Posted on 11/25/2007 6:31:07 PM PST by joanie-f
How many times have we heard about government abuses of the right to own property going on in neighborhoods across America, in the form of the invoking of the right of ‘eminent domain’, and the corruption of other legal concepts? Kelo vs. New London is probably the most publicized of such unconstitutional atrocities, but similar atrocities occur daily across this country.
How many of us have attempted to help the victims of such abuses of power? I myself have done so no more than once or twice.
I ask any FReeper who happens upon this thread to take ten minutes of his or her day to read about one such abuse of power. In terms of land area, it is a small abuse, and it affects only two ordinary American citizens who wield no more power than you or I. But its ramifications are enormous. If we’re not going to decide to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the two relatively anonymous Americans I’d like to introduce to you, exactly when will we decide that it’s time to unite in revolt against the growing ‘privileged elite’ in this country, and the menace they represent to us all? The so-called legal/justice system is using all manner of wicked precedent to commit major, obscene private land grabs ... all such crimes tracing back to a desire for more wealth and power on the part of those who already wield more than you or I.
Before inserting the precious words ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ into the Declaration, our Founders seriously considered using the wording ‘life, liberty and property’ (as originated by John Locke). I believe the latter to be a more powerful representation of our inalienable rights, but apparently the modern American government/judicial system vehemently disagrees with either expression.
Don and Susie Kirlin own a vacant lot, worth roughly a million dollars in today’s market, on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado. They purchased it about twenty years ago with the idea of eventually building a home there. It is located just down the road from their current home, they walk by the land regularly, and they have been paying taxes on it faithfully for the past two decades.
Unfortunately for the Kirlins the couple that owns a home adjacent to their lot consists of a county judge, Richard McLean, and his wife, Edith Stevens, who is also an attorney. McLean and Stevens have been active, and powerful, in Boulder County politics for decades. It seems that this ambitious couple has been using a portion of the Kirlins’ land to occasionally hold their own private parties, and, in doing so, they have also created worn pathways through portions of that land.
It also would appear that these two believe that, if the Kirlins build a home on the land they purchased for just that reason, the view of the surrounding landscape from their own home would be diminished.
When the Kirlins attempted to build a fence on a portion of their vacant land before beginning construction on it, McLean and Stevens had a restraining order issued against them, stating that, since they had been using the land themselves for some time, they had become ‘attached’ to it and they are claiming it as their own. The restraining order was issued within a few hours of their request for it. Apparently the wheels of justice move at lighting speed, if the person requesting the moving has the right connections.
As a result, McLean and Stevens have invoked the doctrine of ‘adverse possession’, which allows a citizen to claim another’s property simply by virtue of using it for a specified period of time, in order to declare one third of the Kirlins’ land as their own. A Boulder judge has ordered the Kirlins to hand over to McLean and Stevens one-third of their land, which will result in their no longer owning sufficient land on which to construct not only their dream home but any home at all.
As if the preceding weren’t evidence in itself of unmitigated chutzpah, McLean and Stevens are not only claiming to ‘own’ a large portion of the land in question (without ever having paid a penny for it, or any of the taxes incumbent in its ownership), but they are also asking the court to rule that the Kirlins must pay any legal fees that they incur in order to achieve this particular theft.
Thus, as is becoming increasingly common in Amerika 2007, two people in power have decided to use a corrupt system to steal from someone else of lesser political stature -- in this case, out in the open, and without conscience or remorse.
Needless to say, the Kirlins are appealing the ruling (and amassing large, and no doubt growing, legal fees in the process). But I wouldn’t be taking any bets on their success. ‘Fighting city hall’ is fast becoming an empty phrase anymore, because the concepts of government of, by and for the people -- originally made possible by public servants who value individual rights more than government power -- is fast heading for extinction, as corruption, greed, and lust for power achieve a momentum that has become virtually relentless and unstoppable. Not to mention the fact that both the eighth (re: coveting) and tenth (re: stealing) of the Ten Commandments have essentially been declared null and void.
This case vividly portrays the battle between the average American citizen and our modern American 'ruling elite'. Yet too many Americans are more interested in the comfort of our couches, and the proximity of our remote controls, than we are in the plight of the likes of the Kirlins -- victims of a system gone awry.
Unless we Americans start giving a damn about the abuses that our neighbors suffer under tyrannical government dictates, those abuses will someday affect us, and there will be nobody left who can turn the tragedy around.
The only difference between appeasement and surrender is the passage of time.
Contact Information for Boulder, Colorado officials (and thanks, in advance, to all who avail themselves of this source of redress):
Cindy Domenico, Boulder County Commissioner
Ben Pearlman, Boulder County Commissioner
Will Toor, Boulder County Commissioner
Joan Fitzgerald, Colorado State Senator, District 16
Brandon Shaffer, Colorado State Senator, District 17
Ron Tupa, Colorado State Senator, District 18
Alice Madden, Colorado State Representative, District 10
Jack Pommer, Colorado State Representative, District 11
Paul Weissmann, Colorado State Representative, District 12
Claire Levy, Colorado State Representative, District 13
Dianne Primavera, Colorado State Representative, District 33
Resources:
Legal Landgrab Should Be Overturned on Appeal
Boulder Couple Accuses Former Judge, Mayor of Land Grab
Hard Feelings on Hardscrabble Drive
~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed
This was posted before as a news piece. There’s nothing political, or elitist about this. The Kirlins failed to protect their land for over 20 years and let the neighbors use it w/o protest and w/o even noting what went on there. It’s a case of adverse possession pure and simple.
Yeah, he and I are definitely simpatico. Have been ever since the first day we met a dozen years ago. That’s what happens when you base your views on the same Bible, the same history, and the same national founding principles.
Boulder County Commissioners and Colorado State Legislators
To whom it may concern,
I am writing you in reference to a situation on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado concerning Don and Susie Kirlin and the lot they have owned for 20 years and have faithfully paid taxes on.
Don and Susie own this lot, worth roughly a million dollars in today’s market, on the outskirts of Boulder. They purchased it about twenty years ago with the idea of eventually building a home there. It is located just down the road from their current home, they walk by the land regularly, and, to my understanding, they have been paying taxes on it faithfully the entire time.
Unfortunately for the Kirlins the couple that owns a home adjacent to their lot consists of a county judge, Richard McLean, and his wife, Edith Stevens, who is also an attorney. McLean and Stevens have been active, and powerful, in Boulder County politics for decades. It seems that this couple has been using a portion of the Kirlins’ land to occasionally hold their own private parties, and, in doing so, they have also created worn pathways through portions of that land.
It also would appear that these two believe that, if the Kirlins build a home on the land they purchased for just that reason, the view of the surrounding landscape from their own home would be diminished.
When the Kirlins attempted to build a fence on a portion of their vacant land before beginning construction on it, McLean and Stevens had a restraining order issued against them, stating that, since they had been using the land themselves for some time, they had become ‘attached’ to it and they are claiming it as their own. The restraining order was issued within a few hours of their request for it. Apparently the wheels of justice move at lighting speed, if the person requesting the moving has the right connections.
As a result, McLean and Stevens have invoked the doctrine of ‘adverse possession’, which allows a citizen to claim another’s property simply by virtue of using it for a specified period of time, in order to declare one third of the Kirlins’ land as their own. A Boulder judge has ordered the Kirlins to hand over to McLean and Stevens one-third of their land, which will result in their no longer owning sufficient land on which to construct not only their dream home but any home at all.
This is a travesty and an outrage, and should not be allowed to stand. It is nothing short of theft under the color and guise of law and, in my opinion, no honest judge should have ever entertained such a self-serving motion that clearly wrests and corrupts a law to the personal gain of these individuals.
Please use whatever influence and capabilities you may have under the law to ensure that this travesty is reversed and that the Kirlins are reinstated in full as the rightful and legal owners of thos property that they have bought and paid for and maintained for so many years.
I know I do not reside in your area, but I view this as an issue that should concern all Americans. If it can occur there, it can occur here, and as such, I intend to contact everyone I know and bring this issue to the attention of lawmakers, policy makers, government officials, and the media in an effort to get it the attention it deserves and to turn back what I consider to be an abject abuse of the system and travesty.
Sincerely,
Jeff Head
Emmett, Idaho
That we even have such a concept of "adverse possession" says volumes about the extreme depth to which this country's legal system has been corrupted.
Kiss it all goodbye, the rule of man now prevails.
In what way are landowners supposed to "protect" their land? If they keep it clean and pay their taxes on it, exactly what other responsibility do they have? Are we required to monitor our land a regular intervals, just in case someone else decides to use it?
Also, according to what I have read on the case, many of the neighbors have stated that McLean and Stevens only began "using" the land after the Kirlins suggested that they would soon be ready to build on it. The fact that they had been using it for twenty years is not backed up by photographs taken more than two years ago, or the testimony of other neighbors.
This appears to be a recently-hatched idea by McLean and Stevens. And even if it weren't, the 'legality' of this interpretation of adverse possession is immoral, at best.
They owned the land, they maintained it and paid taxes on it. They should not be subjected to this type of "squatter" policy.
If someone had lived there, and housed their family there, or used it for access to another piece of their own lands or public lands...and if the Kirlins knew about it and did nothing to prevent it or ask them to leave, then there may be a case for either adverse possession or getting a easement. But this is simply a couple wanting to exert their will on the rightful and legal owners of the land...and as such is is a corruption of the intent of the and the "Adverse Possession" is just another term for theft...but under the color of law. IMHO, it should never have been entertained in the first place and should be spoken out against.
bookmark, there was an earlier story on this we pinged the list to, can’t seem to find it...
If I were the Kirlins, I would be letting these people know that if they are successful, I will be installing a combination KimShee and sewage treatment plant on my remaining land. Not to mention the swine farm adjacent.
Email sent to each one.
Keep us updated Joanie!
Tom Eaker
Yours is an example of the kind of letter these players must receive.
Sincere thanks, friend.
~ joanie
No one, but the Kirlins are responsible for what happened here. This is a simple case of adverse possession. The Kirlins failed for over 20 years to take care of their property in any way whatsoever. They didn't care that the neighbors were using it openly and notoriously for more than that entire time. They were not just throwing parties there, they landscaped it and used it for access to their own property.
I received a few private replies when I posted this on my blog, some of which suggested even more 'stringent' responses (none of which are mentionable here). :)
~ joanie
Thank you!
Keep us updated Joanie!
Will do.
~ joanie
Why are you supporting this illegal land grab?
Sorry, but that is so much Bravo Sierra. The Kirlins did not file a motion, the Kirlins did not tresspass on others land.
No, the other couple is responsible. It is they who tresspassed, it is they who have filed the court papers to use this particular loophole in the law to their abject, self interest.
For all of those reasons it should have never been considered...and should now be overturned and undone.
That's ludicrous. There's nothing that says a landowner has to keep constant track of his land just to make sure some potential thief isn't "using" it. It sounds like this plan has been in the works for a while, and the Kirlins were kind enough to let the other two spill over onto their property when they entertained, never dreaming they'd repay their kindness by stealing from them.
I have to agree. As unfortunate and unfair as it might seem to the Kirlins.
There are easement rights granted to non property owners every day in thousands of real estate cases across America.
If someone is "allowed" to use a property WITHOUT PROTEST for a certain number of years, then that "use" becomes a defacto part of that property, regardless of the property owner's wishes.
Driveways, roadways, electrical lines, utility lines, walking paths, etc.
It becomes grandfathered into the property through an Easement right.
The Kirlins, unfortunately, probably did not know they were losing their rights over the years.
Somebody needs to start boiling the tar... I’ll order up some feather pillows on Ebay.
FYI, Here are some of the previous articles about this story that I am familiar with—there may be more that have been posted:
A Warning for Property Owners (Boulder, CO)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1924861/posts
Retired judge: This land is my land (Jurist rules in favor of colleague, snatches $1 million parcel)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925997/posts
Land Lost After Boulder Couple Failed To Use It
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1926521/posts
Panel won’t probe Boulder land ruling
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1929194/posts
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