Thanks to the Keene Sentinel’s Martha Shanahan for coming up to Concord on Wednesday to report on the City of Keene vs Robin Hood case. Here’s the story she filed:
CONCORD — The N.H. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday morning in the city of Keene’s lawsuit against six people it accuses of harassing and intimidating city parking enforcement officers.
The six defendants named in the case are Graham Colson, James Cleaveland, Garret Ean, Kate Ager, Ian Freeman and Peter Eyre, all affiliated in some way with the Free Keene activist and blogging group that regularly protests government actions in Keene.
The Robin Hooders’ attorney, Jon Meyer of Manchester, said asking the court to allow the city’s request for a buffer zone of 30 feet between the six people and the parking officers would be circumventing existing laws. The Robin Hooders have not been charged with any crime, he said.
“If there is no law that describes the conduct, I don’t think it’s appropriate to go to court,” he said.
The Robin Hooders regularly put change into expired parking meters before the city’s parking enforcement officers can write tickets.
They also regularly post videos they take of their interactions with the officers on YouTube and on the website FreeKeene.com.
The city’s request was denied by Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. in December; he cited First Amendment rights.
Charles P. Bauer, a Concord attorney hired by the city, argued that because Kissinger, a Cheshire County Superior Court judge, denied the injunction against the individuals named in the case, their harassment of parking enforcement officers has continued and caused one officer to quit his job.
The five judges’ questions Wednesday centered on several hypothetical situations resembling the allegations against the Robin Hooders, and whether the law protected them from similar behavior.
Oftentimes the judges’ hypothetical situations seemed to describe stalking, which is illegal under state law.
“I’m trying to imagine if someone followed me all day, every day,” Associate Justice Carol Ann Conboy said.
Bauer said the injunctions would only be a measure to allow the parking officers to complete their jobs without feeling threatened, not to stifle the Robin Hooders’ anti-government message or their freedom of speech.
As part of the same case, the city has sought financial reimbursement because the officers weren’t able to perform their jobs properly; for counseling; and for costs because one of the officers quit and had to be replaced.
The judges addressed that issue briefly but did not indicate whether they would grant that request.
The judges will deliberate and issue a ruling.
