Cheshire Sheriff’s No-Trespass Orders Ruled Unconstitutional

by | Mar 6, 2013 | 6 comments

footeAt the very beginning of 2012, several activists including myself were banned from the entire Cheshire “superior” court property by then-Sheriff Dick Foote. Foote’s ridiculous order claimed it was due to “persistent harassment” of court staff. He was referring to some activists wishing the court bureaucrats “happy holidays” as they entered and left their workplace. Additionally, we sang them some Chronic Carols and asked them some questions about the thuggish behavior of their coworkers, the court security agents.

A couple months later, Kelly, Derrick J, and I teamed up with Miami photojournalist Carlos Miller and paid a visit to the court on official court business. Sheriff Foote refused to return calls from us, which is what he was demanding in his order before we’d be allowed on the public property for which we’re all forced to pay. All three of us were arrested and Carlos was threatened by Sheriff Caleb Dodson.

Due to facing multiple charges from multiple arrests, Derrick made the tough choice of taking a plea, but Kelly and I didn’t have the same weight of charges on us and we knew we were in the right and the trespass order was wrong, so we pressed on. County attorney David Lauren met with us and offered a pretty sweet plea deal – he’d drop the charge to a violation level (it was being charged as a Class A with up to a year in jail the possible penalty) offense and it’d be a $250 fine, suspended on condition of good behavior. I was out of jail on a nine-month suspended sentence from my last conviction and if I received another misdemeanor conviction I could go back to jail for the remaining nine months. Despite that looming threat, I refused the plea, as did Kelly, and the matter was to continue to trial.

Attorney Jon MeyerShortly thereafter, heroic free-speech attorney Jon Meyer stepped forward to take the case on principle and pro-bono. In a hearing held regarding the validity of the no trespass order, Meyer had Sheriff Dick Foote on the ropes. That raw video is long (and entertaining in many parts), but for those with less time, Meyer also summarized Foote’s ridiculous claims regarding the order in post-hearing memorandums, which you can read here.

Now, several months after that hearing, Keene district court’s judge Edward Burke has made the right decision. He has ruled in an order that the no-trespass orders, as applied to me and Kelly Voluntaryist, are unconstitutional and dismissed the cases against us! (more…)

Grafton Liberty Activists Show You How It’s Done

by | Mar 6, 2013 | 2 comments

All of a sudden, Grafton is back in the news. Looks like the liberty activist community has been quietly growing there and getting organized – to the point where at a recent town meeting activists voted to put a ballot measure on to reduce the town budget 10%. The aggressors are worried. Here’s the story from local mainstream mouthpiece Valley News:

By Jim Kenyon

Grafton — At last month’s deliberative session, “Free Staters” and their allies scored a victory by getting preliminary approval for a major cut in town spending. On Town Meeting Day, voters will go to the polls to decide whether the proposed budget reduction of more than $128,000 will stick.

The proposal represents a budget cut of either 10 percent or 13 percent, depending on whether the Free Staters’ or Selectboard’s figures are used. Either way, if voters uphold the cut, “it certainly won’t be trivial and people are definitely going to notice it,” said Selectman David Rienzo. “I think it would be better for the town if people rejected the Free Staters’ budget.” (more…)