Jailed Activist Info

Dave Ridley’s 2009-04-13 arraignment

Incident Timeline:

Monday, April 13th, 2009: Dave Ridley had an arraignment in Keene District Court for his court video recording civil disobedience performed on March 3th, 2009 at an arraignment for Andrew Carroll in which the court had banned the use of cameras in the courtroom.

More than a dozen activists showed up at the court to show their support for Dave and cover the event. Sam Dodson had brought his professional HD video camcorder to document the arraignment but was stopped near/at screening and informed video recording was not allowed and was told to turn off the camera. Sam goes on to point out that the notice pointed out to him was not signed by the judge or other bureaucrat of authority and therefore not an actual standing order meaning he could in fact record the court. The bailiff again instructed Sam to turn off the camera. When Sam refused he was apparently grabbed by one of the officers and he went limp. What happens during this time is not yet fully known as most of the activists were not in the area in which Sam was being arrested. From all accounts screams of pain were heard from within the room where Sam was being arrested and it’s believed pain compliance techniques were being utilized in an attempt to get him to cooperate.

When several of the activists requested and demanded to be allowed to witness what was going on Sgt. Eliezer Rivera instructs them to leave or “everybody will be cleared out.” In the audio clip made available by Ian Bernard he can be heard saying that Sgt. Rivera had called for backup only seconds after instructing them to leave. Some decide to leave while a few stand around in disobedience and/or considering what to do next. Richard T. Onley, Nicholas Ryder, Patrick S. Shields, Nicholas D. Krouse, Kurt W. Hoffman, and Timothy Danforth stayed around long enough for Rivera to decide to have them arrested. Onley and Ryder gave the officers their names resulting in them only receiving a summons. Shields went limp and was carried to a squad car by three officers. The others did not comply completely and therefore were arrested and brought to other squad cars and taken to be booked. All were charged with disorderly conduct. It was later found out that Sam was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest or detention, possession of property without serial number, and refusing to be processed.

You can see here footage of Sam Dodson being dragged to a squad car to be brought to the station:

Later that day activists who attended the arraignment, other local activists along with some from Manchester held a protest outside the Cheshire County Department of Corrections where Sam Dodson was being held.

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009: FSP participant Ivy, went to the Cheshire County DOC as Sam’s legal adviser. When the officers went to get Sam he apparently refused to follow their requests and therefore never met with Ivy. It was later revealed on Friday, April 17th, 2009 episode of Free Talk Live that the officers asked Sam if he wanted to get processed and not that he had his legal representative waiting for him. That’s the reason he refused.

Later that day Ivy reported that Sam’s bail went from being able to be released on his own recognizance to $10,000 cash-only bail that can only be paid in front of the court and after he identifies himself.

Thursday, April 16th, 2009: Ian Bernard spoke with CCDOC Superintendent (and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition speaker) Rick Van Wickler regarding Sam’s condition. Given he was continuously uncooperative he has not been classified meaning he couldn’t be in population. Due to that he is solitary confinement until he decides to submit to some of their questions and a TB test.

At about 2:00pm on the 16th Ivy Walker met with Sam Dodson for about an hour. It was confirmed at that point that he had been fasting since his jailing. Just drinking milk. During their meeting Sam also signed all necessary paperwork to allow Ivy to be his legal representative.

Friday, April 17th, 2009: Ivy Walker reports that she submitted paperwork to the Keene District Court. She spoke with Sgt. Rivera who said he would enter a “notice of non-exception to have an expedited hearing.” This means the bail hearing should occur on Monday the 20th. Ivy also reported that Sam requested activists redirect some of their efforts by calling state senator Molly Kelly and asking the following questions:

Do you know there are district courts writing their own rules?
Do you know many of these rules are unconstitutional and against several Supreme Court rulings?
Did you know Keene District Court is arresting political prisoners? You may remember Sam, you’ve met him a few times. He is one of these political prisoners currently incarcerated.
Do you support the taking of these political prisoners?

On Free Talk Live Ivy Walker called into the show to announce that the charge of possession of property without serial number is expected to be dropped on Monday the 20th. The reason for the charge was that the camera had a piece of black tape covering the label and the Keene Police Department hadn’t noticed. They had to send the camera to a camera shop and they noticed the tape. Sam also called Free Talk Live that night from jail and said the reason for the tape was that he occasionally is recorded recording with that camera and he wanted to cover up who the manufacturer is and keep the silver label from causing glare.

Sam also describes the reason for his screaming which can be found on the audio recording from his arrest. He had a large metal bracelet on his right wrist which got caught under the hand cuffs and was digging into his skin and bone. The cuffs had not been locked so they continued to ratchet tighter causing the bracelet to further dig and bruise his wrist. He also briefly discussed why he started cooperating. Mainly that it wasn’t worth wasting away in jail to keep his anonymousness.

Sunday, April 19th, 2009: Nearly 50 individuals attend a candlelight vigil for Sam at the central square in Keene, New Hampshire. When visiting Sam in jail a message was recorded which was played during the vigil.

Monday, April 20th, 2009: Sam called Ian Bernard to inform him that a bail hearing had been held that day presided over by judge Howard Lane. Judge Edward Burke being on vacation that week. Judge Lane ruled that Sam would be held indefinitely so long as he continues to refuse to give his legal name. It should be noted that they know who he is and what his legal name is though he is being held as “John Sam Doe.” Sam indicated that the jail is refusing him access to the law library. He suggested those supporting him contact the Keene District Court, the judges involved, state representatives and senators, the governor’s office and local media outlets across New Hampshire though he doubted it would help much.

Sam again called Free Talk Live to provide status updates. He made the claim that he was never given the chance the process (provide fingerprints and a photo) since they stopped when he refused to give his legal name which he pointed out they had because he signed notarized documents which were submitted to the court by Ivy Walker.

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009: A letter written by Sam on Thursday the 16th was posted to FreeKeene.com entitled “Why I’m In Jail Right Now.”

Wednesday, April 22st, 2009: It was reported on Free Talk Live that Sam was given access to the law computer and that Ivy Walker issued a writ of habeas corpus.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009: Perhaps due to Ivy Walker’s filing of a writ of habeas corpus with the superior court, Sam Dodson was brought to the Keene Police Department to be booked. They fingerprinted and photographed him as John Doe. Note that on Monday, April 20th, Judge Edward Burke had told Sam that he would be kept in the Cheshire County Department of Corrections facility until he provided his legal name.

Friday, April 24th, 2009: There is an attempt to get Sam’s story if not Sam himself on Fox News’ Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano.

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009: A post on Freedom Watch’s website states that “Right to record; Reporters getting arrested everywhere!” and the “Free State Project” are topics to be discussed on the April 29th’s show.

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009: While Jason Sorens was a guest on Freedom Watch, the “Right to Record” topic was not brought up nor was Sam Dodson’s case.

After realizing his phone had been off the hook for about three days Ian Bernard heard from Sam. He indicated that he was still fasting but now was being refused food by a new guard if he indicated he was not going to eat it. Sam had been using the food to barter for stamps.

Sam also called Free Talk Live that night. Sam was informed that Ivy Walker had submitted a writ of habeas corpus to the New Hampshire Supreme Court that day and that the Cheshire County DOC believed they had his legal name but was still going to require him to provide it to them. Sam recalled how a particular toilet in the jail has backed up and overflowed at least 3 times since he’s gotten there and the guards are providing them no chemicals to sanitize the area. It’s also reported that a date (June) rather than average daily temperature is used to activate the air conditioning system leading to a rather hot and particularly uncomfortable jail. He was told that the same policy is used for heat and there was a cell which had the water in the toilet freeze due to early cold weather.

Thursday, April 30th, 2009: Sam receives an order from Judge Edward Burke that reads in part:

Should the defendant decide he is willing to provide true and accurate identifying information about himself — the kind of information any other defendant is expected to provide — and is willing to accept the conditions of bail, the court will schedule a video arraignment as soon as possible thereafter.

Until then the court is unwilling to schedule a trial date. While the prospect of the defendant’s indefinite confinement is distasteful, the court reiterates, however, that the defendant holds the key to his release.

Friday, May 1st, 2009: Sam Dodson called Dan Mitchell on WKBK from jail in the morning to discuss his imprisonment by calling a 3rd party and then conference calling WKBK. One caller indicates she doesn’t care if the prisoners in CCDOC suffer from heat. Another says that he’s incredibly upset with situation with regards to the delay of due process and call Sam “effectively a political prisoner.” A third made the claim that Sam was “engineering” his own imprisonment.

At approximately 12:30pm Ivy Walker had a hearing with Judge Edward Burke. He ruled that Ivy would be accepted as Sam Dodson’s representative / lawyer. This was granted after Ivy had filed the Power of Attorney on the 29th which was when the court discovered Sam’s legal name. Ivy would then have unfettered access to Sam. Judge Burke reiterated to Ivy that “Sam has to tell them his name and then he can set ‘appropriate’ conditions of bail and release him on Personal Recognizance.”

The writ of habeas corpus submitted on Wednesday the 29th was expected to be ruled on by Monday the 4th.

Ian of FreeKeene.com posted a writ of habeas corpus which was put together by Ivy Walker and Marc Stevens which could be filled out to support Sam.

Download it. Put your name in the “your name” spots. Make sure the dates throughout it are correct (especially at the bottom in the signature line, the certificate of service, and the affidavit). And file them at Superior Court right there in Keene on Monday.

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009: Sam calls the local Keene, NH radio show “Talkback” to discuss his incarceration. One of the hosts pleads with Sam to give the authorities his name so the situation may move on.

Sam also called Free Talk Live and recounted his experiences, talked with some callers, and gave updates including the expected ruling on the writ of habeas corpus on Monday the 4th.

Monday, May 4th, 2009: Ivy Walker followed up on the writ of habeas corpus filed with the New Hampshire Supreme Court. They claimed they had no obligation to move quickly on hearing the writ. Ivy then went and filed a motion to expedite and believed that the motion would be answered within 24 hours.

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009: For an at the time yet known reason Sam Dodson was renamed “Sam A. Miller”.

Thursday, May 7th, 2009: Ian Bernard did an interview with Bill Meyer of News Talk AM 1440 KMED in Medford, OR to discuss Sam Dodson being in jail.

Superior Court judge Brian T. Tucker dismissed the order on petition for writ of habeas corpus re: John Sam Doe. Giving the follow reasoning:

The gist of each petition is that a Sergeant Rivera filed a criminal complaint against Doe. Incorporating concepts from civil litigation, the petitioners say that since the complaint fails to allege an injury to Rivera, he has no “standing” to bring. the charge. The petitioners contend further that there is no corpus delicti, which each petition defines as proof of “a loss or injury,” “criminal causation of that loss or injury,” and”the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime.” The petitioners assert that the court has no jurisdiction if Rivera has no standing to bring the charge and there is no proof of a corpus delicti. They say the complaint should be dismissed and Doe released as a result.

Some of the petitions contain basic procedural defects -for instance, more than one omits an address for the person who filed it. See Superior Court Rule 119. The petitions also mistake Rivera for a plaintiff pursuing a civil claim, whereas criminal charges are brought in the name of the State. Nevertheless, I read the petitions to say that Doe is entitled to relief because the criminal complaint does not allege an offense and the evidence against Doe is insufficient to convict him.

More »

The petitions allege that Doe is charged with a crime. He has not been tried and convicted. As a result, he will have an opportunity to challenge the adequacy of the charging document before trial and to contest the sufficiency of the evidence against him at trial. The stage of the proceeding is significant because a writ of habeas corpus “usually will not issue when the proceedings under which the petitioner is detained are still pending undisposed of and the ordinary established procedure by trial and appeal is available.” 39 C.J.S. Habeas Corpus § 14 (2008). See In re Kerry D., 144 N.H. 146, 148 (1999) (writ of habeas corpus is “‘reserved for those questions which involve fundamental procedures and occasions of pressing necessity where other remedies are inadequate or ineffective.‘”(quoting Springer v. Hungerford, 100 N.H. 503,506 (1957) (emphasis added)).

Doe may make the same challenges the petitioners make on his behalf as the criminal case proceeds. Since Doe has an adequate remedy in the court in which the charge was brought, he is not entitled to habeas relief at this juncture. Accordingly, the petitions are dismissed.

Sunday May 10th, 2009: Sam Dodson called into Free Minds Radio from Cheshire County Department of Corrections to discuss the situation surrounding his arrest. He mentions that given his disgust of how the courts are reacting to his situation he’s moved from a milk and partial Carnations breakfast mix diet to a water and tea flavor mix diet.

He updates the listeners that a more expansive writ of habeas corpus had been presented to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire but it was rejected and Ivy Walker was told to present it to the Superior Court. Ivy has a date with the Supreme Court for the 13th in case the Superior Court rules against their writ of habeas corpus.

Monday May 11th, 2009: The Superior Court issued an order that Superintendent Van Wickler must file a response, by 4pm Wednesday May 13th, 2009, to the allegation that Keene District Court refuses to set a trial date until Sam Dodson identifies himself. Ivy Walker who instigated this response and reported it on the FreeKeene.com forums indicated that a response was expected between 4:00 and 4:30pm on Wednesday or sometime Thursday the 14th.

Thursday May 14th, 2009: Ivy Walker leaves a Porc411 call (later posting on FreeKeene forum) indicating that the Cheshire County Superior Court has to rule on Sam Dodson’s writ of habeas corpus (John Sam Doe, Docket #09-E-0085) now that the response from the prosecutor indicating that her previous submission indicating that Sam had been held without arraignment or a trial being set was correct. Ivy originally indicates that the judge, Brian T. Tucker, was taking Friday the 15th off and therefore there would not be a ruling on the writ until Monday the 18th. However, Mike Barskey reported later that after calling the court to ask Judge Tucker to rule on it today that the judge was in fact working on Friday but at a different court and it was unknown whether or not he would rule on the writ then.

Ian Bernard of FreeKeene.com reported (confirmed by Ivy’s post) that the state was dropping the disorderly conduct and possession of property without a serial number charge (already known) but was adding a common law criminal contempt of court charge.

Saturday May 16th, 2009: Sam Dodson calls Keene, NH’s Talkback.

Sunday May 17th, 2009: Phillip Bantz of the Keene Sentinel reports on Sam Dodson’s situation. Reports that his real name is Sam A. Miller, he is 33, formerly a former telecommunications specialist and had dropped from 180lbs to 160ish lbs since his incarceration and subsequent hunger strike. The article reported 116lbs which was a mistake.

Due to the Keene Sentinel article reporting on Sam Dodson’s legal name questions were raised on FreeKeene.com as to why he uses a pseudonym. bile of blogofbile.com asked Sam’s father who had been posting occasionally on FreeKeene.com to clarify in order to remove doubt concerning Sam’s honesty. His response was as follows:

I did not realize there was much concern over Sam’s name. However, I will tell you what I know but you will eventually need to get it straight from Sam himself.

More »

When Sam became an activist and began producing his documentaries on government injustice from his personal encounters and experiences he began receiving phone calls from well wishers and other activists offering their support and assistance in anyway they could. He quickly found himself spending most of his free time on the phone and very little time on his photography and activism as his phone number was readily available from the phone company and internet. He was not trying to escape his well wishers and volunteers, but he simply no longer had the time necessary to pursue his mission. I believe he also thought about most actors having a screen name in addition to their real names. So somewhere between the two issues he began using Sam Dodson for all of his video work and activision.

The Dodson name is his mothers maiden name. His grandfather Dodson passed away a number of years ago and his grandmother preceeded him by several years, so Sam may have decided to use Dodson out of love and respect for his grandparents. The more recent video he did about his big change and move to NH earlier this year, he shot it at the old Dodson family farm, you know the one where he is chasing a black cow. The farm was subdivided between his mother and her two sisters and a brother. His mother and her brother now reside on the old Dodson homestead in East Texas.

Only Sam knows why he began using a public name. Once he gets out of prison up there you will have to get him to tell you why made that decision in life. But I suspect it is from some combination of all of the above.

Sam has absolutely nothing to hide from anyone regarding his name. I hope this helps.

Sam’s Dad

Monday May 18th, 2009: According to dalebert on the NHUnderground forum Sam started eating after seeing the Sentinel article.

Sam ate yesterday after seeing the article. I think he felt like the media was finally responding in the way he had hoped the hunger strike would accomplish.

Later that day on Free Talk Live Sam called in to provide an update on his situation. He affirms that he has started eating after seeing that the hunger strike has gotten sufficient attention and more seriously that he had started getting chest pains. He also mentioned that two of the three demurrers issued to the court where dismissed.

Friday May 22nd, 2009: Sam calls WKBK’s Dan Mitchell.

Tuesday May 26th, 2009: Ivy Walker reports to the FreeKeene Forum that she had received a reply to her latest filing with the District Court. Judge Edward Burke lowered Sam A. Miller’s (aka Sam Dodson) bail to $5,000 personal recognizance but upon the condition that he gives his “legal” address and signs the order with his “legal” name.”

Ian Bernard announces that Sam is to appear on Freedom Watch with judge Andrew Napolitano on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 2:40pm EST.

Sam calls into Free Talk Live.

Wednesday May 27th, 2009: Sam is interviewed by Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox News’ Freedom Watch. Sam was given ample time to explain his situation and the Judge called the camera the new gun and said that every government official should be filmable.

Friday May 27th, 2009: The Free State Project and Sam in particular are the subject of a Boston Globe article.

Wednesday June 3rd, 2009: FreeKeene.com posts a response from Sam to Keene Sentinel columnist Michael Schuman’s story titled “Will the Free Staters Please Sit Down?”.

Thursday June 4th, 2009: David Krouse announces on the FreeKeene.com forum that he intends to “challenge the courts on Sams indefinite imprisonment.”

Sometime Monday 6/8/09 I will challenge the courts on Sams indefinite imprisonment, prolly with a sign hold in the court room silently, in the back with no chanting. I don’t know exactly when as judge Burke holds different court times, I’m not even certain he holds court on mondays. I would prefer to focus on primary enforcers such as police rather than secondary enforcers such as courts, and jails, however in Sams situation, it is judge Burke who is the primary instigator. The following is my statement, though I will likely make minor changes, and polish it up a bit.

Show »

Every nation in the world that imprisons people indefinitely, with or without trial always has an excuse. The Soviets had some reason to put every individual they arrested in jail. Cuba has its excuses. China too. Don’t forget about Iran. Why do powerful governments bother even giving excuses? Because it gives them the legitimacy to do anything to anyone they want. The greater legitimacy they have, the less opposition they have from the very small minority in any country that actually cares about creeping tyranny. In the United States, the excuse given is usually that the person is a terrorist or conspiracy to commit some crime. It is important to note that not everybody accused of a crime is actually guilty of anything. That is why there are supposed to be speedy trials, so that a persons life is not destroyed fighting false charges. Nobody seems to care as long as the person is not a United States citizen. Creeping Tyranny. The most dangerous tyranny creeps, it doesn’t run, again because there is always less opposition. The reason there is less opposition is that few recognize creeping tyranny as dangerous. They are too busy looking for the next Hitler, Stalin, Mao, people that are obviously tyrants. They have intellectual arguments about slippery slopes, not realizing that we are already on the slippery slope, and have been for quite awhile.

Jose Padilla was a United States citizen. Born in Brooklyn New York.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Padilla_(alleged_terrorist)#Timeline
He was held for three and a half years before he was even officially charged with a crime. He was never charged with the claim that was originally made about him in public. He was convicted on a conspiracy charge. We have been on the slippery slope for quite awhile. More Creeping Tyranny.

In Keene New Hampshire, a man is in jail initially for attempting to videotape a court proceeding but was not able to get past court security and into the courtroom, and was arrested for videotaping in the lobby just prior to the arrest. He has since been held indefinitely by judge Edward Burke’s order for contempt due to his refusal to state his name. His name is Sam Dodson, and his birth name is Sam Miller. Both names are the worst kept secret in town. The government has stated that they know who he is, but are trying to require him to say it himself. If this was about justice, he would have had his trial for the initial charges and would have been given his sentence, or released. But this isn’t about justice, it is about power, and Sam will not give it to them. The excuse here is that Sam will not cooperate, so he must be jailed indefinitely, till the judge feels like releasing him. It is possible the judge is being less than honest, and will release Sam within the week. It is also possible for the judge to hold Sam till sometime next year.
Sam is a peaceful passive resister. He went limp upon the arrest, putting the arrestors in the position of having to carry him if they wanted to continue with the arrest.

The judge is not elected, and even if he was, since most vote according to political party affinity, it is incredibly difficult to vote out incumbents. Attempts have been made by associates of Sam to secure his release or progress in his legal status through the higher courts to no avail as of yet. Further more, courts have traditionally upheld the ‘right’ of a judge to indefinitely hold a person for ‘reasonable’ amounts of time.

I know of no effective means to challenge this power to indefinitely imprison someone. Power is rarely given up by those in privilege voluntarily, without being challenged. I am a believer in the potential of assertive peaceful civil disobedience to compel change by direct challenge. It is for this reason I have chosen to submit myself to this awful power of indefinite imprisonment. It is my intention to increase the costs of enforcement, since it seems that the courts have so much money that they can waste time with a non-crime where there is clearly no victim rather than going after actually hurtful people, people who are real criminals. At any time the courts are welcome to release me and Sam thus reducing the added expense both monetarily and in manpower.

No Victim, No Crime

Ian Bernard reported on FreeKeene.com and through a Porc411 call that Sam had a trial scheduled for him on June 15th, 2009 at 1:30pm at the Keene District Court. Ivy had notified the Keene City Council as well as other involved bureaucrats that they could be held personally liable for the deprivation of Sam’s legal rights under 42 USC 1983.

During that night’s airing of Free Talk Live Sam called in to confirm the granting of the trial and provide general updates to his situation.

Ivy Walker, Sam Dodson’s legal counsel, is arrested after being stopped at a speed trap setup by the New Hampton Police Department. It was found that she had a warrant out for her arrest from Rhode Island. She was taken into custody and brought to the Belknap County Department of Corrections. More can be found at Ivy’s profile here on JailedActivist.info.

Friday June 5th, 2009: David Krouse announces that he will not be protesting Sam’s continued detention due to him finally being given a trial date.

Sunday June 7th, 2009: Sam calls into Free Minds Radio.

Tuesday June 9th, 2009: At approximately 2pm Silent_Bob of NHUnderground forums announces “Keene district court has issued an order for Sam’s release.”

Sam was unexpectedly released from the Cheshire County Department of Corrections. Around 3:00pm Sam left a Porc411 message which was as follows:

Hello free staters! This is SamIam and the jail has just thrown me out. The forced me to agree to PR terms that I’m already in violation of, I told them I did not understand. That I did not agree to them. I did not sign them. I requested my attorney who’s going to be here in 10 minutes. And they pushed me out the door, in the orange close. I guess I get to keep them. And gave me all my stuff. I was escorted out. They would not explain anything or put anything in writing. They were told just to release me and so I’m out of jail. Thank you guys for everybody who’s helped me, sent letters, cards, emails, done all the things you had to do to support me along the way and I’m looking forward to getting back to life and challenging a lot of this in court. Thank you, glad to be out, looking forward to talking all soon. Goodbye.

Sam was picked up by Lauren Canario and Jim Johnson:

and brought to the recording of Free Minds TV for an interview:

Full episode

On Free Minds TV he indicates that when the terms of his release, which he did not sign, included previous conditions and in addition that he could not possess firearms.

Later in the evening he appeared on Free Talk Live to recount his experience.

Wednesday June 10th, 2009: Sam’s release was mentioned by Judge Andrew Napolitano on Freedom Watch.

At the party held for Sam at Mike Barskey presented him with the NH Brass Balls award.

Monday June 15th, 2009: Sam’s case was at 8AM. He had submitted a motion for a continuance, which he had yet to hear back about, that was granted. A new date however had not been assigned.

Friday June 26th, 2009: Keene Sentinel reports on Sam’s release.

Tuesday July 7th, 2009: MotorhomeDiaries releases interview with Sam Dodson.

Friday July 17th, 2009: Sam announces a court data of Friday July 31st, 2009.

Thursday July 30th, 2009: Sam mentions on the Free Keene Forum that the failure to process charge was dropped.

Failure to Process charge was dropped. The state didn’t have any witnesses at the PD that saw it, and given that nobody actually asked me to be photographed or fingerprinted.

Friday July 31st, 2009: Sam’s trial runs over an hour allowing only the State to make it’s case. The trial will be continued on Sept. 4th, 2009 as it will require a few hours for the defense to present it’s case.

After the trial Sam was at his car in a parking lot not far from the court when he was stopped by a Keene Police officer. It is unknown whether he was driving the vehicle or simply packing up his belongings which he had for the case. After either being unable or unwilling to provide the officers with a valid license Sam was brought to the Keene Police Department to be booked for driving without a suspended license.

Porc411s: msg0056, msg0057, msg0058, msg0059

raw footage released August 2nd

Friday September 4th, 2009: The second day of the trial is held. Judge Burke did not make a ruling that day.

Tuesday September 22nd, 2009: Nick Ryder’s charges are dropped.

In an anti-climactic conclusion, Nick Ryder’s disorderly conduct charges were reported as being dismissed in today’s Keene Sentinel court log. He was being charged for the violation after standing in the Keene District Court lobby on April 13th after a police officer told everyone to “clear out”. The lobby was not closed for business, and Ryder was not in the way, so he remained in the room and was issued a citation.The ruling was reportedly made on September 4th, and Ryder never received notification of it.

Friday October 2st, 2009: Kurt Hoffman’s day in court for disorderly conduct as well as another incident from when he was pulled over in Roxbury, NH a couple months prior. The reason for the long delay relative to others was due to him being in jail at the time of his original court date. Due to construction on the roadway in which Kurt was taking to get to the court he was late to the trial. Upon arriving judge Burke asks him questions apparently regarding a charge of contempt for being late. Kurt indicated that he did not understand what was going on and Burke sentenced him to 180 days in jail for contempt.

After being brought into a back room to continue the trail, where no cameras were aloud and only his wife present, something occurred which caused Officer Eliezer Rivera to allegedly push Kurt while his arms were cuffed causing him to fall and possibly harm his neck. He was brought to the hospital and an X-ray performed. It was later reported that he was more or less fine physically and was brought to the Cheshire County jail.

The following is what Coconut reported regarding the events:

Show »

Alright here’s what I have for you guys for now:

Kurt was initially refusing to sit at the defense table when Burke came in and ordered so. Burke says “We’re going to go on a recess, and I’m going to give you time to reconsider. You are ordered not to leave the courtroom.” He then left the courtroom and went to the bathroom, and came back, and Burke resumed with Kurt:

Kurt and Burke (audio file)

For those that don’t want to or can’t listen to the file, Burke found Kurt in contempt for interfering with the procedure of the court, and offered to let him “answer for himself.” Kurt continued his behavior and Burke then said “I’ll take that as you waiving your right to answer. You are sentenced to 180 days in the house of corrections.”

When approached by police, Kurt briefly stood up and then went to the floor. Officers and bailiffs forced everyone out except Auburn and Ian with his camera for some reason. I wish I’d just remained seated quietly in the courtroom as I had been. Kurt was then handcuffed and put in a rolly-chair and taken to the next room over. Ian was not allowed in there but Auburn was.

Kurt asked to be unhandcuffed to hug his wife goodbye for 180 days, and Lance would not comply. Kurt then tried some acrobatics to get his hands in front of him, and Lance called Eli Rivera in for backup. At which time Eli began forcing Kurt around.

Kurt Pushed Around (audio file)
(sorry. I probably shouldn’t have been arguing with the bailiff when I’m trying to record.)

Apparently Kurt somehow got to his feet and he and Eli did some sort of dance around the table before Eli eventually pushed him down. An ambulance was called and Kurt was taken out on a stretcher. Meanwhile, we are being forced away for fears we are going to take pictures of him. He is reported released from the hospital and at Westmoreland now.

Below is raw footage taken by Ian Bernard:

Show videos »

Friday, October 23rd 2009: Sam’s trial for the driving infraction he received after his last time in court on July 31st, 2009. He is found guilty. All objections he raised were overruled. The judge is said to have winked at the prosecution at one point during the trial.

Letters from Sam Dodson in CCDOC:

Images:

Media:

Sources:

Dave Ridley’s 2009-04-13 arraignment

Pages

Sister sites