Tag: Belknap County

Busy July

Litter pick-up – July 9, 8:00 a.m.
Jury outreach – July 10, 8:30 a.m.
County meeting – July 11, 7:00 p.m.
Monthly meeting – July 15, 12:00 noon
LRP Beach Day – July 22, 12:00 noon

With the Independence Day celebrations behind us, it will be time to tidy up after the parties. We’ll start with a breakfast at Shooter’s Tavern at 8:00 then hit the road. We had a great turn-out for our last clean up and the job was done quickly. A couple of the regulars will be away so please make an extra effort to come out and give us a hand. We are usually done within a couple of hours. We will also be making a pass through the Lake Winnisquam Scenic Trail.

A new jury pool will be starting their service on July 10. We continue the year with Rights Brigade in a juror information blitz.

We will greet jurors at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

The jury pool is scheduled to return on Monday July 24 at 9:00, and Monday August 7 at 9:00. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dates in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on July 24 and August 7.

Jury duty dates and times.

The Belknap County Delegation will meet to appoint a County Attorney to replace Melissa Gulbrandsen as she has resigned to take a judgeship with the court system.

our meeting placeOur monthly meeting continues; same time, same place! The Lakes Region Porcupines meet on the third Saturday of each month. We meet at noon at the New Hong Kong Buffet in Belmont, NH. We usually meet in the room behind the entrance. We often have a dozen folks come for the meeting and discuss a variety of liberty issues. This is an informal and casual get together.

LRP Beach Day is coming up on Saturday July 22 at Ahern State Park.BeachDay2017

The 3rd Annual LRP Beach Day BBQ and fundraiser goes to the dogs! Super Doge Activist Lola the Wonder Dog has taken over this event and is ensuring that our four legged friends have a beautiful day in the sun and surf.

As such, this year our proceeds benefit Lakes Region Humane Society and all dogs are welcome at Ahern State Park!

Please note, dogs are welcome to bring their humans along for burgers and potato salad!

All we ask is a small donation of $10 per eating adult. Kids eat for half price. If you feel that you can’t afford to eat with us, we still ask that you come along and if you feel up to it, drop a few bucks in the hat. Save up now, as you’ll regret not sampling some of Glen Aldrich’s World Famous Potato Salad!

Let us know that you are coming through Eventbrite, so we’ll have plenty of food. We’re looking forward to seeing you!

May Activities

Jury outreach – May 15, 8:30 a.m.
Monthly meeting – May 20, 12:00 noon
Litter pick-up – May 21, 8:00 a.m.
County meeting – May 22, 7:00 p.m.

A new jury pool will be starting their service on May 15. We continue the year with Rights Brigade in a juror information blitz.

JuryNoticeMayJune2017We will greet jurors at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

The jury pool is scheduled to return on Tuesday May 30 at 9:00, and Monday June 12 at 9:00. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dated in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on May 30 and June 12.

Jury duty dates and times.

our meeting placeOur monthly meeting continues; same time, same place! The Lakes Region Porcupines meet on the third Saturday of each month. We meet at noon at the New Hong Kong Buffet in Belmont, NH. We usually meet in the room behind the entrance. We often have a dozen folks come for the meeting and discuss a variety of liberty issues. This is an informal and casual get together.

WinnisquamTrailIt’s time for our spring cleaning. We’ll start with a breakfast at Shooter’s Tavern at 8:00 then hit the road. We are usually done within a couple of hours. We be making a pass through the Lake Winnisquam Scenic Trail.

The Belknap County commission continues to claim they do not have enough money to run the county and are asking for a supplemental appropriation. If your taxes are not high enough, stay home. If you think you’re already paying enough, come out and show your support for the representatives that are taking the heat for actually trying to limit government.

March Jury Outreach

March 2017 Jury NoticeA new jury pool will be starting their service on March 20. We continue the year with Rights Brigade in a juror information blitz.

We will greet jurors at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

The jury pool is scheduled to return on Monday April 3 at 9:00, and Monday April 17 at 9:00. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dated in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on April 3 and April 17.

Jury duty dates and times.

January Jury Outreach

Jury InformationA new jury pool will be starting their service on January 9. We start a new year and join Rights Brigade in a juror information blitz.

We will greet jurors at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

For this January 9th selection we’ll need a little extra help on hand. There is a county meeting that will take away one of our regulars, so drop a comment here if you can assist. We’ll be sure to get pamphlets in your hands to distribute.

The jury pool is scheduled to return on January 23 at 9:00, and February 6 at 9:00. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dated in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on January 23  and February 6.

Jury duty dates and times.

November Meeting

our meeting placeNovember 19 is our monthly meeting.  As always, if you’re looking for all things liberty related in New Hampshire check out this calendar.

We will get an update on the Lakes Region Porcupines Toy Drive .

Remember that Shire Sharing is also busy this weekend assembling and delivering Thanksgiving dinners around the state.

The Juror

My friend, John Connell, was alway quick to distinguish the difference between a jury and a juror. A jury being the group which had the power to acquit the person falsely accused of a crime, the juror as an individual with the power to stand upon his or her conscience could bring a mistrial.

The juror has a conscience, the jury can only have a consensus. These are very different things and our right to conscience is protected in our New Hampshire Constitution:

NH Constitution from Jury Information flyer.
NH Constitution from Jury Information flyer.

I often stand outside the Belknap Superior Court to hand out flyers with the above quotation from the NH Constitution printed mildly on the back. I find it unfortunate that I feel the need to deliver this information to potential jurors. In a perfect world the juror would have received this critical civics lesson as part of their education long before they were called to jury duty. In a better yet still imperfect world, one might hope that the information I distribute would be included in the court’s orientation given to the juror.

As a New Hampshire State Representative serving on the judiciary committee, I can assure you the Court is absolutely opposed to having jurors know their rights. They have built an efficient system for processing those accused; offering plea deals and shielding jurors from the complexity of statutory language. I have heard a quip, ‘due process has become do process’. The courts now ‘do process’ in order to get results, instead of giving due process in order to get justice.

Mike at Belknap Superior Court
Mike at Belknap Superior Court

On this cool September morning as I handed information out reinforcing the rights which are protected by our Constitution. I watched with bitter irony as those good citizens walked up the stairs to the courthouse to stand in line to be searched before being allowed to enter their building.

As if it were not bad enough that our justice system is bent on ‘doing process’ with uninformed jurors, they deliver one more message before you may enter into service of the government; you have no right to be free from search, you can not be trusted, you will do as you are instructed. This all seems to stand as a barrier to the person of conscience. It is little wonder that those accused will accept a plea deal as opposed to facing a jury which has made it through the processing. Peers?

Note: While the judicial system has lost sight of its primary mission, there are good people in the court. This is also highlighted in the flyers I distribute which includes a quotation from Belknap Superior Court Judge James O’Neill. O'Neill quote

September Jury Outreach

Jury Information“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

A new jury pool will be starting their service on September 12. The day before the primary elections is an appropriate time to inform these new jurors of their rights.

We will greet them at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

The jury pool is scheduled to return on September 26 at 9:30, and October 11 at 9:30. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dated in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on July 18 and August 1.

Jury duty dates and times.

 

July 5, 2016 Jurors Informed

A fresh new pool of jurors arrived at the Belknap Superior Court on Tuesday July 5th. About 70 received information that the court will not provide but is essential to serving as a juror.

Jurors with time to read some good information.
Jurors with time to read some good information.

A couple of interesting incidents occurred. One gentleman popped open the pamphlet to get an idea of what was inside, he knew what he was looking for and said, ‘oh yeah, I’ll be out soon; they won’t let me on a jury!’ I hope he gets to be foreman. Another older man was leaving as jurors were still arriving, so I asked him why he was leaving. He was dismissed from jury duty because he was over 70 years old. Hmmm, I know judges have a mandatory retirement at 70, I never knew there was a limit for a juror. Maybe we need this for the legislature also?

It was a nice day, only 2 people were not interested in taking a flyer. Well, 3 if I count attorney Sisti, but his hands were full. I should have gotten a picture of his ‘briefcases’, each one was the size of a file box.

We will be back out on July 18th at 9:00 to see if we missed anyone. I suppose a few may have called in their regrets for missing the first day.

Summer Jury Outreach

Jury Information“If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust … or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”

A new jury pool will be starting their service on July 5. What better time than the day after Independence Day to inform these new jurors of their rights.

We will greet them at the Belknap Superior Court in Laconia at 8:30 with a nice pamphlet loaded with information that the court will not provide to them.

The jury pool is scheduled to return on July 18 at 9:30, and August 1 at 9:30. We will start a half hour before the jurors are scheduled to arrive. At times the jury is dismissed from the secondary dated in the event that trials are postponed. Call the court (1-855-212-1234) to check on the status prior to coming out on July 18 and August 1.

Jury duty dates and times.