Longford woman tells judge her name contains punctuation and case cannot be heard in public

A Longford woman, Louise McGowan, Ballymakeegan, Longford, Co Longford, told Judge Sandra Murphy that her name was :Louise-Patricia (full colon Louise hyphen Patricia) and she could call her ‘Patricia.’

She repeatedly told the judge the matter before the court was “a private trust matter and cannot be heard in public.”

She also repeated on numerous occasions, “You’ve been instructed in writing to terminate this matter immediately.”

The defendant is charged with having no insurance, failing to produce insurance and speeding on February 5, 2021 at N4 Gortinty, Co Leitrim.

Ms McGowan was accompanied by two others in court, one of whom identified himself as :Lester-James (full colon Lester hyphen James).

Judge Murphy said she was not hearing the case and put the matter back to October 18 next.

Ms McGowan said, “I don’t consent because I’m here today to settle this matter.”

• For clarification purposes, we understand the basis behind the defendant's naming convention is perhaps in relation to a belief they are not within the jurisdiction of any government. The name used for them by government is a separate legal entity and is not equivalent to them as a real person. The person adds random punctuation to their name to make it different to the government's legal name to demonstrate they are “sovereign citizens” or “freemen on the land” and not subject to the government's jurisdiction.