A woman charged for allegedly refusing to use the Check In CBR app has argued to police she was a sovereign citizen and should not be charged as she continually questioned the qualifications and rights of a court to prosecute her.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The woman, who The Canberra Times has chosen not to name, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday and Friday charged with failing to comply with directions by the chief medical officer, trespassing on a premises and failing/refusing to provide a name or address.
The alleged health breach happened at a Tuggeranong store on August 1.
Police were called after the defendant allegedly refused to leave the Tuggeranong shop when the manager asked her to.
She allegedly continued to refuse to check in despite multiple requests before being arrested.
The matter was brought back before the court after a mental health assessment found the woman having no illness or disorder.
The woman, who was representing herself, said she was "not a person", "I'm not under criminal law" and "this law is absolutely unlawful".
"You can't charge me as a person," she said.
The defendant asked Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker a number of times whether she had "the rights to charge a living man or woman" and asked about political immunity.
"I believe I've got rights to protect my private information ... I believe I have rights to erase my private biometric information," she said.
After limited progress on Thursday, Ms Walker relisted the matter for Friday morning in which the court asked for an interpreter and an intermediary body to help.
The chief magistrate said there was difficulty in both language and the concepts in which the defendant was basing her case on.
Speaking via an interpreter, she questioned Ms Walker again about whether she represented "a person who is alive or a person of the state".
"I represent the territory," Ms Walker said.
The defendant also asked if the court had financial liability.
Ms Walker offered the defendant another mental health assessment or to proceed with a hearing.
She said the defendant's refusal to engage meant a plea of not guilty.
The defendant refused to undertake another mental health assessment and the help of an intermediary body.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Wren said the claim about sovereignty came from police after the alleged health breach in which she said she was not required to comply with Covid health directions.
Ms Wren said the prosecution would call on two civilian witnesses and "a large number of police (officers)" during the hearing.
The court set January 20 as the hearing date to which the defendant said: "I will be there."
During both sessions in court, the defendant refused to speak at the bar table and spoke from the back of the court instead.
The court heard the alleged trespassing happened at St Vincent De Paul Society in Greenway.
The defendant was released without bail and should she not appear for the hearing, it would proceed without her.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram