Arthur Richard Marple, commonly known as Richard Marple or simply Dick Marple (March 4, 1931 — December 13, 2019), was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

from the town of Hooksett. He served six terms in that body prior to his death in December 2019. He was succeeded by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Kathleen Martins Kathleen Martins is an American adjunct professor, former teacher and social worker from Hooksett, New Hampshire, who served from March 2020 to January 2021 as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, winning a special election to r ...

in a January 2020

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

. Marple repeatedly introduced legislation recognizing and seeking to enforce various

pseudolaw Pseudolaw consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that are claimed to be based on accepted law or legal doctrine A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, Procedural law, procedural steps, or Test (law), test, often established throug ...

arguments of the

sovereign citizen ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

movement. In 2016, Marple was charged with driving with a suspended license, after being pulled over in 2015. In a long rant he delivered directly to the judge presiding over his case, Kristin Spath, Marple argued a number of sovereign citizen claims, stating that he was present "under threat, duress and coercion" as the judge and the court system had no jurisdiction. Furthermore, Marple claimed that the state did not have the authority to require licenses to drive, describing vehicles as "consumer goods." Nevertheless, Marple demanded his license be returned to him, describing the judge's refusal to do so as

criminal conversion Criminal conversion is a crime, limited to parts of common law systems outside England and Wales, of exerting unauthorized use or control of someone else's property, at a minimum personal property, but in some jurisdictions also applying to types ...

. Marple also recommended the judge

recuse Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...

herself from his case. Following additional outbursts from Marple, Spath walked out of the courtroom. Marple was found

guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...

of the charge against him and ordered to pay a fine of $310.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marple, Richard 1931 deaths 2019 deaths 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Sovereign citizen movement individuals People from Hooksett, New Hampshire