Unfiltered Story #242142

It’s a long story why, but I managed to enter a circle of some assorted people who liked to challenge “the man.” One of those people (I’ll call him Stan) had it in for banks. He encouraged me to read up on what’s known as “commercial paper.” These are things like checks, banknotes, bonds, etc. And I didn’t read crackpot literature, but the actual laws and standard legal commentaries on the subject.

Quite frankly, this should be part of material needed to graduate high-school in any western society. If that were the case, many stories on this site would disappear. How often have we read about someone refused something because their ID was from New Mexico, West Virginia, Washington D.C. , Puerto Rico, or a foreign passport? This is all good information everyone should know. The same is true with the nature of any monetary documents. I had a good education but after graduation couldn’t tell you why a bank can fold and pay depositors pennies on the dollar for deposits, but people they loaned money too still have to pay 100% of the debt. I know now. Do you know why? You should.

Meanwhile, Stan, as always anxious to stick it to another bank, also had dealings with the local sheriff’s department. They owed him money. For that they wrote him a check. Whoops! No they didn’t: they issued a warrant. For all practical purposes, such warrants are like checks. You can take it to the bank, go through the usual routine and get cash. There’s one difference between a warrant and other commercial paper: if you refuse commercial paper, you can be sued, but if you refuse a warrant, you can go to jail.

Stan showed up with a form of ID that many of us have used. I’ve gone to my bank, presented a check and not presented a physical ID. Why? Because other people have identified me to the teller. Generally that is other bank staff at my regular bank. Another person is definitely a form of ID as far as the law is concerned. Stan showed up with another person to identify him as the proper bearer of the warrant. This did not compute with the teller and she refused the warrant. Stan thanked her for her time and returned to the sheriff’s office and reported the refusal.

To make an already long story just a bit shorter, all hell broke loose. A couple deputies and Stan returned to the bank to put the fear of the law into the teller’s heart (and the bank manager as well). Ever protective of original American values, he always managed a good relationship with the local sheriff’s office, but he wasn’t too popular with local banks.