Free Speech Trial

[Dave Ridley]

Roger I think the sign above might be even more effective if it said

*all* NH
is a free speech zone

rather than
New Hampshire
is a free speech zone

The former version takes up less space

BTW kat if you look in the shed you will see I left the

Dear MPD
All NH is a
Free Speech zone

sign there.  You might want to bring it for one of the others to hold, the thing has proven super popular with the public. 

[FrankChodorov]

Roger I think the sign above might be even more effective if it said

*all* NH
is a free speech zone

not if all of NH is private property...

[Tom Sawyer]

Roger I think the sign above might be even more effective if it said

*all* NH
is a free speech zone

rather than
New Hampshire
is a free speech zone

The former version takes up less space

Check... I'll change to that.

[Kat Kanning]

Is the Secret Service Agent that gave this order to MPD going to be available as a witness at trial.

Not without some lawyer to call him.

[Dreepa]

What time on June 1st is the hearing?

[Kat Kanning]

8:15 am

[president]

They say we "failed to obey a lawful order". They have not said what that lawful order is.

Since they sent Kira (with a flag) and Cathleen (with a tiny ED sign) across the street, I guess the order was "to clear all people with signs and flags off of the West Side of Elm Street."

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/LXII/644/644-2.htm

    644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose; or
    II. He or she:
       (a) Engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior in a public place; or
       (b) Directs at another person in a public place obscene, derisive, or offensive words which are likely to provoke a violent reaction on the part of an ordinary person; or
       (c) Obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic on any public street or sidewalk or the entrance to any public building; or
       (d) Engages in conduct in a public place which substantially interferes with a criminal investigation, a firefighting operation to which RSA 154:17 is applicable, the provision of emergency medical treatment, or the provision of other emergency services when traffic or pedestrian management is required; or
      (e) Knowingly refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from or remain away from any public place; or
    III. He purposely causes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creates a risk thereof, by:
       (a) Making loud or unreasonable noises in a public place, or making loud or unreasonable noises in a private place which can be heard in a public place or other private places, which noises would disturb a person of average sensibilities; or
       (b) Disrupting the orderly conduct of business in any public or governmental facility; or
       (c) Disrupting any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority.
    III-a. When noise under subparagraph III(a) is emanating from a vehicle's sound system or any portable sound system located within a vehicle, a law enforcement officer shall be considered a person of average sensibilities for purposes of determining whether the volume of such noise constitutes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm, and the officer may take enforcement action to abate such noise upon detecting the noise, or upon receiving a complaint from another person.
    IV. (a) Whenever a peace officer has probable cause to believe that a serious threat to the public health or safety is created by a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, riot, ongoing criminal activity that poses a risk of bodily injury, or other disaster, the officer may close the area where the threat exists and the adjacent area necessary to control the threat or to prevent its spread, for the duration of the threat, until related law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service operations are complete, by means of ropes, markers, uniformed emergency service personnel, or any other reasonable means, to any persons not authorized by a peace officer or emergency services personnel to enter or remain within the closed area.
       (b) Peace officers may close the immediate area surrounding any emergency field command post activated for the purpose of abating any threat enumerated in this paragraph to any unauthorized persons, whether or not the field command post is located near the source of the threat.
       (c) Any unauthorized person who knowingly enters an area closed pursuant to this paragraph or who knowingly remains within the area after receiving a lawful order from a peace officer to leave shall be guilty of disorderly conduct.
    V. In this section:
       (a) "Lawful order" means:
          (1) A command issued to any person for the purpose of preventing said person from committing any offense set forth in this section, or in any section of Title LXII or Title XXI, when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that said person is about to commit any such offense, or when said person is engaged in a course of conduct which makes his commission of such an offense imminent;
          (2) A command issued to any person to stop him from continuing to commit any offense set forth in this section, or in any section of Title LXII or Title XXI, when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that said person is presently engaged in conduct which constitutes any such offense; or
          (3) A command not to enter or a command to leave an area closed pursuant to paragraph IV, provided that a person may not lawfully be ordered to leave his or her own home or business.
       (b) "Public place" means any place to which the public or a substantial group has access. The term includes, but is not limited to, public ways, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, government offices or facilities, and the lobbies or hallways of apartment buildings, dormitories, hotels or motels.
    VI. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor if the offense continues after a request by any person to desist; otherwise, it is a violation.

Source. 1971, 518:1. 1983, 200:1. 1985, 309:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. 2005, 192:1, 2, eff. June 30, 2005; 260:2, 3, eff. July 22, 2005.

[d_goddard]

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/LXII/644/644-2.htm
    644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose; or
    II. He or she:
      (e) Knowingly refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from or remain away from any public place

I think the best way forward here is to question the constitutionality of this specific line in the RSA.

As written, any police officer can make you leave the park, sidewalk, state house, or anywhere else "public", with no specific reason. You look funny, he's afraid of his latent homosexual feelings towards you, whatever, doesn't matter, he tells you to move you gotta move.

No way that's constitutional.

[hook]

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/LXII/644/644-2.htm
    644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose; or
    II. He or she:
      (e) Knowingly refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from or remain away from any public place

I think the best way forward here is to question the constitutionality of this specific line in the RSA.

As written, any police officer can make you leave the park, sidewalk, state house, or anywhere else "public", with no specific reason. You look funny, he's afraid of his latent homosexual feelings towards you, whatever, doesn't matter, he tells you to move you gotta move.

No way that's constitutional.

Previously posted:

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. DAVID NICKERSON & a.

No. 80-058

Supreme Court of New Hampshire

Rockingham

Decided December 17, 1980


We therefore share the United States Supreme Court's view that a
statute which "makes it a criminal offense for any person `to refuse or
fail to comply with any lawful order . . . of a police officer' . . . [is]
so broad as to evoke constitutional doubts of the utmost gravity."
Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham, 382 U.S. 87, 93 (1965). Moreover, "one cannot
be punished for failing to obey the command of an officer if that command
is itself violative of the Constitution." Wright v. Georgia, 373 U.S. 284,
291-92 (1963). We therefore hold that the language: "[H]e refuses to comply
with a lawful order of the police to move from a public place . . ."
contained in RSA 644:2 I is unconstitutional under the first amendment to
the United States Constitution and part 1, articles 22 and 32, of our State
Constitution.

[president]

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/LXII/644/644-2.htm
    644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose; or
    II. He or she:
      (e) Knowingly refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from or remain away from any public place

I think the best way forward here is to question the constitutionality of this specific line in the RSA.

As written, any police officer can make you leave the park, sidewalk, state house, or anywhere else "public", with no specific reason. You look funny, he's afraid of his latent homosexual feelings towards you, whatever, doesn't matter, he tells you to move you gotta move.

No way that's constitutional.

Don't forget about this, in Kat's case:

  III. He purposely causes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creates a risk thereof, by:
      (a) Making loud or unreasonable noises in a public place, or making loud or unreasonable noises in a private place which can be heard in a public place or other private places, which noises would disturb a person of average sensibilities;

I thought she said she wasn't arrested untill she freaked.

In State v. Murray, 135 N.H. 369, 372 (1992), we held that someone other than the arresting officer must be disturbed for there to be a public disturbance within the meaning of RSA 644:2, III(a).

[president]

We therefore hold that the language: "[H]e refuses to comply
with a lawful order of the police to move from a public place . . ."
contained in RSA 644:2 I is unconstitutional under the first amendment to
the United States Constitution and part 1, articles 22 and 32, of our State
Constitution.

I can't see how RSA 644:2 I is unconstitutional.

   

644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose;

[JonM]

Perhaps it got changed in response to that case.

[hook]

We therefore hold that the language: "[H]e refuses to comply
with a lawful order of the police to move from a public place . . ."
contained in RSA 644:2 I is unconstitutional under the first amendment to
the United States Constitution and part 1, articles 22 and 32, of our State
Constitution.

I can't see how RSA 644:2 I is unconstitutional.

   

644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose;

It contains language which is unconstitutional. They didn't hold the entire statute invalid only the "lawful order" bit, which is part of "I".

[president]

It contains language which is unconstitutional. They didn't hold the entire statute invalid only the "lawful order" bit, which is part of "I".

Maybe at one time it did, but that part appears to be in part II (e) now.

644:2 Disorderly Conduct. ? A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
    I. He knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose; or
    II. He or she:
       (a) Engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior in a public place; or
       (b) Directs at another person in a public place obscene, derisive, or offensive words which are likely to provoke a violent reaction on the part of an ordinary person; or
       (c) Obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic on any public street or sidewalk or the entrance to any public building; or
       (d) Engages in conduct in a public place which substantially interferes with a criminal investigation, a firefighting operation to which RSA 154:17 is applicable, the provision of emergency medical treatment, or the provision of other emergency services when traffic or pedestrian management is required; or
       (e) Knowingly refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from or remain away from any public place;

[Russell Kanning]

what do you guys think is a "lawful order"?