John Anthony Mmahat

John A. Mmahat, a veteran of the United States Air Force, departed this life on February 12, 2021, after a courageous fight with liver cancer. He was predeceased by his parents, Mary Bertucci Mmahat and Joseph Mmahat, Sr. and his two brothers Joseph C. Mmahat, Jr. and Roger P. Mmahat, two sisters-in-law Virgie Pettis Mmahat and Donna Jean Treadaway Mmahat. He is survived by his wife, the love of his life, Barbara Tracy Kollin Mmahat. He is also survived by his three loving children Honey Mathes (Chris), Amy Closs (Larry) and John A. Mmahat Jr. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Elaine Laurent Mmahat. His former wife and good friend, Arlene Montgomery, recently passed away after a brief illness. Arlene was happily married to Bruce Plowman. Because of his military service, he was 22 years old before he entered college. To catch up, he went to school at Tulane University year-round and carried an extra heavy academic load. He was 24 when he received his undergraduate degree, in Political Science and was 26, when he received his Juris Doctor degree from Tulane. Since the G.I. Bill offered minimal help and he had to support his aging mother and father, he delivered 450 newspapers each morning before classes. In his junior year of law school, he served as the First Vice President of the National Newman Club Federation, a national Catholic student organization. In his senior year he served as President of the Associated Student Body of Tulane University. While a law student he won the Glendy Burke Medal for Oratory. He practiced law for 36 years and was the first lawyer appointed as ad hock judge for the then new First Parish Court. John, saw the need for more home financing in the area and started Gulf Federal Savings and Loan Association (later, Gulf Federal Savings Bank) in 1965. The feds closed the bank in 1988 and obtained a judgment against Mmahat. It was not discovered until later that the presiding Judge, Charles Schwarz, while proceedings were pending was saying derogatory things against Mmahat and exhibiting actual prejudice. Since doing anything in the federal system cost lots of money, Mmahat was never able to file formal nullification proceedings but did get Judge Schwartz recused and the affidavit of support filed in those proceedings, No. 86-5160 of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and appeal from Bankruptcy Court No. 87-10447, documents the details of the actual prejudice exhibited by Judge Schwartz. Prior to this, the feds filed criminal charges and obtained convictions even though the feds violated the mens rea constitutional requirement. The violations they alleged were acts done only by others and they alleged no acts or violations done personally by Mmahat. This of course is a violation of mens rea a constitutional requirement that one has to know that one is doing an illegal act for it to be criminal. Obviously acts done by others could not be known by Mmahat. This was later affirmed as federal law at the time of the acts in the United States Supreme Court case of Elonis v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2001 (2016). However, again, to formerly get the conviction reversed would take more money than Mmahat had, a condition shared by most citizens. However, when the Elonis case was published, the feds stop collecting restitution, showing that they recognized that the conviction was contrary to the law in effect at the time. To help others in these situations, Mmahat, incorporated and ran a non-profit called People for Morality in Federal Justice and published a website at morality.org which he used to educate the public on reforms needed in the federal system of justice and in the behavior of the Department of Justice and its subsidiary, the FBI. Both of these have been given free rides by the public because the public mistakenly believes that they only want to protect our citizens. In fact, the facts show that they are the greatest threat the average citizen ever faces. Final resting place will be St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery on Soniat Street. Burial at a later date. JACOB SCHOEN & SON FUNERAL HOME 3827 Canal St. is in charge of arrangements. To view and sign the guest book, visit www.schoenfh.com.