City Accuses Robin Hooders of “Civil Conspiracy”

They just don’t know when to quit.  They only know how to escalate.  In a motion to amend the city’s original filed petition in the Robin Hood case, the city’s hired-gun (at who knows what cost to taxpayers) private attorneys have asked the judge to accept new language alleging that Robin Hooders are engaging in a “civil conspiracy” against the city and their parking enforcers.

What’s a “civil conspiracy”?  The city attorneys’ filing claims:

“A civil conspiracy is a combination of two or more persons by concerted action to accomplish an unlawful purpose, or to accomplish some purpose not in itself unlawful by unlawful means.”

What were the unlawful purposes or means?  They claim in the amended petition that the unlawful purpose was to cause “tortious interference” with the city’s employment contracts with the Parking Enforcement Officers.

But, the city already admitted in their initial following that they could not use the existing laws against the Robin Hooders – acknowledging that nothing we have done and are doing is illegal.  So is our behavior unlawful or not?  They can’t seem to decide.  Not like the private attorneys care – they just want more billable hours to the city, which will of course be paid by taxpayers.

Essentially their argument is that basic constitutional activity, (speaking to and recording bureaucrats), should be banned because some employee’s feelings might get hurt.

Here’s what our heroic, pro-bono, free-speech-loving attorney Jon Meyer has to say to that nonsense:  One day before the city’s filing, Jon filed his masterful response to their “Memorandum of Law“.  In his response, Meyer tears up the city attorneys’ memo, standing on constitutional grounds as well as case law. He cites the First Amendment of the US constitution as well as Articles 8 and 22 of the NH constitution as well as various cases including Schenck, where the US Supreme Court found floating buffer zones, like the city wants on their parking enforcers, as unconstitutional.  It’s worth a read.

Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest on the Robin Hood saga.  Meanwhile, on the streets of Keene, Robin Hooding continues unabated, while the city has pulled 1/3 of their enforcers off the street.  Alan Givetz is apparently on desk duty and has been for weeks.