On June 9, the NH Supreme Court released the long awaited ruling in the case of City of Keene v. James Cleaveland, et al (aka Robin Hood of Keene). It looks like Robin Hood of Keene is heading back to court for the request for injunctive relief, the rest of the case was affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Here are three relevant portions of the decision:
Affirmed:
“[W]e conclude that the trial court correctly determined that enforcing the City’s tortious interference with contractual relations claim would violate the respondents’ First Amendment rights. Given this conclusion, we need not reach the respondents’ argument that the tortious interference claim is also barred by the State Constitution. (more…)
Today is my birthday, and where else would I want to be at 8:30am except in Judge Burke’s courtroom, awaiting another parking ticket arraignment? Last time I tried the “dead fish” strategy: I didn’t speak during arraignment, I barely spoke during trial, and I was predictably railroaded by the prosecution. Judge Burke found me guilty of two parking violations and fined me $10.
The trial and everything leading up to it costs the court (and therefore the taxpayers) far more than the $10 collected in “revenue”. Not only is it costly for the government to prosecute this victimless crime, it’s also time consuming: the prosecutor was kept busy filing paperwork, gathering witnesses, and preparing his arguments. The entire parking enforcement (which only consists of 2 people) was incapacitated for nearly 4 hours while sequestered for trial. How much money can the city government collect in 8 parking enforcement man-hours? Well, that opportunity was lost because I chose to take these tickets to trial.
If you think this is stupid, you might be surprised that I agree with you. What a waste of time and money! But remember — I didn’t set the system up this way — the people calling themselves “the government” did. And they can stop this charade at any time by simply dismissing the parking tickets. What would they have to lose? They’d certainly have a lot to gain.
Anyway, this time, I chose a new strategy: Go to arraignment with a piece of paper already written out, explaining that I want to plead GUILTY, except the paper is *UNSIGNED*. Once Judge Burke accepts this piece of paper, it becomes part of the record. It is now on the record that I want to plead guilty.
You’d think that would be enough, but Judge Burke did something interesting. He entered a plea of NOT GUILTY on my behalf. Why would he do that? The answer can be found in the following short video from court this morning:
In short, my point was: The judge has demonstrated bias against me, the defendant. Judge Burke is presuming (without evidence) that I am subject to the laws of the State of New Hampshire, but that is one of the elements that must be proven by the prosecution! How can I be forced to be at arraignment if the Judge is not presuming jurisdiction?
What do you think about this strategy? My next step is to file a motion to reverse the plea and motion to have Judge Burke recuse himself because of the bias he demonstrated. He is protecting the prosecutor and doing his job for him by assuming one of the essential elements of the crime: jurisdiction. Without jurisdiction, the case must be dismissed, but he’s not going to let that happen, is he?
Delicious treats will be delivered tomorrow to the folks calling themselves the “City of Keene” as thanks for all the publicity they have given to Robin Hood of Keene with their ridiculous lawsuit against us. Look for the decision to be rendered by the NH supreme court tomorrow. The chocolate-covered strawberries will be delivered regardless of how the supreme robed men and women decide. Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest on the case.
A note of gratitude.
Should you like some Sherri’s Berries for yourself or for someone as a gift, please use code FTL by clicking the microphone at the top right of their website.
On June 3rd, 2015 as a board member for the Foundation for New Hampshire Independence, I organized a Brew and Sedition event at Able Ebenezer in Merrimack NH. Able Ebenezer is a popular fairly new micro brewery in Merrimack NH. Able Ebenezer was chosen for the event because of it’s name. Able Ebenezer’s name is branded from the inspirational actions of local New Hampshire citizens who rallied behind Ebenezer Mudgett in 1772 to defy British oppression. History remembers this event as the Pine Tree Riot in which Able resisted the state’s assertion that they owned his trees. The purpose of this event was to promote Independence by getting supporters together for drinks and for networking purposes. Chandler Gabel also gave a speech on the need to network with others in the state that also support Independence. There were over two dozen supporters that came out to this event. This may seem on the light side but where else in the United States are people getting together for the purpose of declaring Independence from the Union? Future meetings and planned events for Independence Day were discussed. For more information on New Hampshire Independence, check out nhindependence.org
One man’s trash • Ji is free! • All drink and no food • Turn that fire down • The bellamy salute and some pesky kid who won’t stand for the pledge • Activists head back to school • VT cop gets snickerdoodled • Local sheep segregating by color? • Darryl, Shaunna, Tim, and Rapsher join • Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
Derrick J joins us in studio to celebrate our 50th episode! Topics this week include Derrick ending his THC cleanse, does poly “demean the relationship”? reviews of Shire Dude finale, Karaoke in Manch, taking parking tickets to court, Shire Dude joining as cohost of Flaming Freedom? RLS is to poly anarchists as Flaming Freedom is to gay anarchists, Shire Dude rejects labels, whats the greatest number of porcupines? Gay or Poly? thoughts on Liberland, #dickgate, beef squashing, Shire Dude/Rob drama with the artist formerly known as O girl, when is it appropriate to go public, why mediation is important, plans at porcfest, and cop blocking in Manchester. The Rebel Love Show is live every Tuesday night at 10 pm EST on LRN.FM.
I’ve never feared for my safety quite like I did yesterday. I have been beaten, kidnapped, and shot at before. I’ve had my gun pointed at a man’s chest when police showed up. I’velive streamed a riot where drunken lunatics flipped cars and screamed “Fuck the press!”. I’ve been involved in some pretty precarious situations, but none were ever quite so frightening as watching 73 year old Bernie Sanders whip hundreds of radical leftists into a frenzy yesterday in Keene, New Hampshire. That might sound a bit hyperbolic, but I’m dead serious. (more…)
On June 9, the NH Supreme Court released the long awaited ruling in the case of City of Keene v. James Cleaveland, et al (aka Robin Hood of Keene). It looks like Robin Hood of Keene is heading back to court for the request for injunctive relief, the rest of the case was affirmed by the Supreme Court.
