I created this video in the hope that viewers learn how they can gain some accountability for police misconduct. Using this incident to communicate the effectiveness of peaceful, principled tactics is fitting, as today is the three year anniversary of the theatrical release of the epic Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree.
Last Friday I got an email from Brandon Ross, my awesome pro-bono attorney, who informed me that Michael Valentine – who works as the District Attorney for Hillsborough County – has charged me with three felony wiretapping charges. Yes, these are the exact same charges as I was previously convicted of but were overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this month.
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.
It’s like deja vu all over again. The last blog I wrote for Free Keene detailed how the MPD had chosen to ignore the constitution in favor of the enforcement of a city ordinance, specifically a park curfew. This time they’re using a zoning ordinance about signs to squelch protest.