In our society, people between the ages of 18 and 21 are treated as second class citizens. On one hand, 18-20 year old adults are told that when they turn 18 they are adult enough to be forced to fight and die for the whims of politicians at the convenience of the Selective Service System. On the other hand, they are told that they essentially are stupid children who lack the ability to make responsible choices regarding when to consume alcohol. The irony of the latter is that when they do choose to consume alcohol in contravention of the law, they are punished as an adult, in adult court, for something that they have previously been deemed too childish to partake in.
Being between 18-20 years of age is also where most people embark on their higher education experience. Going to a college or university can be both fun, empowering of a bright future, and unfortunately, dangerous. As we who blog around here believe in individual responsibility, I believe that college students are adults whose liberty and freedom should be respected in such a manner so that they have both the natural and legal right to defend themselves on-campus or in their dorm if they were violently attacked.
Unfortunately for students and visitors of facilities of The University System of New Hampshire, there are rules that un-elected bureaucrats have handed down which purport that one cannot possess otherwise completely legal defensive weapons without facing severe consequences.
In my personal opinion, the rules that claim students and visitors at higher educational institutions like Keene State College, UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, Granite State College, and Plymouth State College cannot possess an otherwise legal knife or firearm are illegal, unenforceable, and contrary to established public policy.
On Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia sent out a press release stating that the Occupiers have 48 hours to evacuate their encampment. This is not the first time. Notices like this one have been put out in the past weeks, but police refused to enforce the evictions. I went down to Philadelphia to ask the cops what they will do. (more…)
1. Derrick J Freeman has his charges dropped for video recording in the lobby outside Keene District Court.
2. Ron Paul visits Keene State College
3. The latest installment of Better Than A Cop from Copblock.org
4. A video about the charitable event “Basket Brigade” carried out in Manchester, NH. Video thanks to Libertyontour.com
Pete Eyre and Ademo Freeman join the show as special guests on the discussion panel.
In 11-years in law enforcement, I have been in front of my share of judges as a representative of the state. In my time as someone working towards greater freedom with the wonderful activists of the Free State Project I have seen my share of the system crashing down on people who commit victimless acts that are either prohibited by criminal law or the nearly whimsical common-law contempt power of a judge.
With this experience I feel I am in a fairly credible position to say that the judicial professionalism I witnessed under the supervision of Judge Lyons during the trial of State v. Garret Ean on 11/18/11 in Manchester, NH is the example that all judges and court security officers (CSO)/bailiffs in New Hampshire should strive to reach.
Before the trial began, a gentleman who appeared to be the supervisory CSO addressed the audience and asked politely that people turn their phone ringers off. As I looked around I saw something that rude CSO’s would rarely see: activists complying with this polite and reasonable request. During the trial Judge Lyons was extremely insightful and even helpful to Garret with interpreting and explaining the various rules of the circuit court system. He also went well out of his way to either respect the rights of and/or ignore Pete Eyre’s wearing of a Cop Block baseball hat on the stand as he testified.
I hope other judges and CSO’s in this state learn to exhibit as much respect to pro se liberty activist type litigants as Judge Lyons and his subordinate CSO’s did.
Who knows, maybe even the Judicial Branch in New Hampshire is starting to figure out how to deal with liberty activists without the headache: show respect and ignore things that really don’t matter.
Radio Free Keene News is a five minute newscast which is available as a podcast and also will air at the top of some hours on LRN.FM.
You can download the edition for this week here. Topics covered include Derrick J’s charges for video recording being dropped, Derrick J being assaulted by court security over a hat, and a three-year retrospective by Keene activist Will May.
You can add Radio Free Keene News to your podcast client via this RSS feed.
Ademo Freeman went on trial last Monday in Manchester district court to answer to the charges of criminal mischief and resisting arrest. Ademo was the first of the Chalking 8 arrests made outside the police station during a police accountability rally on June 4. At least 17 supporters and members of independent media were present to witness as the state presented its case against Ademo, with five city of Manchester employees speaking in favor of the state.
Before the proceedings were underway, there was much conversation between liberty activists present and the representatives of the state. As these interactions were being filmed by various camera-wielding individuals, bailiffs approached those with cameras visible and handed them an order signed by the judge that limited recording to the duration of the trial itself. The order effectively banned pre and post trial interviews and interactions, which are often recorded when activists are due in court. The move was likely motivated by an interaction on camera which occurred outside courtroom #201 following my own trial three days prior.
At about 1:30, the event was to get underway when the defendant asked the status of two pretrial motions he had filed. Judge William Lyons indicated that he had denied both motions previously. Ademo responded that he would be ready to proceed after reading the judge’s ruling on the motions, and after a short recess, prosecutor Gregory Muller called his first witness.
Radio Free Keene News is a five minute newscast which is available as 
