Story broke last night so here it is and it's pretty big as you'll read below:
Good news from Carla Gericke [South African immigrant and lawyer], current president of the Free State Project (which encourages libertarians to move to New Hampshire and help turn it into a more libertarian land).
Gericke had been arrested in 2010 by Sgt. Joseph Kelley of the Weare, New Hampshire, police department, for, among other charges, allegedly violating the state's wiretapping statues by attempting to film his actions after he'd pulled over a friend Gericke was driving behind. (The camera she aimed at him wasn't actually working.)
Gericke never went to trial, as the city declined to go ahead with the prosecution. But Gericke went ahead and sued the officer, the department, and city, claiming that the wiretapping charge, as today's decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit said, "constituted retaliatory prosecution in violation of her First Amendment rights."
More @
http://reason.com/blog/2014/05/23/free-state-project-leader-wins-victory-aAlso on Free Keene
http://freekeene.com/2014/05/23/fsp-president-wins-federal-case-against-weare-police/After multiple court decisions favoring Keene liberty activists, now with the US Court of Appeals (1st Circuit) ruling in favor of Free State Project president Carla Gericke in her case against multiple Weare police officers, the Weare PD, and the Town of Weare.
The case dates back to 2010 where Carla was arrested for recording a traffic stop in Weare (home of notoriously corrupt police who have arrested other activists for the same). Police dropped the charges against Carla before trial, which included a “wiretapping” charge. Carla, with the help of liberty attorney Seth Hipple, sued in federal district court. Her suit alleged the Weare police violated her rights, particularly those ostensibly protected by the 1st amendment to the US constitution. Weare PD motioned the district court for “summary judgement” based on claimed “qualified immunity” protecting the officers from liability. The district court denied them qualified immunity, so Weare’s attorneys filed an “interlocutory appeal” to challenge the district court’s decision.
Oh, and guess who is Weare’s attorney in this case? None other than Charles P. Bauer, the very same Charles Bauer who cashed in (and continues to cash in) on the City of Keene’s failed lawsuits against Robin Hood of Keene.
The 1st Circuit US Court of Appeals is the same court from which the Glik decision emanated. Glik is cited multiple times in the 21-page Gericke decision as evidence that the right to record government workers, especially police, is protected by the 1st amendment. The court’s decision makes it clear that the officers do not have “qualified immunity” because they, were they acting as reasonable officers, should have recognized Carla’s right to record the scene.
The appeals court ruled in Carla’s favor and now the case goes back to federal district court to proceed ahead in civil court, with the officers not protected from liability by “qualified immunity”, a protective shield typically given to bureaucrats supposedly to protect them from personal liability from mistaken decisions. Unless the case is settled by the town of Weare or PD, it will proceed. Stay tuned for the latest.
Just as a side note, back at PorcFest a couple of years back Carla busted me for trying to lift some burger patties from the main pavilion's freezer to feed me and our drunken crew at our camp site. I had a stack of cash in my pocket but it was after hours (party was over) so no one was around to collect but I paid when she pounced on me. She was cool with me ever since. I still remember back when these Weare jerkoffs arrested her and they had this coming. I hope she doesn't accept a settlement out of court but actually rides it through and sticks it to this cop in hopes of making it known once and for all that the badgeheads have to respect peeps' rights.
H/t to her attorney and my former mate (until I move back to NH),
Law Offices of Martin & Hipple, P.L.L.C.
22 Bridge Street, Second Floor, Suite 3,
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-856-0202 | Toll Free: 877-645-2909 | Fax: 603-546-7456
http://nhlegalservices.com/
