It all began when a young woman, Carolyn Worsley, from Tarboro, north Carolina decided not to open her mouth, according to Dr. Robert Brock, because she refused to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States of America. This made her the perfect case.

"I’m not that bold. If they [the courts] ask me for my name, I’ll give it," Brock said. But this young woman, Carolyn Worsley, basically said, "I’m not subject to your jurisdiction," and did not submit. Because of this, she became the perfect "test case." Worsley was indicted on two counts of filing false claims against the United States Government.

According to a press release from the office of Janice McKenzie Cole of the United States Attorney’s Office, Worsley filed her 1994 and 1995 Federal Income Tax Returns knowing that they contained fraudulent losses from self-employed businesses. The amounts, which could ultimately cost her up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 and a supervised release term of three years, were $3,052 for 1994 and $3,319 for 1995. Worsley was indicted (although the jury Foreman failed to sign the paperwork) on April 3 and subsequently arrested on April 9 and held without bond until April 14.

Brock submitted a "Notice to the Courts" on her behalf which basically stated that because Worsley was a U.S. slave descendant [and not a citizen of the United States] based on the fact that there has never been mutuality (or coming to a mutual agreement with the former slaves) and domicile (persons who were taken from Africa by force who never agreed to become residents of the United States of America); although according to the New Standard Encyclopedia, the 14th Amendment that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside," does not apply to her, because of the prior disagreements; therefore, the United States has no jurisdiction over her.

What made this case different, according to Brock, was that Worsley, "refused to submit; she didn’t answer any of their questions. Not a single one." She didn’t even tell them her name.

In an order issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina Eastern Division, the court found the issue to be "frivolous and without merit," and cited several cases where courts have uniformly rejected the argument that individuals who are "freeborn" or "natural individuals" are not subject to taxation.

In the transcript of a hearing held on Monday, July 7, Worsley did not verbally answer any questions, and Brock asserted that there were two different approaches that could be taken in the case. One was that the United States lacked jurisdiction over Worsley, which Brock said that he provided the Court and to the United States Attorney’s Office, and the other was that she was arrested illegally. Brock requested that the court rule on the issue of jurisdiction. The judge set her hearing for August 25 at 9 A.M.

In the meantime, the battle lines were being drawn. On Monday, August 18 the Court ruled that it did, in fact, have jurisdiction over Worsley; however, because Brock did not receive the notice until the Friday prior to the Monday trial, he was forced to file an Emergency Writ of Prohibition with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia on Monday the 25th to stop the proceedings. In his writ, Brock cited several areas including the fact that the United States and the Internal Revenue Service did not respond to the motion of Judicial Notice challenging jurisdiction as a mater of right under Rule 201(e)(f) which erroneously stated that the United States had responded; based on that lack of responses, he challenged the ORDER written August 20; and he claimed that Worsley was forced to sign a release to stay out of jail and cited an excessive bond amount.

While Brock was filing the writ in Virginia, outside of the courthouse in Greensboro, protestors marched to show their disapproval of the treatment that Worsley was receiving.

In November, Brock received an Unpublished Opinion of three of the Appeals Court Justices which, according to Brock, continued to disregard facts. On December 1, Brock filed a petition for a Rehearing in Banc (which would bring all 10 justices together to hear the case). The petition was denied "as no member of this court or the panel requests a poll on the suggestion for rehearing in banc."

Brock will visit Greenville, North Carolina on Saturday, February 21 at 3 P.M. to discuss Reparations and Taxation. The lecture will be held at the DuBois Center, 200 Hooker Road in Greenville.

The Self Determination Committee will also hold a National Black Tax and Reparation Conference in Washington, D. C., on Thursday, April 2 at the Metropolitan AME Church, 1518 M. Street. Brock wants Blacks from across the country to fill this 2,000 seat sanctuary. Registration will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and a $20 registration donation is appreciated. For more information on the conference, call (202) 544-5366.

Anyone interested in making contributions to the Worsley Defense Fund may feel free to do so as her legal fees are anticipated to reach between $50,000 and $75,000. Donations may be sent to The Worsley Defense Fund, P.O. Box 15288, Washington, D.C. 20003.