Now Out Of Jail, Sam’s Story Makes News Again

This news just released on KeeneSentinel.com was likely also published today, Friday, in the paper. Though out of jail, the story of Sam’s detainment and trumped up charges is far from over. His courage has gained him and liberty activists in general a lot of public attention and opened a lot of eyes. It looks like that will only continue, as Sam and supporters reveal to people who otherwise wouldn’t be paying attention the corruption within the system.

Jailed Free Stater a free man
Judge orders his release pending trial on misdemeanors
By Anika Clark
Sentinel Staff
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009 1:01 PM EDT

Each year, thousands of people are forced into jail and prison cells throughout the country.

Few of them must be pushed out.

But after a nearly two-month standoff, local authorities recently kicked Keene resident Sam A. Miller out of the Cheshire County jail in Westmoreland.

“He was just refusing to leave jail,” said jail Superintendent Richard N. Van Wickler. “We eventually talked him into walking with us to the lobby where he was greeted by some of his friends.”

On June 9 — still wearing his tangerine-orange jumpsuit — Miller left the building a free man.

That is, depending on whom you ask.

A participant in the Free State Project — an attempt to draw 20,000 “liberty-loving people” to New Hampshire — Miller, 33, goes by the name “Sam Dodson” because he says his birth name has been usurped by a tyrannical government.

On April 13, he opposed that system by using a video camera in the Keene District Court lobby — defying an unsigned order, which he disputes, against photography in the area.

After allegedly refusing to turn off the camera, Miller fell limp in a sign of noncompliance. People in the lobby could hear him screaming behind a closed conference room door before police carried him out of the building.

Authorities also arrested or issued summonses to several fellow activists for allegedly failing to follow orders to leave the room.

Miller’s arrest touched off a fierce battle of wills, which led to his nearly two-month detention.

Despite the fact that court and jail officials had Miller’s Texas driver’s license and knew his real name, Judge Edward J. Burke ordered that Miller’s trial not be scheduled until he gave identifying information about himself.

That changed on June 9 when Burke ordered his release.

On June 4, Miller’s legal counsel, Ivy Walker — also known as Sharon Ankrom — was arrested, accused of having a suspended registration and two false inspection stickers and being a fugitive from justice for embezzlement charges in Rhode Island, according to a Laconia District Court employee.

A “significant consequence of those actions is that the Defendant is now deprived of counsel,” Burke wrote.

Burke then called Miller’s detainment up to that point the result of his refusal to provide a physical address, and said the “Court stands by this requirement.”

But, he wrote, “Under the unique circumstances now before the Court, the appropriate course of action is to allow the Defendant to be released (from) custody to allow him the opportunity to prepare his defense outside of his jail setting.”

Burke said he couldn’t comment about open cases.

Miller’s pending release sparked yet another showdown, when he refused to sign the bail bond because he said he couldn’t agree to the bail terms — among them that he provide his physical and mailing addresses — and wanted to wait for the arrival of his attorney.

Still, Van Wickler said, “As soon as the judge gave that order I no longer had any authority to hold Sam.”

Miller said he told authorities he wouldn’t change his clothes until he saw the terms and later wasn’t given the opportunity to change.

He now awaits a July trial on reduced, Class B misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and common law criminal contempt.

In addition, Miller is also set to be tried for violating a city ordinance for allegedly refusing to be processed by police, according to Keene police Prosecutor D. Chris McLaughlin.

In the meantime, Miller’s new attorney, William L. O’Brien of Mont Vernon, has filed a motion to suppress on the grounds that authorities allegedly failed to read Miller his Miranda rights.

And because Miller’s arrest occurred at Keene District Court, O’Brien also filed a motion for a change of venue and a motion for Burke to recuse to himself from the trials.

Instead of the possibility for incarceration, each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum $1,200 fine, according to McLaughlin. The ordinance violation carries a maximum fine of $1,000.

But even if Miller is slapped with the highest penalties possible, this will still be less than what taxpayers probably paid to keep him in jail.

At what Van Wickler called a conservative cost estimate of $64 per day, Miller’s confinement would have cost more than $3,600.

This is a price tag that’s rankled some people who have commented on The Sentinel’s Web site.

In response to an earlier article about Miller, one reader wrote, “Perhaps showing you dont (sic) like our tax dollars being spent foolishly and giving your name just to SAVE the taxpayers which you seem to always be so concerned with would make more sense.”

So why did he do it?

“My decision to stay in (jail) was based on a number of things,” Miller said. “I was asserting my rights … and I was being held indefinitely without trial for that.”

The showdown also brought attention to the ideas of Libertarians and people affiliated with the Free State Project, according to Miller.

As for the allegation that he was sticking it to the taxpayer, he said, “I agree that it’s a total waste of money – of tax dollars and government resources — to jail peaceful, nonviolent people who haven’t hurt anybody. …

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s the system these people have asked for. And I agree. I think it’s terribly wasteful and inefficient, and that’s why I’m doing things to change it.”

Anika Clark can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1432, or aclark@keenesentinel.com.