What happens when you catch the police brutalizing the public? You become a target of the state:
Keene, New Hampshire – August 4, 2012 – The controversial felony wiretapping charges journalist and CopBlock.org founder Adam ‘Ademo’ Mueller is facing will go to trial, a situation that has stirred up a hornet’s nest of free speech advocates in New Hampshire. The “Free Ademo” supporters are planning to show their support en masse at Hillsboro County Superior Court when jury selection for the trial begins at 9 a.m. Monday, August 6. This will be the first time an activist has taken a case this serious to trial since the state passed HB 146, a jury nullification law that ensures the defense’s right to inform the jury of their right to issue “not guilty” verdicts when they disagree with the application of the law in question.
According to court documents, the three wiretapping charges stem from a vlog Mueller posted on CopBlock.org, which featured recordings of on-duty public officials being interviewed about alleged police brutality at a local school. Mueller was reporting about a video recorded by a Manchester West High School student’s cell phone, depicting Officer Darren Murphy slamming a handcuffed student’s face into a cafeteria table. The video later went viral.
This is going to be an interesting case due to the jury nullification law recently passed in New Hampshire. Traditionally juries are told that they must rule based on the letter of the law but this isn’t true, a jury may rule in whatever manner it wants without facing repercussions. If members of a jury believe a law is wrong they may give a ruling of innocent. Juries in New Hampshire, thanks to the passage of HB 146, will now be informed of their jury nullification powers and this seems like the case to use such powers on as Ademo is really being charged with catching the police brutalizing people they’re supposed to protect.
How is making a video “wire tapping”?
Many states have laws against using recording devices unless everybody in the recording gives permission. The laws were implemented when telephones were the big thing in the hopes of preventing unwanted recording of phone calls. Needless to say the laws were never updated to reflect modern technologies so the state use the laws against anybody who dares to record the police doing something wrong.