On 2010-02-01, activists and friends of Big Mike filed two motions in Manchester District Court in an attempt to have his $5000 cash bail converted to personal recognizance. One motion stated that Mike has identified himself and been processed completely by the jail, which was the stipulation the judge had placed on Mike’s case in order for him to be bailed. The other motion was a request by Mike for a jury trial.

Considering the run-around we had during the arraignment, and dealing with the jail over the past two weeks, this went surprisingly quickly. We arrived at the court around 08:15 and were done within an hour.

We expect that the motions will be taken up and ruled on today; if the judge grants the motion, Mike should be released immediately. Hopefully there will be no need for a hearing, as the motions provide everything the judge required in order to amend bail. We’ll post an update as soon as we find out if Mike has been released.

Tyler & Eirene’s extradition hearing was held on 2009-10-13 at 08:00 in Manchester District Court. Cassidy and I got there at 08:00 to observe, but the hearing didn’t start until after 10:00 (as usual, the last case being heard). Tyler & Eirene had separate public defenders. The Governor’s Warrant had been signed, and they’d both agreed to not fight extradition, so they were returned to custody pending the actual extradition.

The State of Arizona was given until 2009-10-26 at 23:00 to send their officials to New Hampshire; otherwise, a new hearing would take place on 2009-10-27. On 2009-10-23, the Arizona officials arrived and Tyler & Eirene Sanstail were extradited.

The arraignment for Bill Walker’s perjury case was held on 2009-10-08 at 09:00 at Belknap Superior Court. After the usual interminable wait in a court lobby, Bill met with a public defender, filed a not guilty plea (waiving arraignment in front of an actual judge), and was released on $5,000 personal-recognizance bail.

Being a Superior Court case, there are several upcoming court dates scheduled: A dispositional conference is scheduled on 2009-12-04 at 08:30, a final pre-trial conference on 2010-01-20 at 13:30, and jury selection for 2010-02-01 at 09:00. No actual trial date is scheduled yet. All of these court dates are in Belknap Superior Court.

On 2009-09-14, part two of Ivy’s alleged fake inspection sticker trial was held. The trial lasted less than five minutes: Ivy began making numerous motions, which Judge MacLeod interrupted, explaining he was well familiar with the case, and that the chain of custody of the physical evidence had been tainted—so the case was dismissed. The judge didn’t seem too pleased about the fact that Huckins was standing in for Cunningham as the police prosecutor today, either—the excuse for her absence being that she was at a friend’s wedding(!).

More updates to follow.

At around 03:00 on 2009-09-14, Tyler & Eirene Sanstail, two Free State Project participants, were arrested in a Manchester park for an outstanding warrant for several felony counts from Arizona. They were arrested and their vehicle was impounded.

The arraignment was held the next morning at 09:00, but didn’t get underway until 11:00. Several Manchester courtroom activists attended to observe and report. Tyler & Eirene were arraigned on multiple felony counts of some sort of child abuse allegations. Mike reported that he didn’t “want to break the news about who was involved or why they were there. It’s going to come out in a few days; a Union Leader reporter was in court and is doing a story on it, and it’s not going to be a good story.”

Tyler & Eirene’s bail was set at $100,000 cash only, and the extradition hearing was scheduled for 2009-10-13 at 08:00. After the arraignment, both of them were returned to jail.

NH-CLOG has minimal involvement in this case, as Tyler & Eirene have decided to hire public defenders. However, since several activists are peripherally connected to this case, or are friends with the Sanstails, we’ve decided to cover it briefly here.

On 2009-04-04, Bill D. and a carful of activists were pulled over in New Hampton and ticketed for speeding.

The trial was held on 2009-09-02 at 13:00 in Laconia District Court. After an hour-long trial exasperating the prosecutor and making the cop look like a fool on the stand, Bill D. was found not guilty by the judge.

The video has been posted.

On 2009-08-25, Ivy was extradited to Rhode Island to stand trial for the charges for which she was arrested in June.

The Rhode Island arraignment happened on 2009-08-26 at 08:00 in Providence Superior Court. Bill Walker, Cassidy Nicosia, and myself made the trip down to attend the arraignment. With the help of a prominent R.I. lawyer who happens to be friends with a behind-the-scenes NH-CLOG contributor, Ivy was released on personal-recognizance bail. Once again, Ivy is free.

We all made it back to New Hampshire by 18:30.

More details will be posted tomorrow.

Ivy Walker had a pre-trial conference on 2009-08-20 at 10:00 at Hillsborough Superior Court, for a charge of violating of RSA 261:178, “Suspension of Registration of Vehicle,” after a motor vehicle stop on 2008-10-10. This case was previously tried in Manchester District Court, where she was found guilty and requested a de novo trial at Superior Court.

Nothing particularly interesting happened today; being a pre-trial conference, it was merely to get all the players on the same page with respect to witnesses, trial length, and so on. I didn’t attempt to video, and merely went along to observe and report.

The trial date is yet to be determined.

The trial on Ivy’s most recent motor vehicle charges and the extradition hearing were held on 2009-07-06 at 13:00 in Laconia District Court. Ivy filed a motion to dismiss the charges at the last minute, so the State requested, and was granted, a continuance, after presenting their case today. The Governor’s Warrant for extradition was still not signed, so the extradition hearing was also continued for sixty days. The State attempted to have her bail revoked, which was denied.

Ivy was released, and remained free until 2009-08-20 when the Governor’s Warrant was finally signed and she was arrested by the New Hampton Police Department.

The trial for the motor vehicle charges took place on 2009-09-14 at 13:00, and the charges were dismissed due to tainted evidence. However, they’ve filed similar charges against her LLC, having realized she neither owns nor registered the truck, a probable cause hearing for which was originally scheduled for 2009-08-05 at 13:00 but which was subsequently continued.

The hearing for Bill & Ivy Walker’s custody dispute with Ivy’s parents over Peter was held on 2009-06-15 at 15:00 in Plymouth Family Division court. After over an hour of closed-door testimony, while half a dozen supporters waited outside, Ivy’s parents was ordered to return Peter the next day.

The judge said in part, “In New Hampshire, parents have a right to raise their children any way they see fit,” and, “Money doesn’t make you a good parent. Sometimes rich folks are good parents, sometimes poor folk folks are good parents. In fact, usually poor folks make better parents.”

Sometime around 02:30 on 2009-06-16, Ivy’s mother brought Peter home to New Hampshire.