Last evening in the Mabel Brown room of Keene State College, Cheshire county jail superintendent Richard Van Wickler hosted a presentation representing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. In the roughly hour-long speech followed by question and answer session, the failures of modern drug prohibition policy were addressed and the call was made to scale back the hostility of the drug war. Van Wickler is one of only two LEAP speakers that is an actively employed member of law enforcement. Filmed from multiple angles, see the embedded videos below for playlists from either angle.
Thursday’s Keene Sentinel featured an update on the Robin Hood saga penned by Kyle Jarvis. The article overviews how the case is being prepped for presentation to the New Hampshire supreme court, where before being scheduled requires both parties to consider the possibility of mandatory mediation. The mediation process would involve a closed-door meeting between both parties to agree on a legal compromise. Mediation is certainly a fitting alternative to the courts for conflict resolution when a conflict exists, but as is uniquely the case in Keene, city officials can’t cite a single grievance against the Robin Hooders collectively beyond expressing a desire that they do not be in the proximity of or communicate with parking enforcers. For some individual Robin Hooders, no specific issues have been raised at all, and considering that Pete Eyre is still named in the suit when he has at no time been associated with Robin Hood of Keene demonstrates the indiscriminate nature of the city’s straw-grasping lawsuit. Early in the suit, the city requested the ability to add defendants to the case at will, but apparently ceased its hunt for the underground Robin Hooders after at least two individuals officially requested attachment to the suit and were denied, despite one presenting evidence of longtime participation in the activity.
While the ruling from judge John Kissinger was reasonable, a further contemplation of the case may have demonstrated the need for a less traditional ruling, which may have alleviated some of the issues that the legal department of “city of Keene” continues to press today. Though the judge never authorized “harassment and intimidation”, the ruling states only that the facts presented did not constitute any actionable activity. Yet the city’s attorney asserted this about the ruling: “The Order holds that the individual protesters have no duty to be reasonable in their actions and conduct directed toward public employees while doing their jobs … that the individual protesters are allowed to interfere, harass, and intimidate public employees while doing their jobs … (and) that the individual protesters may engage in inappropriate and unreasonable actions and conduct directed at public employees while doing their jobs.” Not only is it unkind to mischaracterize constitutionally protected speech as “harassment and intimidation,” but it is also a distortion of the actual text of the ruling. Perhaps mediation would have been most pertinent prior to the many hours spent in court, where it could have been cleared up ahead of time that Robin Hooders do not engage in harassment and intimidation. Of course, when myself I tried mediate with the city’s attorney prior to court, my camera was stolen for two months under the guise of “illegal wiretapping”. (more…)
The Keene Sentinel’s Kyle Jarvis reports on “the City” and their newfound desire to mediate with Robin Hood of Keene‘s merry men and women. Our attorney, Jon Meyer, responds that we’re not negotiating – the issues in the case are fundamental principles of freedom. They are not subject to negotiation:
Trying to settle a lawsuit out of court between the city of Keene and a group known as “Robin Hood of Keene” looks to be tough, that group’s attorney said this week.
The “Robin Hooders” fill expired parking meters before city parking enforcement officers can write tickets for the violations.
Last year, the city accused members of the group of harassing and intimidating the officers when they were performing their duties. It sought a 30-foot safety zone between the officers and activists. Keene officials also 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 city said in a complaint.
Cheshire County Superior Court Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. dismissed the city’s complaints in December, citing free speech rights under the First Amendment.
City officials have appealed to the N.H. Supreme Court.
The court recommends resolution through mediation, according to Jon Meyer of Manchester, an attorney representing the Robin Hooders for free. But he’s skeptical that could be accomplished easily. (more…)
Ridley raises some controversial questions about FBI entrapment strategy and whether or not certain elements of the strategy would be justified by a nonviolent defensive organization in a stateless society. The questions are raised on the heels of an Illinois jury refusing to convict three protesters arrested prior to the 2012 NATO Summit of terrorism-related charges after manufacturing four molotov cocktails with the assistance of multiple undercover police operatives. More could certainly be said on the topic, with one of the major criticism’s of the practice’s ethics not being addressed, that of the use of deception and fraud to motivate actions of others.
Today, after more than a year of time and work, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled on my appeal for my felony wiretapping convictions, stating:
The evidence of the defendant’s willful mental state at the time he recorded the conversations was far from overwhelming. Thus, there is the very real prospect that the jury would have returned different verdicts had it been properly instructed. Cf. United States v. Paul, 37 F.3d 496, 500 (9th Cir. 1994) (finding the plain error test satisfied where the district court improperly instructed the jury on the different mental state requirements of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, for in doing so the district court “created a substantial risk that [the defendant] was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, even though the jury may have believed the killing was neither intentional nor extremely reckless”). To allow the convictions to stand under these circumstances “would seriously affect the fairness and integrity of judicial proceedings.” Guay, 162 N.H. at 384. Accordingly, we reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial.
On the morning of February 10 in the new Cheshire county court building, which houses the Keene District Court, the room was packed as usual for arraignments. Travis Hobbs, who had made himself the subject of a video posted to Fr33manTVraw by threatening and attacking Robin Hooders, was present to plead not guilty to multiple charges of criminal threatening. Though it is unclear specifically as no state paperwork is currently available from this case, information from the Keene police suggest that Travis is facing four misdemeanor charges of criminal threatening. Shortly after the incident, the KPD requested that a statement be provided which outlines the events documented on video on the afternoon of Friday, August 02. Some of the information pertaining to the case was read aloud by Edward Burke. Below is video from the portion of the arraignment that occurred before the judge. Individual conferences with the representative of the prosecutor, KPD’s James Cemorelis (in police attire with firearm), occurred as each person demanded present was called past the bar prior to the judge’s arrival. The trial date has been set for June 17, and the defendant was appointed a public defender.
Last evening in the Mabel Brown room of Keene State College, Cheshire county jail superintendent Richard Van Wickler hosted a presentation representing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. In the roughly hour-long speech followed by question and answer session, the failures of modern drug prohibition policy were addressed and the call was made to scale back the hostility of the drug war. Van Wickler is one of only two LEAP speakers that is an actively employed member of law enforcement. Filmed from multiple angles, see the embedded videos below for playlists from either angle.
