A Rosyth woman has been jailed for contempt after a sustained rant in which she demanded a sheriff recite her judicial oath and claimed a court had no lawful authority.
Elizabeth Richardson laughed derisorily as she was jailed for disrupting proceedings at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Earlier in proceedings the 47-year-old had been taken to the cells for her unruly behaviour when her case called.
She refused to sit in the dock, opting for a seat at the solicitor’s table, and yelled at Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane.
As she was bundled from the dock by a police officer, Richardson’s supporters caused uproar in the public gallery.
A male shouted at the sheriff: “It’s our court room, not yours.”
The group was barred from the court when Richardson was brought back into the dock, in handcuffs, after lunch.
As she was asked to confirm her name, Richardson launched into a bizarre rant.
She demanded of Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane: “Are you standing on your oath? Can you recite your oath?”
She then went on to declare: “I am living under the common law.
“I am a living woman, I have copyrighted my name. So you can’t cash the cheque.”
‘Can you recite your oath?’
As fiscal depute Jill Currie told the court Richardson had missed a previous court appearance, the accused shouted from the dock, “lies”.
She added: “The court was closed because Regina had died” in an apparent reference to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her statements became nonsensical and ended with her asking the sheriff: “Are you standing on your oath?
“Can you recite your oath, Elizabeth McFarlane?
“You have no authority or jurisdiction.
“I live under the common law.”
Richardson, of Ramsay Place, Rosyth, was found guilty of contempt of court and was jailed for 14 days.
She will stand trial in the new year on the matter for which she was originally brought to court.
