Sovereigns, Freemen, and Desperate Souls: Towards a Rigorous Understanding of Pseudolitigation Tactics in United States Courts

Abstract

In recent years, American courts have seen a significant increase in legal filings displaying unusual markings and arguing groundless legal theories. These so-called “pseudolegal” filings are the product of an organized network of amateur legal scholars and con artists who represent an ongoing threat to the justice system. They waste judicial time and resources and encourage abuse of Uniform Commercial Code financing statements for the purpose of harassing others. This Note argues that, in order to combat pseudolaw, courts should make more aggressive use of available gatekeeping tools to screen out these filings. To effectively accomplish this task, courts will need to avail themselves of academic resources that describe and categorize pseudolaw so that their personnel can quickly and accurately distinguish pseudolegal filings from those filed by honest, yet unsophisticated, pro se litigants.