‘Sovereign Citizens’ – What you should know about them and the ‘pseudo law’ they practice

Candid Conversation with The Hon Justice Michelle Quigley KC

Hosted by Prof Vin Massaro

The demise of self- styled ‘sovereign citizen’ Dezi Freeman after evading capture by hiding out in remote north east Victoria for more than 7 months has provided a tangible example of the sad and deadly impact of the sovereign citizen ideology.
Justice Michelle Quigley, like many who work in our judicial, law enforcement and public administration sectors, has come face to face with adherents of the ‘sovereign citizen’ ideology. Whilst the ideology was not unknown in Australia before the COVID pandemic, (Prince Leonard of Hutt River, was an earlier and less deadly adherent) there has been an appreciable upturn since 2020 in individuals sprouting the ‘pseudo-law’ concepts relied upon by  sovereign citizens in the Courts,  and in their opposition to government and law enforcement actions and decisions.
In this presentation, Justice Quigley will provide a brief  history of the  sovereign citizen movement in Australia, explain its key notions, explore its rise in notoriety in more recent times and the effect the behaviour of its pseudo-law adherents is having on the Courts, law enforcement and local government as these entities attempt to respond to the sovereign citizen ‘Straw Man’ and his reliance on the Magna Carta and other ancient texts.
 

The Honourable Justice Michelle Quigley KC is a long-term member of Melbourne Forum, having served as a committee member prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2017. She previously practiced as a barrister at the Victorian Bar for 30 years, specialising in administrative and public law with a focus on planning and environmental law. Between 2018 and 2023 she was President of VCAT, a period which traversed the COVID  pandemic and which provided  a number of challenges and opportunities for  that jurisdiction. She was also a member of the Courts Council, the Judicial Commission and the Judicial College. She currently sits in the Common Law Division of the Supreme Court, where the diversity of litigants is a hallmark. 

Please join us for what will be a thought-provoking conversation that sheds light on a movement increasingly challenging the rule of law and public institutions across Australia.