by Paul Johnson

You may remember Betty Hall, the 83-year-old former NH legislator who was arrested and carried away bodily from a Nashua street corner this spring, the last time President Bush made a campaign stop in the city.

Her crime? She had the audacity to try to sit peacefully on her stool within clear view of the Presidential motorcade as it approached. Twenty feet from the pavement of Route 101A, and a hundred feet from where the limousines would turn, she held a sign reading "President Bush is Bad for America".

The police had other ideas. They ordered Betty, and the other thirty or so demonstrators, to move back another hundred feet, to a designated "safety area" at the far end of a bank building. All of them had been moved by the police several times already, past gas pumps and across streets and lawns.

Other demonstrators complied. But Betty Hall, God bless her, stood her ground.

Or, to be precise, she *sat* her ground. 83 years young, as she describes herself, Betty has difficulty walking, and she uses a cane which unfolds into three-legged stool. She remained seated on her cane/stool and politely told the police she wasn't moving again.

What happened next has become local legend. In a scene captured by a Nashua Telegraph photographer, Nashua police officers picked Betty up, cane/stool and all, and carted her away to the Hudson police station, where she was held in a jail cell for several hours, booked or disorderly conduct, and finally released.

She never did get to see the President, and of course he never got to see her—or her sign.

And that may be the ultimate purpose of the so called "Free Speech zones" and "Safety zones" which insulate the President and other high-ranking officials from those with differing points of view.

But here the story gets brighter...

Today Betty Hall's case went to trial at Nashua District Court. About 25 local activists spent the day there lending support, including DFNH's Suzanne Harvey, Howard Morse, Debora Pignatelli, and many others. Channel 9 had a camera and reporter in the courtroom for the entire proceeding. And many newspaper reporters and photographers covered the trial as well.

Far from being a simple case, the trial raised some interesting constitutional issues. During the course of the trial both Hall and her attorney cited passages from the New Hamsphire Constitution, and gave all of us in attendance an education in the foundations of our democracy.

But ultimately the case prove to be a test of the state's Disorderly Conduct law and how the police can and cannot apply it. It's not the first time this issue has been contested.

The current Disorderly Conduct statute was created in the early 1980's after a state Supreme Court decision threw out the previous version for being too broad, in a case stemming from a Seabrook power plant protest. In its place, the Legislature crafted a new law that lists specific types of conduct which it defines as disorderly.

On cross-examination, Defense attorney Michael Pignatelli used the new law to good advantage. He displayed a printed copy of the statute, and went through it point by point with the arresting officer. "Was Ms. Hall engaged in fighting or in violent, tumultuous, or threatening behavior?" "No." "Was she being obscene, derisive, or offensive?" "No, she was very polite." And so on, through every possible offense.

It finally came down, in the officer's mind, to one issue in the law: she "knowingly refused to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer to move from any public place."

And this became the point on which the case ultimately turned. The word "lawful," which our Legislature wisely added to this part of the statute.

Was the order lawful? Did the police have legal authority to order Betty to move from her perch to an area cordoned off with police crime-scene tape down the block? Where even the prosecutor admitted it was unlikely that the President would have taken notice of them?

In the end, so-called Free Speech zones seem to be a creation of public safety officials and overly-protective political handlers. If the Legislature wants to create a buffer zone between the people and their elected officials, it can make a law. But until it does so, no such law exists—so what is the legal basis for the imposition and enforcement of these zones?

The judge considered these larger issues, and some technical language in the statute, and ruled in favor of Betty.

His ruling appears to set a precedent for peaceful free speech, and the right to protest within a reasonable distance of candidates and officials. Perhaps "free speech zones" and "protest pens" will be banished from our state as a result.

And best of all, the ruling comes just four days before President Bush returns to Nashua, on August 30.

All in all, a great day for Democracy.

Thank you Betty Hall, for standing up - and sitting down - for free speech!

More on Betty Hall: Betty was a staunch Dean supporter, and was one of three women chosen as Dean delegates to the DNC from the 2nd Cognressional District back in January. She was an 11-term state legislator and has served in local government, school boards and other community positions for decades. After a hiatus from state government, she is running again for the legislature this year. She lives in Brookline, NH. Ironically, she was in the legislature when the old disorderly conduct law was thrown out, and the current one was drafted and signed into law. She said today in court that she never thought it would affect her own life. Finally, she really is "83 years young"—feisty, energetic and sharp as a tack.

Paul Johnson is a founder of Democracy for New Hampshire.
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