Sam Sloan

Samuel Howard Sloan (born September 7, 1944) is an American chess player, publisher and perennial candidate based in New York City. In 2006, Sloan served on the executive board of the United States Chess Federation. Also in 2006, he was elected director of media relations for the Manhattan Libertarian Party County Committee.

Samuel Sloan
Sam Sloan
BornSeptember 7, 1944 (age 75)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPublisher
Known forChess
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Anda Baumanis ( m. 1978 - div. 1979), Honzagool (m. 1980), Kayo Kimura (m. 2002 - div. ?)
ChildrenPeter Julius (b. 1978), Mary Rachel (b. 1979), Shamema Honzagool (b. 1981), Michael Rankoth (b. 1988), George Rankoth (b. 1990), Anusha Rankoth (b. 1991), Jessica Vithanage (b. 1988 d. 2010), Sandra Kimura (b. 2001)
Parents
  • Leroy Bayfield Sloan (father)
  • Dr. Marjorie Jacobson Sloan (mother)
Websitehttp://samsloan.com/

In 1970, Sloan established a registered broker-dealer that traded over-the-counter stocks and bonds. He had no formal legal training but orally argued a case before the Supreme Court after litigating against the Securities and Exchange Commission over policies regarding the trading of penny stocks. The Court ruled in his favor, 9–0. Sloan is the last non-lawyer to argue before the court. He has run unsuccessfully or attempted to run for several other city, state and national political offices, including president of the United States.

Early life and education

Sloan was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1944 to attorney Leroy Bayfield Sloan, a Special agent in the Audit Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and child psychiatrist Marjorie Jacobson Sloan.[1][2] His family later moved to Lynchburg, where he graduated from E.C. Glass High School. Sloan studied chess from an early age.[3]

Sloan left Lynchburg in 1962 to study at University of California, Berkeley; he majored first in mathematics, then criminology, but left Berkeley in 1967 and did not graduate. At Berkeley he became one of the leaders of the antiwar movement and promoted a branch of the Sexual Freedom League. He held more than 40 sexually liberal parties in Berkeley.[4][5][6]

Career

After leaving Berkeley, Sloan worked for two years in the over-the-counter trading department at the Wall Street investment banking firm Hayden, Stone & Co. In 1970, he established Samuel H. Sloan & Company, a registered broker-dealer primarily trading over-the-counter stocks and bonds. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought civil actions against Sloan & Co. in 1971–75 alleging he had failed to maintain adequate books and records. In 1975, the SEC revoked Sloan's broker-dealer registration. After years of litigation, Sloan prevailed in 1978 at the U.S. Supreme Court. Sloan argued the case SEC v. Samuel H. Sloan 436 U.S. 103 (1978) pro se. The opposing attorney was Harvey Pitt, who was chairman of the SEC from 2001 to 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the "tacking" of 10-day summary suspension orders for an indefinite period was an abuse of the SEC's authority and a deprivation of due process. Sloan is the last non-lawyer to argue before the court, which prohibited that practice in 2013.[7][8][9][10]

In 1981, Sloan wrote a lexicon of Khowar, a language spoken in Chitral, Pakistan.[11] He had a minor role in the 1984 Mahjong hōrōki, which was later adapted as a video game, Mahjong Hōrōki Classic.[12] Since 1994, Sloan has operated Ishi Press.

Sloan is a chess journalist and author. He claims to have traveled to 78 countries, primarily for chess tournaments. During an April 29, 2006, speech at a Libertarian Party of New York convention Sloan claimed to have "won the World Championship of Chinese Chess in Beijing, China, in 1988". He is rated an FM (Federation Master) by the World Xiangqi Association[13] and has competed in tournaments in Makrook and shogi chess.

Election to USCF Board

In July 2006, Sloan was elected to the Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation (USCF). He advocated a major expansion of scholastic chess, arguing that the USCF should establish a program to certify school chess teachers. He criticized the USCF's recent move from New Windsor, New York to Crossville, Tennessee. As second-place finisher (out of five) in the special election, Sloan was elected to a one-year term on the board (the first-place finisher received a three-year term). Sloan's term of service began in August 2006. In 2007, Sloan ran for reelection to the board, but was unsuccessful, finishing ninth out of 10 candidates. On October 2, 2007, Sloan filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to overturn the results of the 2007 USCF election and alleging a rival candidate had made more than 2,000 obscene "Fake Sam Sloan" newsgroup postings before the election.[14] On August 28, 2008, US District Judge Denny Chin dismissed the suit with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6).[15] The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal but modified it, saying that it was "without prejudice" as the case had not gone to a hearing.

USENET postings incident

On April 3, 2008, posts appeared on USENET, apparently by Sloan, claiming that some of his websites had been closed down by law enforcement in Amherst County, Virginia, apparently because Sloan listed the home addresses of parties involved in his long-running but moot child custody dispute involving his daughter. The USENET postings mention county investigator Christopher Smith. During that same time, Smith was conducting a broad campaign against Internet crime in the state.[16][17]

Mentions in 2011 media

In a 2011 book about Bobby Fischer, Frank Brady wrote "Aided by an eidetic memory, [Sloan] was the last non-lawyer to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court—a case he won. Bobby trusted him."[18]

Three dialogues with Sloan appear in the 2011 documentary Bobby Fischer Against the World.

Sloan tied for the lead in the 3rd round of the 2011 World Championship of Chinese Chess (the total number of rounds or his final result was not stated).

Sloan won the 2011 Silver Medal in the Senior Division (of two entries) at the World Memory Championship in Guangzhou, China.[19][20]

Xiangqi championships

Sloan competed in the World Championship of Chinese Chess in 2011 and 2013 and 2015 and 2017, held in Jakarta; Huizhou, China; Munich; and Manila, respectively.

Political campaigns

In an April 30, 2006, email to Michael Badnarik's 2004 presidential campaign mailing list, a person claiming to be Sloan announced his intention to seek the Libertarian Party nomination for governor of New York. From 2002 to 2006, Sloan had been active in the Libertarian Party of New York, attempting to influence its policy agenda and candidate nominations.

Later in 2006, Sloan was elected director of media relations for the Manhattan Libertarian Party County Committee. He lost reelection to that position in 2007. He was a delegate to the 2008 Libertarian National Convention and the 2010 Libertarian National Convention. On May 25, 2008, in Denver, Sloan was nominated to the National Committee of the Libertarian Party and gave a speech to the Libertarian National Convention.[21]

Sloan ran for the Libertarian nomination for governor of New York in 2010, facing off against attorney Warren Redlich and former madam Kristin M. Davis. By his own admission, he was not popular in the party and did not expect to win.[22] He testified that a faction in the party that opposed Redlich's nomination needed another candidate. Sloan eventually lost the nomination to Redlich in a two-way battle, 27 votes to 17, after Davis refused to show up at the convention. Despite his loss, Sloan was the first to submit petitions to the board of elections with the Libertarian Party line, which effectively gave him the nomination; the down-ballot selections on Sloan's petitions are identical to those confirmed by the party committee. But because his petitions lacked the requisite 15,000 signatures, the nomination went to Redlich; it has been speculated that Sloan used the ploy to file a lawsuit against Redlich in his long-running dispute with the party.[23] Before the November elections, Davis's campaign manager, Roger Stone, claimed that Sloan fed him information that Stone passed on to a group called "People for a Safer New York", which created a flyer calling Redlich a "sexual predator".[24]

In January 2012, Sloan announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential nomination.[25][26] Gary Johnson won the nomination.

In November 2013, Sloan was on the ballot for the New York City mayoral election, as an independent on the War Veterans line; he received 166 votes (0.02%).[27][28]

In June 2014, Sloan ran for the Democratic nomination for New York's 15th congressional district against incumbent José E. Serrano. Serrano won, 91% to 9%. Later that summer, Sloan attempted to submit petitions for the 2014 gubernatorial election, one for the Democratic primary (with Nenad Bach as his running mate) and another an "ambush" of the Libertarian Party line similar to the one he attempted in 2010 (with Tom Stevens as the running mate). Both petitions were ruled invalid.[29]

On September 29, 2015, Sloan filed with the FEC to run for the Democratic nomination for president.[30][31] He ran as an antiwar candidate, opposing the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He attempted to run campaign ads on KCCI, the major TV station in Des Moines, and WMUR TV, the major TV station in Manchester, New Hampshire, both owned by Hearst Television. Both stations refused to run his ads on the ground that Sloan had failed to meet his burden to substantiate bona fide candidacy for president under the threshold established by the Communications Act of 1934 and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. Sloan then sued in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, in Concord, New Hampshire. Sloan also named as a defendant Debbie Wasserman Schultz for allowing only two Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, into the Democratic Party debates, making it virtually impossible for any other Democratic candidate to win. Sloan alleged that the Communications Act of 1934 and Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations 47 USC 315 requires federally licensed broadcasters to provide all candidates running for public office equal opportunity to use broadcast stations. U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro disagreed and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed that there is no private right of action under this statute. Sloan's case was dismissed.[32] He was on only New Hampshire's ballot and received 15 votes. Clinton won the nomination on July 26, 2016.

In 2016, Sloan ran in the Democratic primary for US Congress in the New York's 13th congressional district.[33][34] He received 197 votes in the June 28 primary (0.46%), placing 8th out of nine candidates. Adriano Espaillat won.[35] Despite opening an account for another campaign for governor in 2018 (which received no donations), Sloan did not submit a petition for the election on any party line.

Sloan again ran for the presidency in 2020 as a Democrat,[36] but failed to secure the nomination. He later ran in the Democratic primary for the New York's 14th US congressional district, one of several challengers to incumbent first-term Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[37] but lost with 2.9% of the vote.

In the episode of Jeopardy! that aired on March 12, 2020, in the category "Defending Themselves in Court", one clue was "The last non-lawyer to argue pro se at the Supreme Court was Samuel Sloan in 1978. Shame it's no longer allowed—Sam won by this count". None of the contestants had the proper response, which was "What is 9 to 0?".

Personal life

Sloan has been married three times and has nine children. His second wife, Honzagool, was a native of Chitral, Pakistan, and they had a daughter, Shamema. Sloan and Honzagool soon separated and Sloan left New York for Virginia with Shamema, leaving her in the care of a Virginia couple while Honzagool returned to Chitral. Sloan was subsequently locked into a child custody struggle over Shamema, which lasted several years, with that couple. On September 5, 1991, during an attempt to regain custody of Shamema, he was arrested. Sloan was convicted of attempted abduction of Shamema and spent 18 months in state prison.[38][39][40][41]

As of February 2020, Sloan's FIDE chess rankings were 1772 and 1880 for blitz.[42]

Books
  • Khowar English Dictionary (as Mohammad Ismail Sloan, 1981) (originally published in Pakistan) (reprint in 2006 by Ishi Press) ISBN 0-923891-15-3
  • Chinese Chess for Beginners (1989) ISBN 0-923891-11-0
  • The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson (originally published in 1992, reprinted in 2007) ISBN 1-881373-02-9
  • How to Take over an American Public Company (1992) ISBN 1-881373-01-0
  • The Farm Book by Thomas Jefferson with light notes and annotations by Sam Sloan ISBN 0-923891-80-3
  • Sam Sloan Teaches A+ 50 Helpful Questions ISBN 0-923891-06-4
  • Phiona's Greatest Games of Chess ISBN 4-87187-727-2
  • History of the Campus Sexual Rights Forum at the University of California at Berkeley 1966-1967 ISBN 4-87187-397-8

References
  1. "Dr. Marjorie Jacobson Sloan, June 27, 1937 – May 16, 2002". anusha.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  2. "Leroy Bayfield Sloan, May 2, 1910 – January 19, 1986". anusha.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  3. Sloan, Sam (June 22, 1996). "Qualification of Sam Sloan for USCF President". anusha.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  4. Pitcher, Michelle (February 13, 2015). "A brief history of sexual liberation, orgies at UC Berkeley". The Daily Californian. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  5. "Berkeley Historical Plaque Project - Sexual Freedom League". Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  6. Sloan, Sam. "Places where Sam Sloan has lived". Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  7. "SEC v. Samuel H. Sloan 436 U.S. 103 (1978)". Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  8. Mauro, Tony (October 11, 2002). "Building a Better Advocate". The American Lawyer. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  9. Ackman, Dan (June 30, 2004). "The Man in the Yellow Cab: Sam Sloan". New York Sun. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  10. Gresko, Jessica (July 1, 2013). "Only lawyers now can argue before Supreme Court". Yahoo News. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  11. "Khowar English Dictionary". Anusha.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  12. Mahjong Hourouki. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  13. "Sam Sloan Xiangqi Game listing, XiangQi Masters Database, World Xiangqi Federation". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  14. Loeb McClain, Dylan (March 23, 2008). "Drive to Recall Member of Chess Federation's Board Is Under Way". Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  15. "Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Rule 12". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  16. "Amherst County Sheriff shuts down Sam Sloan's websites". April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  17. "§ 2006 Code of Virginia § 18.2-186.4 - Use of a person\'s identity with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass; penalty". justia.com. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  18. Brady 2011, p. 173.
  19. "The Official Website for the World's Greatest Test of Memory Founded in 1991 by Tony Buzan & Raymond Keene OBE The Official website of the World Memory Championships". Worldmemorychampionship.com. October 26, 1991. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  20. "World Senior Memory Championship 2011". Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  21. Video: Sam Sloan Interviewed on the Harold Channer Show on YouTube June 19, 2008
  22. Karlin, Rick (April 23, 2010). "Tomorrow: Three-way Libertarian smack-down in Albany!". Albany Times Union. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  23. Wilder, Kimberly (August 13, 2010). "Libertarian Sam Sloan files for Governor of NY". Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  24. Stone, Roger (November 4, 2010). "Libertarian Payback". StoneZone.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  25. "Sam Sloan Announces For Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination". Independent Political Report. January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  26. "Principal Campaign Committee:Committee to Elect Sam Sloan". Federal Election Commission (FEC). January 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  27. "Statement and Return Report for Certification - General Election - November 5, 2013" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  28. "2013 NYC Voter Guide: Mayor".
  29. "Candidate Petition List". elections.ny.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  30. "Sam Sloan FEC filing" (PDF). FEC. September 29, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  31. "2016 Presidential Form 2 Filers".
  32. Sloan v. Hearst Media Co. (1st Cir. 2016), Court of Appeals Docket #: 16-1885.
  33. "2016 New York Elections, Primary, Candidates, Races and Voting". Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  34. Rocchio, Patrick (June 17, 2016). "13th Congressional district primary June 28". Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  35. "NYS Board of Elections Unofficial Election Night Results". June 29, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  36. Hallman, J. C. (June 11, 2020). "When Mr. Sloan Went to Washington". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  37. "Sam Sloan". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  38. Go, Marilyn (June 28, 1993). "92 Civ. 2388 (RJD) Report and recommendation". anusha.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  39. "Virginia Court System". Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016. On menu, pick Case Status Information/Circuit Court/Case Information. Pick Lynchburg Circuit Court. That should arrive at this web page. Enter case number CR91003195-00 on form and press Case Number Inquiry.
  40. "§ 18.2–47 of the Code of Virginia: Abduction and kidnapping defined; punishment". justia.com. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  41. "§ 18.2–26 of the Code of Virginia: Attempts to commit noncapital felonies; how punished". justia.com. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  42. "Sloan, Sam FIDE Chess Profile - Players Arbiters Trainers<". Retrieved February 4, 2020.

Cited texts
  • Brady, Frank (2011). Endgame: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Bobby Fischer. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-46390-6.
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