1. Bennett v. Boggs, 1 Baldw. 60
"Statutes that violate the plain and obvious principles of common right and common reason are null and void."
Equity Principle:
Equity will not permit legal forms to override natural justice. A statute that contradicts right reason or common right is null in equity, as equity corrects where law results in injustice.
2. Davis v. Wechsler, 263 U.S. 22, 24
"Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule-making or legislation which would abrogate them."
Equity Principle:
Equity protects substantive rights. No rule or regulation can alter, override, or diminish rights that exist by operation of constitutional trust. Equity acts where statutes encroach upon fundamental law.
3. Miller v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 22, 24
"There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of the exercise of constitutional rights."
Equity Principle:
Equity forbids the imposition of penalties for the lawful exercise of liberty. Courts acting in equity have a duty to vacate any punitive action rooted in the denial of lawful right.
4. Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425, 442
"An unconstitutional act is not law... it is inoperative as though it had never been passed."
Equity Principle:
Equity sees that which ought to have been done as done, and that which ought not have been done as void. Equity refuses to enforce unconstitutional acts and declares them incapable of creating legal obligation.
5. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
"Any judge who does not comply with the oath to uphold the Constitution wars against the Constitution, and acts in violation of the Supreme Law of the Land."
Equity Principle:
Equity will not assist a wrongdoer. A judge who breaches his constitutional duty is no longer acting in equity or law and forfeits judicial immunity by breaking the public trust.
6. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
"When a judge does not follow the law, he acts as a trespasser and his orders are void."
Equity Principle:
Equity recognizes no jurisdiction where trust is broken. Orders issued outside the scope of lawful authority are void ab initio, and equity provides remedy against such extra-judicial acts.
7. Miller v. United States, 230 F.2d 486, 490
"There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of the exercise of constitutional rights."
Equity Principle:
Equity abhors the abuse of legal forms to punish rights. No man may be penalized for standing upon liberty, and equity invalidates all such penalties.
8. Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105
"No state shall convert a liberty into a license and charge a fee therefor."
Equity Principle:
Equity denies validity to contracts that commodify liberty. Government may not convert unalienable rights into privileges. Equity treats any such attempt as a breach of public trust.
9. Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 373 U.S. 262
"If the state converts a right into a privilege, the citizen may ignore the license and engage in the right with impunity."
Equity Principle:
Equity regards rights as immune from legislative conversion into commercial privileges. Any statute requiring licensure to exercise a right is void where equity has jurisdiction.
10. Sims v. Aherns, 271 S.W. 720 (1925)
"The practice of law is an occupation of common right."
Equity Principle:
Equity recognizes the inherent right to labor and trade without interference from licensing schemes. Denial of this right through administrative regulation constitutes a breach of common right and equity will intervene.
11. United States v. Minker, 350 U.S. 179 (1956)
"Government, being artificial, may only interface with other artificial persons."
Equity Principle:
Equity distinguishes between the living man and the legal fiction. It voids presumed contracts with legal entities where no meeting of the minds exists between natural persons. Equity prevents enforcement of assumed obligations against real men via artificial instruments.
12. (Unnamed Opening Statement – Fiduciary Obligation)
"Concealment of material information in a setting of fiduciary obligation... if deliberately concealed... it is fraud."
Equity Principle:
Equity abhors fraud and imposes strict duties on fiduciaries. A public official acts in trust and is liable in equity for concealment or deception against the people to whom the trust is owed.
13. Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 533
"A judgment rendered by a court without personal jurisdiction over the defendant is void. It is a nullity."
Equity Principle:
Where jurisdiction is lacking, equity views all resulting acts as void. Equity intervenes to declare such judgments unenforceable and to restore the aggrieved to their prior lawful position.
14. Stock v. Medical Examiners, 94 Cal. App. 2d 751; In re M.V., 288 Ill. App. 3d 300
"Where the court's power to act is controlled by statute... the court is of limited jurisdiction..."
Equity Principle:
Courts of limited jurisdiction must strictly adhere to the boundaries of the authority granted. Equity will not permit a court to exceed its mandate, nor to bind one who has not consented.
15. Porter v. State, 391 N.E.2d 801; U.S. v. Burr, 309 U.S. 242; Planters Bank of Georgia
"When governments enter commerce, they are subject to the same burdens as private firms."
Equity Principle:
Equity treats all parties equally before the law. Governments acting commercially are liable in equity as private actors and may not claim sovereign immunity in such transactions.
16. Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
"The right to travel by private conveyance... cannot be infringed..."
Equity Principle:
Equity secures unalienable rights against state interference. Any encumbrance on the right to travel absent commerce constitutes an equitable violation and is subject to injunction or voidance.
17. Poindexter v. Greenhow, 114 U.S. 270; Brady v. U.S., 397 U.S. 742
"Waivers of constitutional rights must be voluntary, knowing, and intelligent."
Equity Principle:
No equitable obligation arises from unconscionable waiver. Equity denies the enforcement of agreements or proceedings where rights were waived without full knowledge and intent.
18. Nudd v. Burrows, 91 U.S. 426
"Fraud vitiates everything."
Equity Principle:
Fraud nullifies all that it touches. In equity, any instrument, judgment, or proceeding tainted by fraud is void ab initio and can confer no rights or obligations.
19. U.S. v. Throckmorton, 98 U.S. 61
"Officials and judges have no immunity for willful violations of law..."
Equity Principle:
Trustees who breach fiduciary duty by willfully violating the law are personally liable in equity. Equity removes their shield and imposes liability for all resulting harms.
20. Williamson v. USDA, 815 F.2d 369; ACLU v. Barr, 952 F.2d 457
"Officials must perform every official act without violating constitutional provisions."
Equity Principle:
Equity imposes a duty of fidelity to higher law. Public acts contrary to constitutional provisions are acts of breach, not law, and are subject to equitable restraint and remedy.
21. Montgomery v. State, 55 Fla. 97
"Every government is an artificial person..."
Equity Principle:
Government being an artificial person has no standing in equity over a living man absent voluntary contract. Equity recognizes only natural persons as having full standing unless lawful consent binds otherwise.
25. Berberian v. Lussier, 139 A.2d 869 (1958)
"The right of the citizen to drive on the public street with freedom from police interference, unless he is engaged in suspicious conduct... is a fundamental constitutional right..."
Equity Principle:
Equity will restrain any abuse of public authority that infringes upon liberty where no lawful cause exists. Presumption of criminality absent evidence is an equitable injury.
26. Pontius v. McClean, 113 Cal. App. 452
"The word 'operator' shall not include any person who solely transports his own property... and who transports no person or property for hire..."
Equity Principle:
Equity distinguishes between commerce and private right. Where the law attempts to regulate a right as though it were commerce, equity protects the individual from compelled contract.
27. In Re Newman, 9 C. 47 (1858)
"Men have the natural right to do anything their inclinations suggest, if not evil in itself, and in no way impairs the rights of others."
Equity Principle:
Equity upholds liberty bounded only by the rights of others. It offers no support to statutes that encroach on harmless acts.
28. People v. Battle
"Traffic infractions are not a crime."
Equity Principle:
Equity will not permit administrative classifications to impose criminal penalties. Where no injured party exists, equity treats enforcement as ultra vires.
29. Chicago Motor Coach v. Chicago
"Right to travel cannot be deprived by anyone; legislature lacks authority to deny it."
Equity Principle:
The right to travel is inherent and unalienable. Equity provides injunctive relief when statutes attempt to restrict movement not tied to commerce.
30. Thompson v. Smith, 154 S.E. 579
"No city can prohibit or permit at will the right of a living man or woman to travel."
Equity Principle:
Government cannot hold a common right hostage to permit. Equity bars any authority from conditioning rights upon licensure.
31. Constitutional Law – Citizen’s Right to Travel
"The right to transport property... is part of the right to enjoy life and liberty."
Equity Principle:
Rights necessary to life and liberty are protected in equity. Attempts to convert necessity into taxable privilege are void.
32. Automobiles and Highways – Common Use
"Citizens may use the usual conveyances of their time... for ordinary life and business."
Equity Principle:
Equity protects access to public ways by customary means. The form of conveyance does not alter the nature of the right.
33. Injunctions against Void Statutes
"Injunction lies against enforcement of void statute where irreparable injury will occur..."
Equity Principle:
When a statute threatens a fundamental right with no adequate remedy at law, equity compels cessation by injunction.
34. Right to Travel – Constitutional Concept
"Citizens must be free to travel uninhibited by rules that unreasonably burden their movement..."
Equity Principle:
Liberty includes the unrestricted right to movement. Equity intercedes when legislative burdens obstruct this fundamental right.
35. Chilling Assertion of Rights
"If a law exists solely to chill the exercise of rights, it is unconstitutional."
Equity Principle:
Equity voids all laws enacted to suppress or intimidate lawful conduct. Any penalty designed to deter liberty is unjust.
36. Title 42 U.S.C. § 1986 (paraphrased)
"Those with power to prevent wrongs and who neglect to do so are liable..."
Equity Principle:
Duty arises from both action and omission. A fiduciary or officer who fails to prevent an injustice when capable is equally liable in equity.
39. Reynolds v. Volunteer State Life Ins. Co., 80 S.W.2d 1087 (Tex. App.)
"A void judgment has no legal force; invalidity may be asserted by anyone at any time."
Equity Principle:
A void judgment is treated in equity as a nullity. It confers no rights and imposes no duties. Equity allows collateral attack upon such a judgment indefinitely.
40. Chicago R.R. Co. v. Chicago
"Laws authorizing the taking of property without compensation are not due process."
Equity Principle:
Taking without compensation violates trust. Equity mandates just compensation where private property is seized by authority.
41. Robin v. Hardaway, 1 Jefferson 109 (1772)
"All constitutions contrary to the laws of God must be disobeyed."
Equity Principle:
Equity is rooted in moral law. Statutes repugnant to natural law are without authority and may be disobeyed in good conscience.
42. Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425
"An unconstitutional law is not a law."
Equity Principle:
Equity regards unconstitutional enactments as legally nonexistent. They are void ab initio.
43. City of Dallas v. Mitchell, 245 S.W. 944 (1922)
"Rights are not derived from government... government derives its power from the people."
Equity Principle:
All power flows from the people to the government via trust. Equity treats government as trustee and denies it authority to invent or grant rights.
44. Ellingham v. Dye, 231 U.S. 250; 58 L.Ed. 206
"A constitution is legislation from the people; statutes are subordinate."
Equity Principle:
A constitution is the highest trust instrument. Equity will restrain statutes that attempt to exceed or contradict it.
45. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491
"No rulemaking or legislation can abrogate constitutional rights."
Equity Principle:
Rights secured by trust cannot be altered by the trustee. Equity bars any instrument that infringes on secured rights.
46. 16 Am Jur 2d §177 and §256
"No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law; no court must enforce it."
Equity Principle:
Equity voids unconstitutional laws and refuses jurisdiction to enforce them.
47. Waring v. Mayor of Savannah
"The People are supreme—not the State."
Equity Principle:
The creator is always greater than the creation. The people are the grantors, the state the grantee. Equity honors the hierarchy of authority.
48. Stats. 1953, c. 1588, p. 3270
"The People do not yield sovereignty to agencies which serve them..."
Equity Principle:
Delegated authority does not include dominion. Public servants are fiduciaries, not masters. Equity restrains them from secrecy, overreach, and abuse.
Below is the continuation from pages 9–10 of your Constitutional Case Law document, with each citation converted into its applicable equity principle, formatted without icons and with precise legal style.
54. Henderson v. City of New York, 92 U.S. 259 (1875); Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934)
“Nothing is gained in the argument by calling it police power.”
Equity Principle:
Equity looks to substance over label. Calling an act “police power” does not validate its use against natural rights. Equity disregards titles when assessing violations of trust or liberty.
55. Brookfield Const. Co. v. Stewart, 284 F. Supp. 94
“An officer who acts in violation of the Constitution ceases to represent the government.”
Equity Principle:
A public official acting beyond lawful bounds becomes a private trespasser. Equity denies protection or immunity to such acts, which are deemed breaches of fiduciary trust.
56. Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
“An officer or employee of the state acting under color of law is liable for deprivations of right.”
Equity Principle:
Colorable authority does not excuse harm. Equity pierces the veil of office and recognizes personal liability where constitutional rights are violated.
57. Stringer v. Dilger, 313 F.2d 536 (10th Cir. 1963)
“Actions by state officers, even unauthorized or in excess of authority, are under color of law.”
Equity Principle:
Equity holds trustees accountable when acting beyond their scope. Even unlawful acts under official capacity are reviewable for redress and remedy.
58. Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917)
“Police power must be exercised in subordination to the Constitution.”
Equity Principle:
No governmental power overrides trust law. Equity demands constitutional supremacy over all administrative or executive acts.
59. Donnelly v. Union Sewer Pipe Co., 184 U.S. 540 (1902)
“No state police authority can overturn a right protected by the U.S. Constitution.”
Equity Principle:
Equity denies any authority that operates contrary to established rights. All state action must yield to constitutional trust obligations.
60. People v. Battle
“Traffic infractions are not a crime.”
Equity Principle:
Absent injury or intent, equity treats infractions as non-criminal and non-actionable. Equity does not support the expansion of criminal liability absent harm.
61. Rogers v. Marshall, 1 Wall. 644 (U.S.)
“Officers are required to know the law; if they err, they must answer in damages.”
Equity Principle:
Equity enforces due diligence. Ignorance of law by a trustee or public officer offers no defense in equity. Personal liability attaches where harm results from failure of duty.
62. Cooper v. O’Conner, 99 F.2d 135 (D.C. Cir.)
“Officers acting outside lawful authority are subject to personal civil liability.”
Equity Principle:
Trustees who exceed their lawful authority lose immunity. Equity holds such acts as personal and actionable.
63. Aldrich v. Woodard, 406 F.3d 137
“Public officials are not immune from suit when they invade constitutional rights.”
Equity Principle:
The shield of office does not extend to acts of breach. Equity provides remedy against constitutional trespass, even by public agents.
64. Rabon v. Rowan Memorial Hospital, Inc.
“Immunity fosters neglect; liability promotes care.”
Equity Principle:
Accountability is essential to fiduciary trust. Equity demands liability as a means of ensuring duty, caution, and lawful conduct.
65. Land v. Dollar, 330 U.S. 731 (1947); Brady v. Roosevelt; FHA v. Burr; Kiefer v. RFC
“When the government enters the commercial field, it leaves its immunity behind.”
Equity Principle:
A sovereign who acts commercially enters equity's jurisdiction. Equity recognizes no special status in commerce; parties are equal in accountability.
66. Luckenbach v. The Thekla, 295 F. 1020; 266 U.S. 328
“When a state proceeds in court, it waives immunity to counterclaims.”
Equity Principle:
He who seeks equity must do equity. A state litigant submits to reciprocal liability and may not plead immunity to lawful counterclaims.
69. Bradley v. Fisher, 13 Wall. 335; Manning v. Ketcham, 58 F.2d 948
"Where there is no jurisdiction, there is no judge; the proceeding is as nothing. This has been the law since Marshalsea."
Equity Principle:
Equity regards jurisdiction as foundational. A proceeding absent jurisdiction is void ab initio. The maxim “Equity abhors a proceeding without lawful standing” applies. Any judgment rendered without authority is null in equity.
70. United States v. Will, 449 U.S. 200 (1980); Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
"When a judge acts without jurisdiction, such act is treason."
Equity Principle:
A fiduciary trustee who usurps power breaches not only trust but commits equitable fraud. Equity holds any governmental actor who violates the law knowingly to be culpable and without immunity.
71. Sherer v. Cullen, 481 F. 945; Gibson v. Boyle, 139 Ariz. 512; People v. Lopez, 254 Cal. App. 2d 185
"Without an injured party (Corpus Delicti), there is no crime. A complaint without injury is facially invalid."
Equity Principle:
No equity jurisdiction lies where there is no injury. Equity will not support statutory prosecutions that fail to identify a harmed party. The maxim “Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy” assumes an actual wrong.
73. UCC § 1-201(27)
"'Person' includes legal fictions, artificial entities, and government agencies."
Equity Principle:
Equity distinguishes between natural and artificial persons. It does not compel a man to perform as a “person” unless consent is established. Fiduciary trust may not presume capacity or identity.
74. Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967)
"In the United States the people are sovereign; the government may not sever that status by revocation of citizenship."
Equity Principle:
Sovereignty is inalienable. Equity holds that trust cannot be terminated by the trustee against the will of the grantor (the people). Citizenship is a matter of trust status, not privilege.
75. Lansing v. Smith, 4 Wend. 9 (N.Y. 1829)
"The people are entitled to all rights that once belonged to the King by his prerogative."
Equity Principle:
Equity recognizes that sovereignty returned to the people upon the dissolution of monarchy. The rights once vested in sovereign prerogative now rest in the individual and must be administered under constitutional trust.
76. Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe, 422 U.S. 653 (1979)
"‘Person’ in common use does not include the sovereign."
Equity Principle:
Legal fictions do not override reality. Equity presumes man and woman as sovereign natural persons unless contracted otherwise. Statutes do not bind sovereigns unless clearly stated and accepted.
77. Church of Scientology v. U.S. Department of Justice, 612 F.2d 417 (1979)
"‘Person’ includes a variety of entities other than human beings."
Equity Principle:
A man cannot be presumed to be a person (entity) in law without express consent. Equity will void instruments that presume identity by assumption without clear contractual nexus.
78. 28 U.S.C. §1604
"Foreign states are immune from jurisdiction unless exceptions apply."
Equity Principle:
Jurisdiction arises only upon consent. Equity holds that foreign actors, including foreign states, are not subject to domestic jurisdiction absent voluntary waiver, contract, or treaty.
79. Corpus Juris Secundum, Vol. 20, §1785; NY re: Merriam
"The United States is a foreign corporation with respect to a state."
Equity Principle:
Equity defines relations by trust status. The United States, as a federal creation, is foreign to the sovereign states. No presumption of unity or control exists unless ratified by compact or trust.
80. Act of 1871 – District of Columbia
"The District of Columbia was created by Act of Congress."
Equity Principle:
The District of Columbia is an administrative corporate trust estate, not a sovereign land jurisdiction. Equity distinguishes between private municipal corporate policy and constitutional law.
81. Budd v. People of the State of New York, 143 U.S. 517 (1892)
“Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights... and to secure, not grant, these rights, governments are instituted.”
Equity Principle:
Rights preexist government and are held in trust. Equity recognizes government not as a grantor but as a fiduciary trustee whose sole duty is to secure existing rights—not create or limit them.
82. Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Ed., p. 241 – “Color of Law”
“The semblance of legal right without the substance. Misuse of power by one clothed with state authority.”
Equity Principle:
Equity voids all acts done under mere appearance of authority. Where substance is lacking and harm arises, equity lifts the veil of office and imposes personal accountability.
83. 18 U.S.C. § 241 – Conspiracy against Rights
“If two or more persons conspire to injure... free exercise of rights... they shall be fined or imprisoned.”
Equity Principle:
Equity condemns collusion to infringe trust rights. Conspiracy by officers to suppress rights invokes equitable liability and bars enforcement of all resulting acts.
84. Alexander v. Bosworth, 1915
“A party cannot be bound by a contract he has not made or authorized. Free consent is essential.”
Equity Principle:
Consent is the foundation of equity. A man may not be presumed to have contracted unless voluntarily, knowingly, and intentionally. All adhesion or presumed contracts are void where equity applies.
85. Gallegos v. Haggerty, 689 F. Supp. 93 (1988)
“Personal involvement in deprivation of rights is required for damages. Liability arises from participation, policy, or negligence.”
Equity Principle:
Equity imposes responsibility upon all actors whose omissions or directions result in harm. It holds liable not only the immediate wrongdoer but also supervisors who enable or ignore violations.
86. Penhallow v. Doane’s Administrators, 3 U.S. 54 (1795)
“Governments are artificial persons... can only interface with other artificial persons.”
Equity Principle:
In equity, legal fictions cannot bind living men without consent. No government can compel action or jurisdiction absent valid trust contract with a living man. Equity sees corporate personhood as subordinate to natural law.
87. Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Fox, 298 U.S. 193
“Contracts involve U.S. citizens, deemed corporate entities; U.S. citizens are franchises of the federal government.”
Equity Principle:
Equity separates the man from the persona. Corporate citizenship is a legal status, not an identity. Equity allows rebuttal of presumption of status if asserted without consent or consideration.
88. Brookfield Const. Co. v. Stewart, 284 F. Supp. 94
“An officer who acts in violation of the Constitution ceases to represent the government.”
Equity Principle:
A trustee who acts ultra vires breaches fiduciary obligation and assumes personal liability. Equity provides no protection to such acts, treating them as private torts.
89. 27 CFR § 72.11 – Commercial Crimes Definition
Includes “offenses against revenue laws,” and various common law crimes.
Equity Principle:
Equity distinguishes between lawful obligation and revenue enforcement under commercial statutes. Without injured parties or actual harm, enforcement of such rules against men is outside equity’s jurisdiction.
93. Article III – Constitutional Judges Requirement
“The Constitution of the United States of America requires that lawful Article III Judges be provided.”
Equity Principle:
Jurisdiction in equity demands a lawful tribunal. Where Article III courts are not in operation, equity deems judgments rendered by legislative or administrative bodies without consent to be void. No equitable duty is owed to de facto courts absent trust authority.
94. Bond v. United States, 572 U.S. ___ (2014)
“All District of Columbia territorial courts are using the Uniform Commercial Code regulated by the UNIDROIT Treaty... which is unconstitutional as the Treaty power is external.”
Equity Principle:
Equity enforces constitutional limits on delegated authority. The imposition of foreign commercial codes upon domestic proceedings without consent or constitutional foundation is void in equity. Trust law prohibits external compacts from binding internal affairs absent ratification under proper authority.
95. Mayor of New Orleans v. United States, 10 Pet. 662, 736
“The government of the United States is one of limited powers... Congress cannot enlarge federal jurisdiction via legislation or treaty.”
Equity Principle:
Jurisdiction derives only from express trust delegation. Equity restrains any attempt by legislative or treaty power to expand the field of operation beyond granted authority. Ultra vires jurisdiction is null.
96. Statutory Impersonation of Public Officials
“United Nations clerks masquerading as judges... impersonating a public official is a felony...”
Equity Principle:
Equity does not recognize pretenders to fiduciary office. Any exercise of jurisdiction under false authority constitutes constructive fraud. Where no lawful delegation or constitutional office exists, equity will neither recognize the act nor the actor.
%20Tumblr.png)
