Town is requesting to inspect inside my home for assessment. Need help!

[Raineyrocks]

I apologize for being incognito, my friends. Life does get in the way of political action at times - in particular, when your child is nine months old and needs your time and support while your wife is taking her general exam for a Ph.D. program.

What follows is my response to your request for an update:

First, I am extremely appreciative of your support and willingness to appear at a protest at my house.

Second, I have decided that the idea of allowing the town to violate my Fourth Amendment rights, even under duress with a video taped protest, is wrong. I just cannot allow my Fourth Amendment rights to be violated - period. I feel it sets a precedent that I do not want to set. I believe in the sanctity of my home and I do not want that sanctity violated by government intrusion.

As of today, I have had a conversation with an attorney at the Institute for Justice who presented me with two options: 1) To stage the protested appraisal, post a video of the event, and then take action to change the law. 2) To resist the interior appraisal, but proactively send documentation to Town Hall that provides the same information they would be looking for on the inside, and then take action to change the law.

I have chosen to execute the second option and am in the process of putting the information together. Subsequently, I plan on working with my state representatives to change the law that offends me. The Institute for Justice Attorney said he would work with me to craft the proper edit, which essentially would make what I plan to do proactively the legal alternative to an interior inspection.

At this juncture, I have not sent the letter to Town Hall or reached out to my state rep. When I do, I will update this thread accordingly.

I still need your help, however. Once I send the information to my Town Hall in Derry, I will need you to help support my efforts with the state legislature, especially if you live in my district, but also if you live outside of it. I will likely host a gathering at my home when it comes time to bring these requests to our state legislators.

Again, I am very appreciative of your support and will keep you updated as this progresses.

I never knew there was an Institute for Justice.  Good luck with everything!

[error]

http://www.ij.org/

They do a lot of eminent domain work, and they were involved in the Kelo v. New London case.

[amanuse]

Please list the other organizations you refer to. It is always good to have every resource at hand.

[cathleeninnh]

+1 for Andrew!

[Raineyrocks]

http://www.ij.org/

They do a lot of eminent domain work, and they were involved in the Kelo v. New London case.

They are fairly non-responsive unless a taking is "eminent".  They must have time on their hands---the NH takings issues they were sent briefs on were basically ignored.  There are other organization if their follow through wanes.   

Oh, thank you !

[Dreepa]

http://www.ij.org/

They do a lot of eminent domain work, and they were involved in the Kelo v. New London case.

They are fairly non-responsive unless a taking is "eminent".  They must have time on their hands---the NH takings issues they were sent briefs on were basically ignored.  There are other organization if their follow through wanes.   

Rainey maybe you were thinking of the Hall of Justice.. 
Oh, thank you !

[Raineyrocks]

http://www.ij.org/

They do a lot of eminent domain work, and they were involved in the Kelo v. New London case.

They are fairly non-responsive unless a taking is "eminent".  They must have time on their hands---the NH takings issues they were sent briefs on were basically ignored.  There are other organization if their follow through wanes.   

Rainey maybe you were thinking of the Hall of Justice.. 
Oh, thank you !

No, I really wasn't thinking at all!    Just kidding!  I really never did hear of an Institute for Justice.

[SethCohn]

I apologize for being incognito, my friends. Life does get in the way of political action at times - in particular, when your child is nine months old and needs your time and support while your wife is taking her general exam for a Ph.D. program.

....

At this juncture, I have not sent the letter to Town Hall or reached out to my state rep. When I do, I will update this thread accordingly.

I still need your help, however. Once I send the information to my Town Hall in Derry, I will need you to help support my efforts with the state legislature, especially if you live in my district, but also if you live outside of it. I will likely host a gathering at my home when it comes time to bring these requests to our state legislators.

Again, I am very appreciative of your support and will keep you updated as this progresses.

While it's too late for something to be submitted this year (ie 2008 session), this is a great issue to raise for the 2009 session, and get lots of Reps lined up for now.  Some might not be back, but the more Reps lined up the better. (And State Senators would be useful as well, of course)

I think you can count on a lot of support, if it's an issue you want to take on...

[Rodinia]

If I recall, the initiation of the property assessment was court ordered due to a challenge of the state wide property tax being unfair. A court ruling does not a law make. Article 19 of the NH constitution last 3 words...unless prescribed by law.

I picked through the Derry code and found none regarding property assessment.
Have you called Gomez to ask under what authority these inspections are being made? 

[amanuse]

Rodinia,
Thank you for your assistance, but it is my understanding that this is a state law, not part of Derry code. Please review the laws cited in this post <http://newhampshireunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=11044.msg189146#msg189146>. Let me know what you think.
A

[amanuse]

To add to the discussion, it appears Section 1 of Amendment 14 also protects due process rights (the right to appeal the assessment even if I don't allow assessor in my house in violation to Fourth Amendment).

Amendment XIV

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

[Rodinia]

Hi Amanuse,

I would agree with your view on amendment 14.

Have you called your rep and talked through the situation? If your rep(s) isn't a good one, you may want to call a liberty oriented rep and ask about the situation too. Also, it doesn't hurt to call and talk to the prime sponsor of the bill. That way, you can find out what the original intention was for the legislation.
Have you considered denying the town access to your home but hiring a private real estate assessor to come in? Far be if for me to assume a town employee assessing real estate is a conflict of interest  I can't imagine the town would have a problem accepting a private assessment...
Please keep this situation updated. Sorry for your troubles.

[amanuse]

Rodinia,

It would be a great idea to discuss the original intent of the bill with its sponsor. Thanks for that suggestion.

Hiring a private assessor would defeat the purpose of my protest, however. I don't think the government at any level has the right to information about the inside of my home, other than stuff that is clearly available from other means/documents, such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms I have. It's the violation of the sanctity of my home that I am opposed to. It is only recently that town assessors have begun inspecting the inside of people's home, violating their Fourth Amendment rights.

Thanks for the support.

[Dave Ridley]

keep us up to date how we can help.  would you like me to do a ridley report about your situation at some point?

http://ridleyreport.com