Judge William Lyons overruled an objection to a recording notice made by attorney Gregory Muller on Tuesday, November 15 just prior to the trial of Wesley Gilwreath. Wesley was among the first two arrests at the Manchester police department on June 4, 2011. He and Ademo Freeman were arrested for chalking on the building of the station during a police accountability rally. In the hours following the initial arrests, activists and their property were seized by police for a number of legally questionable reasons.
The day prior to the trial, I had submitted notice to record to the clerk. As is usual, just before the proceedings got underway, both parties were presented with the notice. With my name listed on the recording form as the correspondent, Gregory Muller objected, claiming that I had a ‘vested interest’ in Wesley’s trial. The judge failed to see how my ability to record a third party’s legal proceedings could cause any ill-gotten gain. To the objection, the judge asked, “Do you have any legal authority for the proposition that one vitiates their standing under the first amendment, by virtue of having charges arising out of the same incident?”
I went with Ian Freeman to his traffic court ticket on November 1. He was alleged to have not paid a parking meter, resulting in a $10 fine. He was found guilty despite several convincing motions to dismiss based on lack of competency of the witness, lack of clarity, and others. Despite his being found guilty, it was uplifting to know that by NOT taking the plea deal, he kept a parking enforcement officer off the streets and unable to ticket approximately 30 peaceful people whose crimes involve no victim–they would simply be extorted by agents of the State.
Thanks, Ian, for sacrificing your time and energy to fighting the State in their own home-turf, peacefully using words and reason and argumentation. The fact that they cannot negotiate using reason, but instead resort to force, is an indication of their dying system being replaced by Life 2.0 — a freer, more peaceful world.
Everyone who goes to court to defend himself against being charged with a victimless crime is using his mind and body and energy to change the world. Those who fight the state in court take up valuable time and resources for agents of the State–time and resources they’d rather be using to extort people. You can participate in this kind of activism by Pleading Not Guilty to victimless crimes and by handing out FreeKeene’s “Don’t Take the Plea Deal” flyers in your own town.
First, they came for Keene. It was this summer when “administrative judge” Edwin Kelly wrote an “ORDER” banning all cameras and audio recording devices from the district court in Keene. After that ban, Derrick and Jason Talley were arrested for using video cameras in court lobbies.
Talley was arrested in “superior” court, where the same Keene-only ban was enacted. (In reaction to the large activists-with-cameras presence we have had here for a long time.) Thus far, the superior court ban has not been expanded to all superior courts in NH, but as of 10/24 it has been expanded to all of NH’s circuit courts, according to a new “ORDER” from Edwin Kelly. Click for a PDF.
In a big “fuck you” to the freedom of press, Kelly writes:
No cameras or audio equipment may be used in the lobby or other public, noncourtroom,
area of any courthouse;
On a whim two years ago, performance artist Jonathan Doyle paraded around the bustling peak of New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock in a $40 Bigfoot costume from iParty.
He thought his deadpan video interviews with hikers describing their Bigfoot sightings would be worth a few chuckles on YouTube, and might boost the profile of his other artwork.
Bigfoot, courtesy of Jonathan Doyle (click to enlarge)
But the staff at Monadnock State Park found the Yeti act abominable. When Doyle returned with friends to shoot a sequel, the park manager quashed the production and ordered Doyle off the mountain, insisting he needed a state permit to film a movie in the park.
Bigfoot stepped up with a lawsuit, alleging that the park’s permit regulations are unconstitutional. (more…)
Today all charges against the Lemonade Liberating 3 were dropped!
Upon arriving for our 2nd appearance in the Washington DC Superior Court, my fellow ‘lemonistas’ and I had no idea what to expect. We very well could have been taking our last steps as free people, facing up to a year in jail… for selling lemonade. However, we were overjoyed when the judge called us to the front, and with a big grin said, “your case has been dismissed, you are all free to go!” I think he was as happy as we were.
Immediately after exiting the courtroom, we made our way over to the capitol building (where we had previously been banned from) and snapped some pictures from the scene of our NON-crime. It was a great day for all of us; but more importantly, for liberty. We were able to show another example of how the government will try to crush peaceful people into submission with orders and threats, until they reach a point where they are forced to choose between backing down or creating a martyr. Either way, they lose. (more…)
Judge William Lyons overruled an objection to a recording notice made by attorney Gregory Muller on Tuesday, November 15 just prior to the trial of Wesley Gilwreath. Wesley was among the first two arrests at the Manchester police department on June 4, 2011. He and Ademo Freeman were arrested for chalking on the building of the station during a police accountability rally. In the hours following the initial arrests, activists and their property were seized by police for a number of legally questionable reasons.
