Dada in Federal Court 7/17 .... leads to 4 days in jail

[Dave Ridley]

Here it is error:
Everyone feel free to distribute this as best you can.


Concord Anti-Federal Demonstration 11/13

Fellow NH freedom lovers:

I'd like to invite you to a demonstration at the Federal building on 55 Pleasant St. in Concord:  It will be a protest against pretty much all things Federal, especially the torture and waste our rulers in Washington force you to underwrite.  Bring a rattlesnake or NH flag if you like, but mostly just bring *you!*

It will start at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, November 13.   An hour and a half later I will enter the building to appear in Federal district court.   I stand accused of petitioning the government for a redress of grievances.  Specifically, Federal agents have cited me because I entered the Nashua IRS office in September and handed flyers to employees.  The exact charge is ?Distribution of Handbills.?

Those handbills reminded them that the money they seize from taxpayers funds waste and torture.  They question the morality of working for the "Internal Robbery Squadron."

I've done maybe 20 silent demonstrations like this at various state and local bureaucracies; folks there are usually just amused and shoo me off.  Only the most powerful institution on earth reacts with such fear to peaceful visits from its conscience.

I've made essentially no representations as to whether or how much I will cooperate, or whether I will pay the fine they have levied.   Mahatma Gandhi showed the world that the best way to fight against authoritarian government is to refuse (or at least limit) your cooperation but maintain civility and kindness toward its ministers who seek to harm you.   I will endeavor to do this as best I am able; I hope you will as well.

If you'd like to know more, give me a shout at (603) 721-1490 or drop by the NHfree.com forums, where this issue is under discussion. 

More details, latest updates, discussion:
http://forum.soulawakenings.com/index.php?topic=5464.msg104102#msg104102

Article from the Union Leader:
http://forum.soulawakenings.com/index.php?topic=5464.msg96497#msg96497

I hope to see you on the thirteenth!  If you can't make it, I'd be honored if you would at least spread the word as best you can.  Copy, paste and spread this e-mail as you see fit.

What:  Demo against Washington, DC.  Court Hearing.  Lunch.
Where: Fed Building in Concord, NH - 55 Pleasant Street.  District Court.
When:  Monday, Nov 13, 2006, 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. or maybe later.  Call me for latest details.
Why: Dave Ridley aka Dada Orwell on trial.  Feds wasting your money & torturing people with it. Any other beef you want to bring up.
Contacts:  Dave Ridley (603) 721-1490

[FTL_Ian]

What should I have on my sign?  Looks like Wayne will be driving me up there.  Do they allow cameras in the Concord courtroom?

[d_goddard]

Do they allow cameras in the Concord courtroom?

No.
They even confiscate iPods

[error]

Bah. Maybe I'll stay outside with my laptop, digital camera and iPod during the court proceedings.

[Dave Ridley]

Just learned that Judge Muirhead will be my magistrate for this court appearance.     Ed Brown has a high opinion of him.   From what I understand he is one of the better fed judges you'll run into, so I plan to stand when he enters the room. I also informed one of the court clerks that I was considering doing so.  She sounded amused

If you guys would like to tell me more about what you know of him I'm all ears.

[Dave Ridley]

i haven't given the signs a lot of thought but if you bring a flag pole i can loan you or sell you a flag maybe.  my sign says "ministry of torture" but maybe i will make a more related sign. 

[Spencer]

Just learned that Judge Muirhead will be my magistrate for this court appearance.     Ed Brown has a high opinion of him.   From what I understand he is one of the better fed judges you'll run into, so I plan to stand when he enters the room. I also informed one of the court clerks that I was considering doing so.  She sounded amused

If you guys would like to tell me more about what you know of him I'm all ears.

Apparently, Muirhead is the guy that sentenced Russell after his IRS demonstration:

At yesterday's sentencing, Kanning failed to answer U.S. Magistrate James R. Muirhead's question if he had reviewed the sentencing report, until the judge threatened to call a recess until Kanning read the report.

Muirhead then sentenced him to time served with no probation and no fine, because the judge noted Kanning was unable to pay it. He was assessed a special fee of $20, which had to be paid before he could be released.

http://underground.soulawakenings.com/tiki-index.php?page=Tilting%20at%20Windmills

[Spencer]

This Muirhead guy does look promising, though, based on the following article -- just watch for his signposting (he may drop a hint that you should be quiet -- remain silent -- not testify and he'll find a way to find you not guilty):

New Hampshire Fee Demo Violator Found Guilty

On January 14, 2000 Tate Trautz of Portland, Maine went to trial in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire over his violation of the Forest Service's Recreation Fee Demonstration Program in the White Mountains National Forest. Federal Magistrate Muirhead informed him of his right to remain silent and that anything he said could be used against him. Trautz pleaded "not guilty" to the charge of not paying the forest fee.

Earlier, the prosecutor had been offering deals to those accused of not paying the forest fee: plead guilty and pay only $30 rather than the $50 fine. One individual accepted the deal and left, another was granted a request that his trial be postponed 60 days. Magistrate Muirhead noted that of 47 people who were supposed to appear that day regarding forest ticket violations, 44 were no-shows. He said it's the same every trial date; he said he appreciated today's defendants showing up.

The prosecutor called the forest ranger who wrote Trautz's citation to the stand and questioned him about the facts of the case, using a number of exhibits: examples of the actual fee signs, photos of the Greely Ponds trailhead parking lot, and relevant paperwork. The ranger also had a roll of undeveloped photo film showing, he said, the ticket he placed on the defendant's windshield with the Forest Service's Recreation Fee Demonstration Program sign in the background.

Magistrate Muirhead asked the ranger and prosecutor about CFR 261.15 -- the law, pre-dating the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo), under which Fee Demo cases are being tried. He asked the officer where in that statute it says that a decal or pass is required to be displayed on a car. He said that he had looked at CFR 261.15 and hadn't been able to find the relevant text.

Trautz, briefly questioned the ranger, and then took the witness chair and condemned the fees saying he'd been hiking in the White Mountains since he was a kid and that the fees were completely unneccesary and absurd. He questioned where they were coming from, noting that volunteers do most of the trail-work and that it was a free American's right to walk freely in the public forests.

After he finished, Muirhead turned the questioning over to the the prosecutor. He asked Trautz whether he had seen the signs to which Trautz replied, "I seen all the signs, and I'm not paying." The prosecution rested.

Muirhead then told Trautz that if had remained silent about not paying, he would have dismissed the charges because of "no probable cause." But since the defendant testified that he hadn't paid, he had no choice but to find him guilty. He told him he had to pay the $50 fine. The Magistrate went on to say that the prosecution did not prove what the statute required: that is, that Trautz hadn't paid a fee. He said the prosecution had proven only that there was no decal on his car, which is not what CFR 261.15 refers to. "I have been throwing out these cases left and right because of 'no probable cause.'"

Trautz firmly told Muirhead he would not pay. Muirhead said he had no choice but to have him led out of the courtroom by the marshalls. After a few minutes the defendant was brought back in and the judge again said, "You supplied crucial evidence by testifying that you didn't pay the fee. Otherwise -- if you'd remained silent on that, I'd have dismissed your case." Then he clearly and forcefully outlined various options, including one in which he might get arrested and shipped "right to Oklahoma," if he was found in contempt of court by still refusing to pay. Trautz agreed to pay.

http://www.freeourforests.org/n001.html

[Tom Sawyer]

Thanks to Pat K for the heads up on our mention at Strike the Root

Follow the link.


http://www.strike-the-root.com/


And scroll down.

The direct link to The Picket Line 7 November 2006
http://www.sniggle.net/Experiment/index.php?entry=07Nov06&showyear=2006

Dave Ridley, inspired by Russell Kanning?s attempts to leaflet the IRS office in Keene, New Hampshire, followed in his footsteps in Nashua a couple of months back (see The Picket Line 18 September). He reports: ?Nothing happened for two weeks, but after my article about this encounter appeared in the KFP, a Homeland Security officer attempted to cite me. The charge was ?Distribution of Handbills.?? He has a court date next Monday.

[Braddogg]

Any chance we can request Judge Muirhead for all our trials?

[cathleeninnh]

At Russell's sentencing, the clerk of court indicated that the $20 court fee was very unusual. It is usually $100. But then, I think Russell was deemed to have "no assets".

Cathleen

[John]

With Kat and Russell out of town, could someone else bring some copies of the Keene Free Press to hand out to passers by?

The little restaurant right across the street from the FedCourt is nice, and yes lots of FedBureaucrats go there for lunch.

Last time we were there, Lauren offered copies of the KFP to the the folks with all the guns and badges. 

[mappchik]

My husband is doing an NH scouting trip this weekend, and is planning to be there bright and early Monday morning for whatever is happening at the courthouse.

He has Dave's number, and will probably give him a call sometime Sunday.

I'm taking suggestions for what Matt should do/visit - need things that will inspire him along the way to moving the whole fam damily.

Oh! He's staying in Concord, and most any company he'd wind up working for would be between there, Nashua & Portsmouth....

[error]

On that note, I'll be in Concord for a full day beyond Dada's court appearance. I'd also love any suggestions of things I should see and do, and government bureaucrats I should photograph.

[FTL_Ian]

Will you be touring Keene?  You don't strike me as a Concord political animal.