Mr. Focia was going
22 to be living upon his release?
23 A. No. That plan was actually denied due to the -- if you look
24 directly under that, it says with whom, relationship, a Tracey
25 Jones. At the time, this case was assigned to an Officer

20
1 Spooner. He attempted to investigate that residence. He was
2 unable to because Tracey Jones was incarcerated, and he denied
3 the plan.
4 Q. Okay.
5 A. So we sent the letter back to the institution saying that
6 that address was denied. And if you turn the page, there is an
7 exact copy of this form where he submitted a second plan saying
8 that he was homeless and wrote out "private home."
9 Q. To your knowledge, was he assigned to live -- or was he
10 planning to be somewhere within the Middle District of Alabama?
11 A. Not that I know of, as far as what he wanted to do after he
12 got released.
13 Q. Okay. Was it your office that he was going to have to
14 report to?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. Okay. And is that why we see Alabama Middle Probation
17 Office on there?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. All right. And did Mr. Focia sign this form?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. To your knowledge, is that Mr. Focia's signature?
22 A. I have no reason to say that it's not.
23 Q. All right. Now, before Mr. Focia was released from
24 imprisonment, did your office receive a correspondence from him?
25 A. Yes.

21
1 Q. All right. And have you reviewed that correspondence?
2 A. Yes.
3 MR. ROSS: And, Your Honor, we've shown it to defense
4 counsel. At this time government moves to admit Government's
5 Exhibit 2.
6 THE COURT: You've shown it to Mr. Focia?
7 MR. ROSS: I have, Your Honor.
9 Q. Is this the correspondence that you received from Mr. Focia?
10 A. It is.
11 Q. And it's addressed to -- who is Mr. Wright?
12 A. That is our chief.
13 Q. Okay. And can you read what Mr. Focia wrote? Just read the
14 first paragraph, please.
15 A. It says "This is notice in accordance with law that the
16 notice of release and arrival is refused for cause without
17 dishonor, rescission of signature and revoking of acceptance
18 pursuant to the following causes."
19 Q. Okay. And if you would please skip down and read just item
20 five, please.
21 A. Item five says "Lastly, I do not have an obligation to
22 report to supervision as I have already been falsely imprisoned
23 for 51 months, ergo, I was denied supervised release as part of
24 any sentence I may have been unwittingly and accommodating
25 party. To interpret your law under 18 USCS 3583(a) any

22
1 differently would mean that a sentence exceeded the statutory
2 maximum, violate due process, double jeopardy, and separation of
3 power clauses."
4 Q. All right. And if you would read the following paragraph,
5 please.
6 A. It says "Should I not hear from you, I will assume you agree
7 with me in the entirety and consider this matter closed. Should
8 you need to contact me, feel free to contact me while I am still
9 being politically persecuted at the address below. With the
10 utmost respect."
11 Q. All right. And you see a signature there at the bottom of
12 the form?
13 A. I do.
14 Q. And who is that signature purporting to belong to?
15 A. Michael Focia.
16 Q. All right. And when did your office receive this
17 correspondence?
18 A. August 13th, 2013.
19 Q. Okay. And where was it sent from?
20 A. It was sent from --
21 Q. See down at the bottom?
22 A. The Oakdale facility in Oakdale, Louisiana.
23 Q. Okay. And I'd like for you to compare -- do you see the
24 signature there on Exhibit 2?
25 A. Yes.

23
1 Q. All right. And looking back at the signature that we have
2 on Exhibit 1, do they appear to be similar to you?
3 A. It does.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Objection. He's not an expert witness.
5 THE COURT: Sustained.
6 Q. All right. Now, Mr. Simmons --
7 THE DEFENDANT: Move to strike.
8 THE COURT: Mr. Ross, you moved to admit Number 2?
9 MR. ROSS: I did before, Your Honor.
10 THE COURT: You did before you presented it. Any
11 objections, Mr. Focia?
12 THE DEFENDANT: Yeah. I move to strike.
13 THE COURT: On what basis?
14 THE DEFENDANT: Because he's not an expert witness.
15 MR. HAHN: I think what he's trying to do, Your Honor,
16 is you sustained his objection to the answer to whether it
17 appeared to be the same signature.
18 THE COURT: I did.
19 MR. HAHN: And he wanted to ensure that you actually
20 struck the response in addition to sustaining the objection.
21 THE COURT: I did not strike -- I did not strike the
22 document. I simply sustained the objection where Mr. Ross asked
23 the witness to compare the signatures.
24 THE DEFENDANT: I was striking the response. Move to
25 strike the response.

24
1 THE COURT: I'm not sure what that means, Mr. Focia,
2 but the objection to the document is overruled. Document
3 Number 2 is admitted.
4 THE DEFENDANT: I wasn't objecting to the document.
5 THE COURT: To the extent that you're referring to the
6 comparison of the signatures, I have sustained that objection.
7 THE DEFENDANT: I wasn't objecting to the document.
8 THE COURT: Very well. It's admitted.
9 MR. ROSS: Thank you, Your Honor.
10 Q. Officer Simmons, after you received this correspondence and
11 after Mr. Focia was released, did he come to your office or
12 report to you in any way by October the 8th of 2018?
13 A. He did not.
14 Q. Okay. Did you receive any word from him during that period?
15 A. I did not.
16 Q. Did you receive any contact from him after October the 8th
17 of 2018?
18 A. I did not.
19 Q. Did anyone in the probation office?
20 A. No.
21 Q. To your knowledge, did Mr. Focia comply with the condition
22 that he report to the probation office?
23 A. He did not.
24 Q. All right.
25 MR. ROSS: Nothing further, Your Honor.

25
1 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, do you wish to cross-examine?
2 And you can do so from your place there rather than walk to the
3 lectern.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. May I be seated while I address
5 the Court?
7 THE DEFENDANT: Thank you. May I have the exhibits to
8 review? I'm going to have to show him the documents.
9 THE COURT: Show who the documents?
10 MR. HAHN: He wants to put them on the Elmo, I believe,
11 Your Honor.
12 THE COURT: All right. Come forward, Melissa.
13 CROSS-EXAMINATION
14 BY THE DEFENDANT:
15 Q. Good afternoon -- or good morning, Mr. Simmons. How are
16 you?
17 A. I'm great. Good morning.
18 Q. Have you ever had any interaction with me before,
19 Mr. Simmons?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Before today, have you ever seen my signature?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Okay. On the signature line, can you tell me what's next to
24 the signature?
25 THE COURT: Which document are you referring to,

26
1 Mr. Focia?
2 THE DEFENDANT: We're referring to Exhibit 1.
4 A. Next to where your name is?
5 Q. Right.
6 A. Looks like UD1-308.
7 Q. Now, are you familiar with that?
8 A. No.
9 Q. Okay. All right. Thank you. That's all on that one.
10 The next document is Exhibit 2. And you said you received
11 this document; correct?
12 A. Correct.
13 Q. Okay. And as I look at this document, have you -- have you
14 responded to Michael Albert Focia regarding this document or
15 this letter?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Do you know of anyone in the office that has responded to
18 the letter?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Do you know of any reason why they would not have responded
21 to the letter and inform Michael that this -- that they didn't
22 agree with it and that they were in disagreement with it?
23 A. Besides the fact of not having an obligation to, no.
24 Q. Well, were you read -- that -- you agree with the entirety.
25 Don't you think you had an office that had an obligation to

27
1 inform Michael Albert Focia that he had an obligation to report,
2 despite this letter that was sent to him?
3 A. No.
4 Q. Okay. Can you tell me why that is -- what is the policies
5 of the office whenever they receive letters like this?
6 A. To review them and file them.
7 Q. So it is the policy of the office to never inform someone
8 when they're wrong about their obligation to report to
9 supervised release?
10 A. No. Not to respond to a letter, no.
11 Q. Are you familiar with any contracts that Michael Albert
12 Focia has with the United States?
13 A. Explain what you mean by contract.
14 Q. I mean are you familiar with any superseding contracts that
15 would have superseded the supervised release regarding this?
16 A. Nothing that would supersede it, no.
17 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I have a document I want to
18 present.
19 THE COURT: All right. Is this a document you wish to
20 enter into evidence, Mr. Focia?
21 THE DEFENDANT: I do.
22 MR. HAHN: Your Honor, just -- the clerk was kind
23 enough to provide me with an exhibit sticker. I'm going to
24 provisionally for identification mark this as Defendant's
25 Exhibit 1.

28
1 THE COURT: Very well.
2 (Brief pause in the proceedings)
3 MR. HAHN: Your Honor, I'm going to show Mr. Ross what
4 has been --
6 MR. HAHN: -- marked for identification purposes as
7 Defendant's Exhibit 1.
8 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, we object to the relevance of
9 these materials.
10 THE COURT: Well, since I don't know what they are,
11 Mr. Ross, I can't really intelligently rule on your objection.
12 So I think Mr. Focia wants to show the witness the document.
13 And if he can identify it, then we'll proceed from there. If
14 he's never seen it, then your objection may have some merit.
15 All right, Mr. Focia.
16 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, we've presented the witness
17 with what's been marked for identification purposes as
18 Defendant's Exhibit 1 so that he can have an opportunity to look
19 at and determine whether he has seen this before.
20 THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Hahn.
21 MR. HAHN: And I apologize for my voice. I'm
22 recovering from a cold.
23 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I believe the witness has
24 completed his review of the document.
25 Q. Have you seen any of those documents?

29
1 A. No.
2 Q. If there was a contract, a superseding supervised release,
3 and you weren't informed about it, and it nullified supervised
4 release, do you believe that contract would have been valid?
5 A. Ask me that again.
6 Q. If there was a contract --
7 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Focia, I'm going to not allow the
8 witness to answer that question, which is a legal question. And
9 he is not a lawyer, so he doesn't have the capacity to answer
10 it.
11 THE DEFENDANT: Okay.
12 THE COURT: Ask your next question.
13 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, just for the record, the
14 first part of what has been marked for identification as
15 Defendant's Exhibit 1 is actually a document that has been filed
16 in this court file. It is doc 242. So to the extent that he's
17 attempting to get that in, I think that portion is already in
18 the record.
19 THE COURT: It's already part of the record. Yes. And
20 I've seen the document, and I've read it.
21 MR. HAHN: There are additional pages in here, Your
22 Honor, but I just wanted the Court to be aware that the first
23 portion of that is in the record.
24 THE COURT: Thank you.
25 Q. So at this point, you don't know for sure that -- all you

30
1 can do is -- as far as document Exhibit B or Exhibit 2, on both
2 of these documents --
3 MR. HAHN: I think this is actually Exhibit 1 that
4 you're showing him right now.
5 Q. Exhibit 1. On both pages of these -- page 2 of Exhibit 1,
6 can you read what that says above the signature of Michael
7 Albert Focia?
8 A. You said above, where it says --
9 Q. Right here.
10 A. "Accepted for value without" -- I can't make out the word
11 behind that --
12 Q. Recourse. And can you read this word?
13 A. By Michael Focia. It looks like AR1-308-3-402 for Michael
14 Albert Focia.
15 Q. Okay. Do you have any idea what that means, any of it?
16 A. That the document was accepted for value?
17 Q. Okay. Do you -- from a legal standpoint, you don't have any
18 idea what it means, then.
19 A. No.
20 Q. Do you know if that's a qualified endorsement or unqualified
21 endorsement --
22 A. I have no idea.
23 Q. -- or a blank endorsement?
24 A. I don't know.
25 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, he doesn't know, so why belabor

31
1 the point?
2 THE DEFENDANT: Because I'm a layman.
3 THE COURT: So is he in this regard.
5 Q. So with regards to Exhibit 1, though, you don't have any
6 firsthand, actual fact knowledge that this is my document --
7 this is a document that Michael Albert Focia signed. You just
8 know based on a reasonable belief; correct?
9 A. That is a signature there. Yes.
10 Q. Okay. And that's -- but you don't have firsthand
11 material -- have a fact witness that that's actually my
12 signature; correct?
13 A. No.
14 THE DEFENDANT: In fact, defense counsel will stipulate
15 that that's the authorized representative signature for Michael
16 Albert Focia.
17 MR. HAHN: I think you mean that you will stipulate.
18 THE COURT: I understand. Mr. Focia is referring to
19 himself in the third person.
21 THE DEFENDANT: I'm referring to the trust that this is
22 actually going against.
23 Okay. I guess that will be all for this witness.
24 THE COURT: Thank you. Any redirect or any redirect?
25 MR. ROSS: No, Your Honor.

32
1 THE COURT: Mr. Ross? Thank you. Your next witness.
2 Thank you, Mr. Simmons.
3 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, for the probable cause portion,
4 the government rests with Mr. Simmons.
6 MR. ROSS: The government may have -- depending on the
7 burden shift, the government may have additional witnesses for
8 detention.
9 THE COURT: Mr. Focia?
10 THE DEFENDANT: I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
11 THE COURT: Mr. Ross has rested with regard to the
12 probable cause aspect of this case. Do you wish to present any
13 evidence concerning the probable cause?
15 THE COURT: You may testify, but understand that you
16 will be subject to cross-examination by Mr. Ross.
18 THE COURT: All right. Proceed.
19 MR. HAHN: If I could just have one moment, Your Honor,
20 to --
21 THE COURT: You may, Mr. Hahn.
23 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, just for the record, I
24 would like it to reflect that I have advised Mr. Focia it would
25 not be in his best interests to testify, but I believe that he

33
1 will go his own way on this.
2 THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Hahn.
3 THE DEFENDANT: So at this point --
4 THE COURT: Do you wish to testify, Mr. Focia?
6 THE COURT: And is it my understanding that you are
7 doing so against the advice of your standby counsel?
9 THE COURT: And you understand the dangers of
10 testifying?
11 THE DEFENDANT: To the best of my knowledge, yes.
12 THE COURT: All right. You may come forward, be sworn,
13 take the seat at the witness table.
14 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, I believe he's going to ask
15 himself his own questions. I offered to ask the questions on
16 his list.
17 THE COURT: Yes.
18 You will please swear the witness.
19 (The defendant was sworn)
20 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Focia, you may be seated.
21 Now, rather than go through this process of asking yourself
22 questions and then answering them, you just may go ahead and
23 tell the Court what it is you want to tell me. Okay?
24 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Well, I'm trying to do it in a
25 logical, organized manner.

34
1 THE COURT: That would be appreciated.
2 THE DEFENDANT: So I would beg the Court's patience
3 with this layman and novice at courtroom procedure.
4 THE COURT: Go ahead.
6 MICHAEL ALBERT FOCIA
7 The witness, having first been duly sworn to speak the
8 truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, testified as
9 follows:
10 DIRECT EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. FOCIA:
12 Q. Michael Focia, what is your name? Or what is your name,
13 sir?
14 A. My name is upper case M, lower case I-C-H-A-E-L, upper case
15 A, lower case L-B-E-R-T, with a family name, a surname, of upper
16 case F, lower case O-C-I-A.
17 Q. How old are you?
18 A. Well, I can't tell you exactly how old I am, because I
19 wasn't a witness at my birth, so roughly I suspect I'm
20 around 50. So I don't really know exactly how old I am.
21 Q. Where is your present place of abode?
22 A. My present place of abode is at a guest home, because I am
23 homeless and I have been oppressed and have not had funding
24 because someone -- because I have been illegally and falsely
25 imprisoned with a misapplication of federal law that doesn't

35
1 apply to me.
2 Q. Where was your address before that?
3 A. It was in Oakdale federal prison.
4 Q. How did you get here today?
5 A. Well, I was assault, battered, seized by force of arms,
6 kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, and brought here in fetters and
7 chains under duress, threat, and coercion.
8 Q. Why do you believe you were kidnapped?
9 A. Because I wasn't properly served with a summons like a
10 gentleman, and I wasn't -- I have not committed any crime
11 whatsoever. There's been no crime that has been presented to
12 me. No assessment of charges that has been presented to me.
13 There was a petition, but that wasn't evidence of a crime. That
14 wasn't certified evidence of a crime. So I have no evidence of
15 any crime being committed. And I have no evidence that there
16 was a summons in this case, in violation of Federal Rules of
17 Criminal Procedure 4.1(e). So that's why I have -- feel like
18 I've been kidnapped, because I wasn't served with due process
19 and fair notice of these proceedings and wasn't given the
20 opportunity to prepare for them.
21 Q. Why do you call yourself authorized representative?
22 MR. ROSS: Objection. Relevance.
23 THE COURT: Overruled.
24 A. Well, I call myself authorized representative because
25 Michael Albert Focia is an estate name that was created by

36
1 operation of law by the government under the statutes at large,
2 Volume 49, and the statutes of the Social Security Act on page
3 620 and Sections 501, 502, where the government created the
4 birth certificates with the state -- with the names in all
5 capital names -- because in the law -- the law is very precise.
6 That's why it's in all capital names -- all capital letters.
7 And what tells you that is they -- when they created that name,
8 they created a funding, because they took substance from the
9 people in terms of lawful money. And as a result of that, they
10 had a -- they do public policy versus public law, and they look
11 at the form of things instead of the substance of things. And
12 the form is what they had to have to have parity, because the
13 fiction cannot have parity with the real. And moreover, what's
14 more evidence of that, is on any personal check that you look
15 at, there is -- on the line that you sign on your personal
16 checks in micro print it says "authorized representative." So
17 when you look at the operation of law and the law that I studied
18 for an extensive period of time and all the papers that I've
19 read on it, that was a trust created by the government -- an
20 estate created by the government as a transmitting utility for
21 the benefit of the people, which I'm the beneficiary in equity.
22 But in law the beneficiary is not recognized. And that's why I
23 call myself the authorized representative.
24 Could I get the pen, please? Thank you.
25 Q. So after studying -- so you say you studied law. What

37
1 has -- what resources have you read or studied?
2 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I don't need to know how much
3 law you studied.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I think it's relevant.
5 THE COURT: I don't think it's relevant.
6 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I think it's relevant in this
7 case because it goes to my belief. It lays the foundation for
8 why I believe I did not have supervised release.
9 THE COURT: And I understand that you have that belief,
10 but your belief is not what is controlling.
11 THE DEFENDANT: It is relevant from the fact that when
12 you look at the law I studied and the foundational issues of why
13 I didn't have supervised release, which contravenes the
14 presumption of probable cause that I've got to overcome, has to
15 be from a good foundation in law that I sincerely believed that
16 I had a superseding contract. And what supports that
17 superseding contract is my knowledge on the law.
18 THE COURT: Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this.
19 A contract requires two parties. With whom did you have the
20 contract?
21 THE DEFENDANT: I have the contract with the attorney
22 general, Jeff Sessions, in his individual and official capacity,
23 and his assigns and successors. I have a contract with Jonathan
24 Ross here in his individual and official capacity. I have a
25 contract with Gray M. Borden in his official and individual

38
1 capacity. A contract with Debra P. Hackett of this court in her
2 official and --
3 THE COURT: And how -- Mr. Focia, when you have a
4 contract, there has to be consideration for it. The other
5 person has to also agree to the contract. Are you telling me
6 that those people agreed to whatever your contract is?
7 THE DEFENDANT: In the law. And this is what's
8 relevant about my law resources. When studying law, Bloom's
9 contracts law, Restatement of Contracts Second, a Treatise on
10 Suits in Chancery by Henry Richard Gibson, the constitutional --
11 the Constitution, impairment of contracts, The Law of Nations,
12 Moore's Federal Rules of Evidence, countless Supreme Court cases
13 say that when there's a preexisting relationship between the
14 parties, and that preexisting relationship, there's
15 consideration. And in this case, the consideration, the
16 preexisting relationship was I felt like because I was falsely
17 imprisoned and there was -- the federal law was misapplied to
18 me, that their tacit acquiescence -- and they had a duty as
19 public servants in offices of trust and honor to serve the
20 people. And the people --
21 THE COURT: I understand your position, and it is based
22 on that that you came to the conclusion that you did not have to
23 report; is that correct?
24 THE DEFENDANT: That -- after I gave them not only the
25 initial contract. I sent --

39
1 And I'm going to be calling Jonathan Ross as my
2 witness.
3 THE COURT: No, you're not.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Well, he's a part of the contract that
5 I have, and he got notice of it. Not once. He got the contract
6 on three different occasions. And the subsequent -- in the
7 subsequent notices that he got, he got notice of fault,
8 opportunity to cure, and that's -- and also the laws of
9 commerce. The laws of commerce say an affidavit unrebutted
10 stands as truth in law. And this is an act -- this contract is
11 also in the form of an affidavit.
12 THE COURT: And I understand your position. So
13 anything else you want to testify about?
14 THE DEFENDANT: And then I've sent him a notice of
15 fault, default, consent to decree. So he got three notices. So
16 he's a party to this contract along with for demand for specific
17 performance. And in this contract --
18 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, at this time the government
19 renews its objection to relevance and also offers to stipulate
20 Mr. Focia had a belief, founded on whatever basis, that he did
21 not need to report.
22 THE COURT: And your objection is sustained.
23 Is there anything else other than your talk about the
24 contract that you wish to testify about?
25 Mr. Hahn wants to talk to you a second.

40
2 THE DEFENDANT: I am at this point going to ask Michael
3 Focia has he ever seen these documents.
4 A. And, yes, I have. I've seen all of them, I've reviewed all
5 of them, and I'm a firsthand witness that they were all sent.
6 And they were all sent with certificate of services and
7 certified mail with return receipt requested.
8 THE COURT: All right. And all those documents --
9 THE DEFENDANT: I would like to introduce this as
10 Exhibit Number 1.
11 THE COURT: All right. Collectively I will admit them
12 over objection for relevance, I'm sure?
13 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, those are the same documents
14 that he had a moment ago?
15 THE COURT: Yes. Mr. Hahn earlier showed you.
16 MR. ROSS: I think those are all already --
17 THE COURT: They may be.
18 MR. ROSS: Those are all already part of the court
19 record.
20 THE COURT: They may be part of the record, but
21 nonetheless --
22 MR. ROSS: But no objection, Your Honor.
23 THE COURT: All right. They're admitted.
24 MR. HAHN: (Inaudible)
25 THE COURT: Very good, Mr. Hahn. Thank you.

41
1 Anything else, Mr. Focia?
2 THE DEFENDANT: Well, yes, I do need them.
3 Well, if -- I would object to the fact that I can't
4 question the witness that has received this three times.
5 Because in the contract, I have -- I have -- I have specific
6 allegations in here that I've requested a response --
7 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Focia, let me interrupt you.
8 Perhaps we got ahead of ourselves. You have the right to ask
9 the Court to allow you to call witnesses. But before we get to
10 that point, do you have anything else to which you wish to
11 testify?
12 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I do.
13 THE COURT: Then go ahead.
14 Q. Mr. Focia, as authorized representative, do you have any
15 contracts with the United States?
18 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I would object to that.
19 THE COURT: That's fine. You can object.
20 THE DEFENDANT: Because that's relevant of my belief
21 system, and it lays a foundation.
22 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, you've already explained your
23 belief system that you can unilaterally create a contract with
24 someone by sending them notice. And I understand your position
25 that, therefore, because you sent those notices and that they

42
1 did not respond, that you were relieved of your obligation to
2 report as a condition of your supervised release. I understand
3 your position. So anything else?
4 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. Okay. Well, I -- okay. No,
5 that's your --
6 Q. Mr. Focia, would you have ever put yourself in a position to
7 let your family down?
8 A. Absolutely not.
10 THE COURT: Overruled. Go ahead, Mr. Focia.
11 Q. Mr. Focia, do you have a car?
12 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, that's totally irrelevant.
13 THE DEFENDANT: Well, it goes to the foundation of --
14 THE COURT: The Court has ruled it's irrelevant.
15 Do you have any more questions for yourself?
16 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Yeah.
17 Q. Mr. Focia, did you knowingly violate any duty of any
18 contracts that you had?
19 A. No, I did not.
20 Q. Mr. Focia, why do you have any belief that they can
21 discharge and settle your accounts?
23 THE COURT: What do you mean by that?
24 THE DEFENDANT: Discharge and settle accounts? Because
25 under 27 CFR, all crimes are commercial. And I believe that

43
1 this is a commercial venture and that the Court is creating debt
2 instruments.
3 THE COURT: The objection is sustained.
5 THE COURT: What else?
6 Q. Mr. Focia, do you intend to report to supervised release if
7 you're allowed to be let go today?
8 A. I would absolutely have to agree, because I've been
9 assaulted, battered, kidnapped by force of arms, to report.
10 Because I wouldn't want to put my family through that torture
11 again. And because the Court is not recognizing the contract
12 that I have, and they're not allowing it to be adjudicated in
13 equity as Mr. Ross and the attorney general agreed to the terms
14 of the contract until I could have a higher court overrule it
15 and I could get something in paper so I wouldn't have to worry
16 about ever being assaulted or battered or seized by force of
17 arms or oppressed in a jail or fed malnourished food and the
18 like, I mean, who wouldn't do that? I've just spent four years
19 in prison.
20 Q. Mr. Focia, if you're allowed to go today, how do you intend
21 to report to supervised release?
22 A. Well, I would have to have the assistance of my family as
23 I've already become a burden to them because, number one, I
24 was imprisoned. I wasn't allowed to be a patriarch for my
25 family. I wasn't -- I've had my standing in the community

44
1 reduced because of these false allegations and because the
2 federal law was misapplied to them. So that's the only way I
3 can get there until I can sustain the assets from this contract
4 and from my work within the community to afford to buy a car.
5 So at this point --
6 Q. Mr. Focia, would you have reported to supervised release if
7 you did have a contract?
8 A. Absolutely. If I didn't believe --
9 MR. ROSS: Objection as to relevance.
10 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I understand your position, so I
11 don't know how much else you need to tell the Court. Do you
12 have anything in addition that you wish to present?
13 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I just go -- I don't have that
14 many more questions.
16 Mr. Ross, do you wish to cross-examine?
17 THE DEFENDANT: I mean I don't have that many more
18 questions I would like to ask.
19 THE COURT: Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood. What
20 questions do you wish to ask?
22 Q. Mr. Focia, have you ever not fulfilled any obligations that
23 you had?
24 A. No. I've always tried to, in good faith and clean hands,
25 fulfill all the obligations I've had. And if I have notice and

45
1 I believe that I have an obligation, then by all means I'll
2 report. Which confuses me because the judge said -- about --
3 talking about the -- saying that I had a unilateral contract,
4 that I had to have someone else if there was a tacit
5 acquiescence, well, isn't them doing a petition, isn't that --
6 THE COURT: Mr. Focia. Mr. Focia. That's not
7 testimony. Your job is to testify about facts.
8 THE DEFENDANT: Okay, then.
9 THE COURT: Not make argument.
11 Q. Then as a counsel, then, isn't -- with our discussion, when
12 they give you a petition --
13 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, are you finished --
14 THE DEFENDANT: No.
15 THE COURT: -- with your factual testimony?
16 THE DEFENDANT: No, not yet.
17 THE COURT: Okay. Then finish that.
18 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. All right.
19 Q. Mr. Focia, are you a citizen of the United States?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Do you have a right to contract?
22 A. I thought I had an unlimited right to contract under the
23 basic laws of nature and law of nations and the Constitution.
24 Q. What does the Constitution say about contracts?
25 THE COURT: Mr. Focia --

46
1 MR. ROSS: Objection.
2 THE COURT: That's irrelevant.
3 Q. Okay. Are you a signatory to the contract?
4 A. No.
5 Q. What does commercial law say about --
6 THE COURT: That's irrelevant, Mr. Focia.
7 Q. What does Bloom's contract --
8 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, that's irrelevant.
9 You've beat the contract horse to death, Mr. Focia. I
10 understand your position.
11 Q. Mr. Focia, did you get any halfway house required by law?
12 A. No.
15 Q. Mr. Focia, did you have any disciplinaries in prison?
16 A. No, I didn't. I didn't have any disciplinaries because when
17 in prison, you have a contract to act a certain way.
18 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I think I'm through testifying.
19 THE COURT: All right. I believe Mr. Ross indicated he
20 has no cross-examination. Is that correct, or do you? Do you
21 wish to cross-examine?
22 MR. ROSS: No cross-examination, Your Honor.
23 THE COURT: Thank you. All right, Mr. Focia. You may
24 return to counsel table.
25 THE DEFENDANT: I have another witness.

47
1 THE COURT: Well, go down there, and then you can ask
2 the Court to call that witness.
3 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, with regard to what's been
4 admitted as Defendant's Exhibit 1, I believe it contains
5 information that would need to be redacted in order to comply
6 with the electronic filing rules here.
7 THE COURT: Well, not only that. I believe the first
8 two exhibits that the government presented also contain
9 personally identifiable information. I, therefore, order that
10 all the exhibits be placed under seal.
11 MR. HAHN: Thank you, Your Honor. And I'm just going
12 to hand all three exhibits to the --
13 THE COURT: Very well. Thank you, Mr. Hahn.
14 All right, Mr. Focia. Who do you wish to call?
15 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. At this time I'd like to call
16 Jonathan Ross.
17 THE COURT: For what purpose?
18 THE DEFENDANT: For the purpose of -- that he was a
19 recipient of the contract by certified mail on three different
20 occasions, and that there's evidence that he had a duty and
21 obligation to respond.
22 THE COURT: Well, you have testified that you sent them
23 by certified mail. I believe you. But to the extent that any
24 further evidence about that matter is necessary, I find that
25 your position, which I understand as a matter of fact, is not as

48
1 a matter of law well taken. You cannot unilaterally create a
2 contract. You cannot demand that somebody respond to you. So
3 therefore, I will not allow Mr. Ross to testify.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I'm going to object. And here's
5 the grounds I object to, Judge. And this is where I have no
6 understanding of it. Because I wasn't a signatory towards
7 any -- I wasn't a signatory -- I wasn't a signatory towards the
8 Constitution. I wasn't a signatory towards any of the law. And
9 when they put a petition in court, that's not a unilateral
10 contract. How am I obligated to that? That's just the same as
11 an obligation. That's a contract. And I'm not a signatory on
12 that when I was charged with this law.
13 THE COURT: Your objection is noted. It's overruled.
14 MR. ROSS: Your Honor.
15 THE COURT: Yes, Mr. Ross.
16 MR. ROSS: For purposes of the record, an additional
17 basis for refusing the defendant's request that a government
18 employee testify is he's failed to comply with the federal
19 regulations related to asking an employee of the Department of
20 Justice testify about a matter within the course of that --
21 THE COURT: I understand.
23 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I would object to that,
24 because --
25 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I asked you if there's anything

49
1 else that you wish to present.
2 THE DEFENDANT: Yes. I would like to call Tracey
3 Smoker.
4 THE COURT: For what purpose?
5 THE DEFENDANT: To corroborate my belief system that I
6 had a contract and that I had no obligation to report to
7 supervision.
8 THE COURT: Mr. Focia, I don't doubt that you have that
9 belief system. There's no need for that witness.
10 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Well, I would object to that.
11 THE COURT: You may. And your objection is noted and
12 overruled.
13 MR. HAHN: And, Your Honor, by way of an offer of
14 proof, we would just say that I believe that probably her
15 testimony would be fairly similar to his testimony.
18 THE DEFENDANT: Well, other than -- I'd like to be
19 able to -- that you've already ruled -- I objected about
20 Jonathan Ross not being able to be cross-examined regarding the
21 contract.
22 THE COURT: You've already done that.
23 THE DEFENDANT: I believe that's going to -- I believe
24 that's it at this point in time.
25 THE COURT: All right. The Court finds that there's

50
1 probable cause to believe that Mr. Focia has violated the
2 conditions of his supervised release.
3 Mr. Focia, do you have any evidence to present
4 concerning whether you should be released?
5 THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
6 THE COURT: What is it?
8 MR. HAHN: If I could just have one moment, Your Honor.
11 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I would ask that the testimony
12 where I agree that I would show up to supervised release, and I
13 would do it until I got a higher court order that annulled or
14 amended it based on the contract -- and until that's done, I
15 would be happy to report on the contract and have that that I
16 testified --
17 THE COURT: And I heard your testimony, and I took it
18 for that purpose. And I understand what you say, that you
19 will -- would report.
20 THE DEFENDANT: And that some of the questions I didn't
21 finish would show that I always fulfill the obligations --
22 THE COURT: You testified to that.
23 THE DEFENDANT: -- and contracts to that. And the
24 witness that I have, Tracey Smoker, will testify to -- will give
25 testimony to whether or not I'm -- I would also follow a

51
1 contract by the straight letter of the law, as I always impress
2 upon her and everyone that I talk with.
3 THE COURT: And I will accept that as an offer of proof
4 as to what she would testify about. Anything else?
5 THE DEFENDANT: That she would testify that I would
6 comply with anything with supervision until I got a higher court
7 ruling.
9 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I can't think of anything at
10 this time.
11 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Ross, anything you wish to
12 present?
13 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, it's my understanding that it's
14 the defendant's burden --
15 THE COURT: It is.
16 MR. ROSS: -- on detention. With that in mind, the
17 government -- based on the defendant's absent -- failure to
18 present any material on this issue, the government has no --
20 MR. HAHN: Your Honor, I would like to note that he did
21 present materials. And we just want to be clear, and I think
22 the Court did take his testimony earlier incorporated in his
23 request.
24 THE COURT: I did indeed.
25 MR. HAHN: So there is actually evidence.

52
1 THE COURT: I understood what he said. There is
2 evidence.
4 THE COURT: He did present evidence.
5 MR. ROSS: Your Honor, may Mr. Hahn and I approach?
6 THE COURT: Yes.
7 MR. ROSS: Thank you.
10 THE COURT: By Mr. Focia's testimony, he admitted that
11 he did not report as required following his release from the
12 Bureau of Prisons. He based that on his belief about his
13 contract and his view of contracts, that he did not have to
14 report.
15 That position is not well taken as a matter of law. He
16 was under an order of the Court to report. That is not
17 contractually affected in any way.
18 Consequently, Mr. Focia, the Court finds that there's
19 probable cause to believe that you have violated a condition of
20 your release. I further find that you have not presented the
21 necessary clear and convincing evidence to demonstrate that you
22 should be released pending a final hearing, and I will order
23 that you be held in custody pending that final hearing.
24 We are adjourned.
25 MR. HAHN: Your Honor, if I could just let you know

53
1 that we were able to resolve with Mr. Gordon that Mr. Focia will
2 be allowed to keep his glasses while he's at the jail.
3 THE COURT: Yes. Thank you. I appreciate you
4 reminding me about that.
5 THE DEFENDANT: I also have -- I also have filings for
6 the Court at this time that I need to file. So should I have --
7 THE COURT: You can get Mr. Hahn to assist you with
8 that so we can use the electronic system.
9 MR. HAHN: I'll go ahead and put a cover letter on
10 them, Your Honor, and I'll e-file them.
11 THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Hahn. Mr. Hahn, the Court
12 appreciates your assistance this morning.
14 THE COURT: We are adjourned.
15 (Proceedings concluded at 11:14 a.m.)
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1 COURT REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
2 I certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript
3 to the best of my ability from the official sound recording of
4 proceedings in the above-entitled matter.
5 This 7th day of June, 2019.
7 /s/ Patricia G. Starkie

Registered Diplomate Reporter
8 Certified Realtime Reporter
Official Court Reporter
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1

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

6 vs. CASE NO.: 2:15cr17-MHT

7 MICHAEL ALBERT FOCIA,

10 HEARING ON PETITION FOR

11 REVOCATION OF SUPERVISED RELEASE

13 BEFORE THE HONORABLE CHARLES S. COODY, UNITED STATES

14 MAGISTRATE JUDGE, at Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday,

15 November 29, 2018, commencing at 9:58 a.m.

17 FOR THE GOVERNMENT: Mr. Jonathan S. Ross

20 FOR THE DEFENDANT: Mr. Michael Albert Focia

PATRICIA G. STARKIE, RDR, CRR, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

3 DIRECT BY MR. ROSS 14

8 (The following proceedings were heard before the Honorable

9 Charles S. Coody, United States Magistrate Judge, at

10 Montgomery, Alabama, on Wednesday, November 29, 2018,

11 commencing at 9:58 a.m.)

12 THE COURT: ... court this morning is in United States

13 versus Focia, 2015 criminal 17.

14 Good morning, Mr. Focia.

15 THE DEFENDANT: Good morning. And may I address the

16 Court before we begin?

17 THE COURT: You may.

18 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Just want to make it clear

19 that -- a couple of things.

20 Number one, I would request an in camera hearing

21 because of privileged information that's exempt from public

22 disclosure for national security reasons, national security

23 directives, and other matters. That's the first thing.

24 THE COURT: That motion is denied.

25 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. Let the record reflect that it's

PATRICIA G. STARKIE, RDR, CRR, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

2 The next thing I want to say is that I am here after

3 being assault, battered, seized by force of arms, kidnapped,

4 imprisoned, falsely imprisoned, for no crime at all. So I'm

5 here under special limited appearance to address this Court

6 regarding the matter of Michael Albert Focia, who I am the

7 creditor, secured party, grantor, grantee, executor of the --

8 occupant of the executor office, and authorized representative

11 So as a special limited appearance, I would address the

13 crime at all. I've been without my reading glasses, without

14 access to the courts, without the ability to petition the court

15 for redress of grievances in those nine days. I've been held

16 without any pencil or paper or stamps or envelopes to write

18 When this Court failed to summons me properly under

19 4.1(e), I requested it to be delivered to me, and there was no

21 The next thing I have a problem with is that I

22 addressed the Court on the initial hearing I had, and I demanded

24 me with, and it didn't present me with any documents. And at

25 that time, I had no eyeglasses. I didn't get my eyeglasses

PATRICIA G. STARKIE, RDR, CRR, OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

1 until just now, this morning. And --

2 THE COURT: Let me interrupt you one second. Have you

3 received a copy of the petition?

4 THE DEFENDANT: I just received that yesterday or --

5 THE COURT: All right. So you have received --

6 THE DEFENDANT: Or the day --

7 MR. HAHN: I gave it to you.

8 THE DEFENDANT: We got it Tuesday.

9 THE COURT: All right. So contrary to what you just

10 said, you have received a copy of the petition.

11 THE DEFENDANT: That was the first time I received it,