Raw Milk can get you into Hot Water

8/6/2019 Raw Milk can get you into Hot Water

1/7

ThursdayMay 12, 2011

9:03 AM

The scene of the crime

Could raw milk get you in hotwater?

By Jerri Cook

Countryside Staff

Do you know what a strict liability law is? If you're a homesteader, youshould, because not knowing could lead to your arrest andimprisonment, especially if you sell soap, produce, crafts, cheese, oroperate a CSA, herdshare, or buying club. The number of federal,state, and municipal strict liability laws is growing exponentially asmore and more people, unable to find work in the private sector, turnto the government for employment.

Strict liability laws, unlike other criminal statutes, don't require anyintent, or fault, on your part. It doesn't matter if you didn't mean to

break the law. It doesn't matter if you never even heard of the lawyou're accused of breaking. The prosecutor doesn't have to prove youhad intent. They only have to prove you committed the banned act.

Not only do you not have to be aware of the strict liability statute,neither does the government. In fact, there are so many federal strictliability laws that not even the FBI knows for sure how many there are.Columbia law professor John Coffee estimates that there are at least300,000 strict liability laws that the FBI can use to prosecute citizens,and they use them every chance they get. Not included in ProfessorCoffee's estimate are state and municipal strict liability laws, which

when added to the federal strict liability laws, could reach over amillion.

Lavrentiy Beria, the chief of Stalin's murderous secret police oncesaid, "Show me the man, and I'll find you the crime." If he were alivetoday, Mr. Beria would love America's strict liability laws. Withhundreds of thousands to choose from, he could throw a rock and hitone that would send a political enemy or dissident to the gulag for along time.

In their book One Nation Under Arrest: How Crazy Laws, RogueProsecutors, and Activis Judges Threaten Your Liberty, Brian Walsh

More Great

Backyard

Dairy Goat

sheep! Ma

Custo

Searc


2/7

and Hans von Spakovsky lay out the disturbing trend of abuse bygovernment employees and the devastating effect it has on Americanfamilies. The book details the cruel and unjust punishment dealt out toordinary citizens, with no previous criminal record, for violating federalstrict liability laws that no one except government bureaucrats haveever heard of. That's because these laws aren't passed by the state orfederal legislature; they are enacted by government employees.

Doing time

George Norris is a gardener with a passion for orchids. He's beenimporting non-hybrid orchids since 1977 when he quit his constructionob to pursue his passion fulltime. He did well, and by the 1990s hisorchid importing business was pulling in over $200,000 a year. He andhis wife, Kathy, travelled the world, meeting others who sharedGeorge's passion for the exotic plants. The people they met quicklybecame like family, and the Norris's became well-known and belovedmembers of the orchid-trading community.

George and Kathy became close with one family from Peru, whomthey had met on an orchid-hunting tripManuel Arias Silva and hisfamily. Manuel's sons, Juan and Manolo, were badly burned in a firewhen they were toddlers. George and Kathy Norris took the boys intotheir care and arranged for a plastic surgeon at Baylor College ofMedicine and the facility there to donate their services to reconstructthe boys' mangled hands and scarred faces.

The boys spent the better part of a year with George and Kathy from1993-1994. So, how did a man with a heart as big as George Norris'swind up doing 18 months of hard time in a federal penitentiary? Heviolated a strict liability law that neither he, nor the other orchidimporter, knew existed.

The raid

On October 28, 2003 at 10:00 in the morning, three black pick-uptrucks pulled into the Norris's driveway. Six federal agents, clad inblack body armor and armed with automatic weapons surrounded thehome. They were inside in less than 10 seconds.

The lead agent told George they were executing a search warrant, butwouldn't say for what. They ordered George to sit at his kitchen tablewhile they ransacked the home, pulling out dresser drawers, including

Kathy Norris's underwear drawer. "I don't know why they would wantto know what kind of underwear I had," Kathy says.

After the house was trashed, one of the agents handed George a copyof the search warrant, but wouldn't allow him to get his readingglasses so he could see what it said. One of the agents read him hisMiranda rights, and then told him he wasn't being charged withanything just yet, nor was he under arrest.

They searched his greenhouse, asking which orchids he grew andwhich were collected from the wild. They confiscated all of his mail,

financial records (including his personal checkbook), his computer,

Walnut CreLawyerNeal KuvarFree EvaluaMillions insettlementsexp18004injury.co

ExperienceAttorneysAccused ofCriminal Of(800) 862-7Consultatiowww.LawyerC

Expert CrimLawyersPayment P

Available. CNow at (5107339, 24/7/www.ToCross.

California FirmSpecializingDefective PFor 33 Yea98.6% SuccRate!www.MichaelS

Ads by Goog

Arrest Warra

Criminal Law

Search War

State Laws


3/7

family photo albums, and just about everything else that wasn't naileddown, leaving George with a receipt for 37 boxes of his property.

To make matters worse, Kathy had called home to talk to Georgeduring the raid. When the federal agent who answered refused to lether talk to her husband or tell her what was going on, she panickedand raced home.

When they were finally able to collect their wits long enough to read

the warrant, they found a copy of an email that an Ecuadorian orchidtrader had sent to George and several other orchid growers. The manhad offered to have his mother "smuggle" orchids into the U.S. in hersuitcase. George had replied that he wouldn't accept any plants thatweren't accompanied by the required legal documents. He would laterproduce the email, believing it would exonerate him. It didn't.

The sting

A few weeks before the raid, a new customer contacted George. Hewanted to order some high-priced orchids. The customer specificallyrequested that the Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies(CITES) paperwork be included with the order. It was anunusual request. Because the USDA takes possession of thepaperwork at the port of entry, unless the shipping broker makes acopy, the customer doesn't get one. Norris rarely received thepaperwork with the plants, nor did any dealer in the U.S.

Chalking the whole thing up to the misunderstanding of a novicegrower, Norris ordered the plants from his South American supplierand shipped them to the customer. A few days after receiving theplants, the customer emailed George and again asked about thepaperwork.

George explained to him that the USDA had the paperwork, and thecustomer should contact them to get a copy.

The customer placed another order for orchids a few months later,again asking for the paperwork. Once again, George shipped theplants, explaining that the USDA took the permits at the time of entryinto the country, and the only way to get a copy was to contact themdirectly. He thought that was the end of it.

Unknown to Norris, the buyer in these transactions was a Fish and

Wildlife Service agent. Because of the growing popularity of exoticorchids, the government had taken an interest in the plants. The twotransactions were all they needed for the raid. What law did Norrisbreak? He followed the USDA's regulations to the letter. However, theFish and Wildlife Service has their own set of strict liability laws. Justbecause you follow the rules of one government agency, it doesn't letyou off the hook as far as other government agencies are concerned.The Fish and Wildlife Service has a law that requires the originaldocuments that the USDA takes at the port of entry be shipped withthe plants to the customer, even though the documents are already inthe possession of another government agency which doesn't require

brokers to keep a copy. Busted.

MS Outloo- $59.99Full GenuinLimited timeOrder todaywww.CostCapt

WealthPLAA law practdedicated tplanning & preservatiowww.wealthPL

WrongfulTerminatioExperienceMillionsRecoveredConsultatio888-914-69www.carterlaw

Probate LaEstate Planand AdminiTrusts, WillPowers of ALynnDeanLaw


4/7

After spending their life's savings on George's defense, the Norris'swere broke. Two years, and nearly a half-million dollars later, Georgegave up and pleaded guilty, hoping he would only get probation.Instead, the 68-year-old got 18-months of hard time; over two-monthsof that was served in solitary confinement, all because he violated agovernment regulation that no one had ever heard of.

Breaking the law

Are you breaking a law? David Gumpert, the author of The Raw MilkRevolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights(Chelsea Green, 2009), warns producers and consumers alike that thegrowing bureaucracy threatens to make criminals out of anyone whounknowingly runs afoul of the thousands of strict liability food lawslike Pennsylvania farmer Dan Allyger, whose home was raided byagents at 5:00 in the morning on April 20, 2010. What was the crimehe was suspected of committing? According to the FDA's Philadelphiaoffice, Allyger was," [...] causing to be delivered into interstatecommerce, selling or otherwise distributing raw milk in final packageform for human consumption, such distribution is a violation of thePublic Health Service (PHS) Act, Title 42 United States Code, Section264(a), and the implementing regulation codified in Title 21, Code ofFederal Regulations (CFR), Section 1240.61(a)." That's right, theFDA, a federal agency, is now getting in on the raw milk ban.Apparently, individual states haven't been tough enough, and theUSDA has no federal law banning the sale of raw milk, so now theFDA has to step in and prevent consumers from obtaining raw milk.

In June of 2010, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture,accompanied by armed agents, raided the Traditional FoodsWarehouse, seizing contraband (food) and shutting them down. Thestore, a private food club specializing in locally-produced foods, was

wildly popular among Minneapolis consumers. But, they didn't complywith some regulation written by some government bureaucrat.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture also raided the home of anindividual who had allowed a farmer to park in his driveway. Thefarmer then sold raw milk to one of the homeowner's neighbors. Theagents showed up, dressed to the teeth in combat gear, andconfiscated the homeowner's computers, personal records, andscores of other property, even though the homeowner didn't buy orconsume any of the contraband.

Sharon Palmer, who runs a CSA in Ventura County, California, hasbeen raided three times in the last two years. The latest raid,compliments of the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Ventura CountySheriff, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, lastedfor five hours. They took the milk she feeds her chickens. They took allof her computers, including her 12-year-old daughter's schoolcomputer. Why? Apparently the labels on her handmade artisan goatcheese aren't approved by the State, so the Los Angeles DistrictAttorney issued an open-ended warrant for her farm.

Never heard of an open-ended warrant? Neither has attorney PeterKennedy, Esq., President of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense


5/7

Fund (FCLDF). "What's going on in California is over the top," heexplains. "They're supposed to get a new one each time, not just keepcoming back on an 18-month-old warrant. This is just dangerousprecedent, and farmers and consumers need to be worried. It's goingto get worse."

The FCLDF offers some tips to homesteaders who make a living fromtheir land. When presented with a warrant or approached by an officialof any agency:

You have the right to receive a copy of the warrant. It is your right to stay silent, and you give up your rights when

you answer. It is your right to ask any non-related permit oversight official to

leave immediately, and they are required to do so unless theycarry a warrant to carry out specific duties and only thosespecifically and clearly outlined in the warrant.

It is your right to video tape and record the events. It is your right to have family, neighbors, customers be witnesses

as long as you and they do not interfere in any way with thesearch warrant.

You have the right to receive an "inventory" of anything that isseized.

Read the warrant! Call the Fund lawyer before the search begins. 1-800-867-5891

(24/7) Present the Public Official Questionnaire (available at

www.farmtoconsumer.org/farm-raids.html) and request that it befilled out and signed by all official persons present, for yourrecords.

Monitor where the search is conducted. Tell them to stop if theyare entering areas outside of the warrant specifications.

Monitor how the search is conducted. For instance, if the use offorce is not called for in the search warrant, no force can be usedto cut off locks or break down doors.

Learn more about the increasing number of farm raids and how toprotect yourself at www.farmtoconsumer.org.

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

David Gumpert advises small-scale farmers and homesteaders toprepare for a raid in the same manner you would prepare for severe

weather events or a fire. "Decide in advance who will handle the videocamera, who will collect business cards or take down the names of allagents, and who will interact with the regulators. The regulators andpolice count on the element of surprise to sow confusion, and keepthe targets from responding intelligently."

Merle Dech, prominent Ohio criminal defense attorney and Fox Newscommentator adds, "If they come in with guns drawn, don't reach for acamera or anything else. They'll tell you to get on the ground with yourhands behind your head, or something similar. Do it. You don't want toget killed over food."


6/7

Merle also has some tips for sniffing out sting operations like the onesthat snagged George Norris and the others. "Beware of people youdon't know. Never sell anything to someone you haven't dealt with foryears, and then be careful. The police will try to make two buys. Onemight not be enough to convict you, so they'll do it twice." That'sexactly what happened to George Norris and the others, and it'sexactly what someone tried to do to me.

A while back, I received a phone call from a nice, older man who

wanted to know if he could buy some raw milk from us. Curious, Iasked him how he got our number. He replied, "Oh, I saw it in anadvertisement in the local paper last summer." That's interesting,because the number he called on was only 10-days old. I had just hadit installed in my home office so COUNTRYSIDE'S managing editorcould get a hold of me without the hassle of calling my home phone.

I thanked the gentleman for thinking of us, but declined to sell anymilk, citing the law against it in Wisconsin. I decided not to tell him thatthere was no way he saw the number in the paper months before.

The same gentleman called again a few weeks later, again wanting tobuy raw milk. When I again declined, he asked if he could get aTupperware container of manure for his wife's garden. This time Iwasn't so nice, telling him that unless one of us was a lawyer, theconversation was over. I promptly hung up. I'm not sure whose list I'mon, but I'm fairly certain I'm at the top of it.

Merle is an old friend from back in my college days. As we continuedour conversation about the increasing number of criminal food laws,he chuckled. "C'mon Jer, are we really talking about food?"

"Yes, we are really talking about food."

"This is ridiculous," he said. "Here's what you need to know. When thecops come storming in, the first thing they'll look for is records,anything that can tie you and anyone else to the residence. They'll gothrough your file cabinets, your underwear drawer and any place elsethey think you might have records. They'll seize your computers. Keepa backup up of your records on a separate hard drive."

Like Peter Kennedy, Merle admonishes people to keep quiet during araid, "Don't tell them anything. They'll yell at you, threaten you with allsorts of consequences if you don't talk, and out-and-out lie to you.

Keep your mouth shut. They'll also separate people. Don't panic, anddon't talk. It's just what they do."

A dozen eggs, a pound of butter, and a lawyer

As government agencies increase in size, they compete for funding.One way to ensure an agency's survival is for its members to produceresults, and seizing a boat load of food in an early morning raid on afamily farm is just the sort of result that pays off.

Everyone agreesthe more people the government hires, the more

regulations they will create and enforce. Farmers are an easy target.


7/7

Even those who jump through all the regulatory hoops aren't safe, andthere is no way for any one person to know about every singleregulation that might affect them. The only thing we can do is stand onprinciple, and hope the jack-booted thugs don't take a shot at us. Ifyou haven't already done so, visit the FCLDF's website and learn howto protect yourself. It couldn't hurt to contact a couple of localattorneys to see who might be able to advise you in case you findyourself staring down the barrel of an automatic weapon while trying tomilk your cows.

I leave you with this thought from C.S. Lewis: [A] tyranny sincerelyexercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Itwould be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotentmoral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep;his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment usfor our own good will torment us without end for they do so with theapproval of their own conscience.

Ask a Lawyer Online Now

12 Lawyers Are Online! Legal Answers Today: 345.Law.JustAnswer.com

| Home | Subscribe | Current Issue | Library | Past Issues | Bookstore || About Us | Contact Us | Address Change | Advertise in Countryside | FAQ | Links |

Copyright 1998 to present by Countryside & Small Stock Journal. All rights reserved.

Website designed and maintained by Oliver Del Signore.

Documents

Raw Milk can get you into Hot Water