United States v. James Dalton Bell
Opinion
Opinion
Hawkins, J.
Defendanb-Appellant James Dalton Bell (“Bell”) appeals his jury trial conviction and ten-year sentence for interstate stalking and using the facilities of interstate commerce for interstate stalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2261A and 2261A (2)(B)(i), alleging error in the handling of his efforts to obtain substitute counsel, the giving of certain jury instructions and sentencing. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1291 .
Facts & Procedural History
The proceedings at issue arise from Bell’s long and troubled history with the government and in particular the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”)- Bell first came to the attention of authorities in 1996 in connection with his Internet posting of home addresses of IRS employees laced with veiled harassment threats and the activities of the Multnomah County Common Law Court (“MCCLC”), a group of citizens with grievances against government officials. At an MCCLC meeting in early 1997, Bell distributed an essay entitled “Assassination Politics” in which he proposed the development of a system to solicit the killing of government employees using encrypted Internet messages. Bell also posted the essay online.