A SACRED AND CONSTITUTIONAL SUMMONS TO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Suspend–Toss Trump v. Barbara: Moratorium Until National Constitutional Enlightenment, Reconciliation, and Healing
To the Honorable Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States:
Identification and Purpose
As a law enforcement officer identifies himself at the beginning of an investigation in order to establish authority, purpose, and cooperation, so I identify myself at the outset of this summons.
My name is Ted Hayes, publicly known as Mr. Patriot. I appear before this Court as a citizen witness, founder of Justiceville, student of the Reconstruction Congress and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, advocate for the descendants of America’s former chattel slaves, and one who believes that all earthly institutions ultimately stand accountable before Almighty GOD, the Supreme Judge of Heaven and Earth.
I write neither in hostility nor in contempt. I write in the spirit of warning and mercy. I write as one attempting to understand the historical record, to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and to place before the nation a question that I believe reaches beyond politics, beyond party, and beyond the ordinary boundaries of constitutional debate.
The Courtroom Above Every Courtroom
The controversy presently before this Court in Trump v. Barbara is often described as an immigration matter, a constitutional dispute, or a political disagreement concerning the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Yet beneath those visible questions lies a deeper inquiry that reaches into the foundations of the Republic itself.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Amendments, and the federal remedial legislation enacted in the aftermath of slavery and Civil War did not emerge from abstract legal theory. They emerged from one of the greatest moral crises in American history. They emerged from bondage, emancipation, sacrifice, bloodshed, and a national determination that those who had endured generations of chattel slavery should finally be identified, protected, vindicated, and secured in their civil and political status.
For that reason, before the nation determines who may properly claim the benefits of those measures, it seems both reasonable and necessary to ask whom Congress originally sought to identify, protect, vindicate, and restore. The answer to that question is not merely historical. It may be foundational.
History is not merely US history. Exceptional, US history is His Story with the chattel slave children et al at its center with HIM.
Whether one approaches that statement as theology, philosophy, or moral reflection, it reminds us that nations are often judged not only by their power but by their willingness to confront unfinished obligations and unresolved questions of justice.
The Lock and the Treasure Chest
For many decades, America has devoted enormous attention to the lock while paying comparatively little attention to the treasure chest.
The Fourteenth Amendment has become the lock. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 remains the treasure chest. The nation has debated the language of the Amendment while often giving far less attention to the remedial legislation that preceded it, informed it, and helped give rise to it.
When a physician treats the wrong patient, even the proper medicine may produce harmful consequences. Likewise, if a nation proceeds without first identifying the original injury, the original patient, and the original remedy, confusion naturally follows.
It is for this reason that I respectfully urge this Court to suspend, toss, or otherwise pause Trump v. Barbara through what I have termed the “Suspend–Toss Trump v. Barbara: Moratorium Until…” initiative. This proposal seeks neither permanent delay nor avoidance of constitutional responsibility. Rather, it seeks a temporary national period of constitutional education, historical examination, public enlightenment, and civic reflection concerning federal citizenship, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Congress, and the identity of the original beneficiaries of those remedial measures.
At the same time, I am calling upon President Trump to temporarily withdraw the case, upon the ACLU and NAACP to support this educational effort, and upon the Congress of the United States to facilitate a nationwide examination of these foundational questions before a final determination is rendered.
Mercy Before Judgment
This request is not made in anger. It is made in mercy.
The Declaration of Independence itself appeals to the Supreme Judge of the World. Thomas Jefferson warned that he trembled for his country when he reflected on the fact that GOD is just. Abraham Lincoln, reflecting upon the national tragedy of slavery and Civil War, spoke openly of divine judgment and national accountability. Neither man suggested that America stood beyond moral scrutiny. Both understood that there exists a standard above political power and beyond human institutions.
The Scriptures declare that justice and judgment are the habitation of GOD’s throne, while mercy and truth go before His face. The order is important. Justice and judgment establish the throne, but mercy and truth prepare the way.
The purpose of the proposed Moratorium is not to prevent judgment. It is to permit mercy and truth to go before judgment. It seeks to create space for learning before deciding, understanding before dividing, and examination before irreversible action.
A Practical Expression of Second Chronicles 7:14
For generations, Americans have quoted the familiar words of Second Chronicles 7:14. Churches have preached them. Public leaders have cited them. Citizens have prayed for them. Yet a practical question remains.
How does an entire nation humble itself? How does a nation examine itself? How do people seek healing concerning matters they may never have fully understood?
The proposed National Moratorium offers one possible answer. A people cannot repent of what it refuses to examine. People cannot correct what they refuse to identify. A people cannot heal wounds it refuses to acknowledge. The process of constitutional education, historical inquiry, public discussion, and civic reflection envisioned by this Moratorium provides a peaceful mechanism through which Americans may collectively examine history, law, citizenship, duty, responsibility, and reconciliation before a final judicial determination is imposed.
In this respect, the Moratorium may represent one of the most practical modern expressions of the principle contained in Second Chronicles 7:14. It creates an opportunity for humility before decision, learning before judgment, and understanding before conflict.
Surely Christians can appreciate such an effort. Surely Jews, whose traditions contain profound teachings concerning remembrance, repentance, covenant responsibility, justice, and national self-examination, can appreciate such an effort. Surely Americans of every faith and political persuasion can recognize the wisdom of understanding a matter before making a permanent decision.
An Opportunity for Wisdom
The Court now stands before a unique opportunity. It may proceed immediately toward judgment, or it may create the conditions for greater national understanding. This choice is wider than a single case. It concerns whether America will once again examine its foundations before building further upon them.
The attached materials are respectfully submitted in support of this request and provide additional constitutional, historical, civic, moral, and spiritual reasoning concerning the proposed Moratorium and the original federal citizenship remedy established by Congress following the Civil War. They are offered not as weapons against the Court, but as evidence for consideration.
A Summons Wrapped in Mercy
This letter is not offered as a threat. It is offered as a summons. It is not offered as an act of hostility. It is offered as an invitation to reflection. It is not judgment without mercy. It is mercy before judgment.
May this Court, and all institutions of the Republic, proceed with wisdom before Heaven, history, and the American people. May truth be examined fully, justice be pursued faithfully, mercy be extended generously, and peace be preserved wherever possible.
Also, as you know, I have given you my Amicus Curiae Brief, and also see my online book, “The Primary Beneficiaries Doctrine: The Smoking Gun Evidence.
Respectfully submitted,
Ted Hayes
Mr. Patriot
Founder, Justiceville
Advocate for Constitutional Education, National Reconciliation, and the Original Federal Citizenship Remedy