Judge says Billy Baer's conduct at Gilford School Board meeting was 'impolite' but not 'criminal'

CIRCUIT COURT — Fourth Circuit Court Judge Jim Carroll has dismissed all three criminal charges against a Gilford man who was arrested during a Gilford School Board meeting in May of 2014.

Carroll determined that "there is a paucity of facts from what a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant (William Baer) guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

"The court finds the defendant's actions impolite but not criminal," wrote Carroll.

Baer had been charged with two counts of breaching the peace and one count of disobeying a police officer for his actions at a school board meeting where he went to protest a reading assignment given by the school to his freshman-class daughter.

During the meeting, Baer didn't necessarily abide by the rules set by school board, which were to direct comments only to the board, not to solicit any responses from them and not exceed a two-minute comment rule.

During his two minutes, he requested the board chair to read aloud the passage he found offensive in Jodi Picoult's novel, "Nineteen Minutes." The scene described forced sex involving two teens.

When board Chair Sue Allen refused to honor his request, he sat down but then loudly interrupted after the following speaker referring to an effort at censorship.

At the point where he kept speaking as the chair attempted to recognize someone else, Gilford Police Lt. Jim Leach asked Baer to leave the room. When he declined the invitation, Lynch made it clear he had no choice and Baer followed the officer out, was handcuffed in the hallway and taken to the Gilford Police Station for processing.

His arrest was recorded by the school and at least one independent videographer. At last four members of the main-stream print media also witnessed the arrest.

For a brief period of time immediately following his arrest, Baer became a media sensation, drawing the attention of news outlets as diverse as the Huffington Post and Fox News. A number of independent local venues like Granite Grok and local radio show The Advocates rallied audiences in Baer's defense.

During his arrest, Baer, himself a retired attorney, noted the irony of his situation in light of a students civics project that was being presented in Washington later that year by saying local law enforcement was being used to silence him. Baer called it a "opposite" civics lesson.

The irony of Baer's situation was not lost on Judge Carroll.

"The court finds that this case is, notwithstanding the cynicism of the defendant, an excellent "civics" lesson, a perfect case for modeling free speech guarantees," Carroll wrote.

Carroll wrote that the state may, under a variety of situations, restrict an individual citizen's freedom of expression and the courts have maintained that "time, place, and manner" restrictions are valid.

He wrote that the courts have held that "fighting words" are not an acceptable exercise of free speech, "but the character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done."

He noted that in school board Chair Sue Allen's deposition, she said she desired Leach's intervention but her goal was not Baer's arrest. She also said that the meeting was not disrupted and there were no citizens complaints about him at the meeting.

Carroll also noted that in Leach's deposition, he said Baer allowed himself to be arrested leading Carroll to conclude there wasn't any breach of the peace. He also said there was insufficient evidence that Baer knowingly refused to comply with Leach.

Carroll said that from time to time, in meetings and in court for that matter, people will occasionally be disruptive but the disruptiveness should not be cause for an arrest in the first place.

"The sequence of the arrest actions cause pause by the court as to the chilling, if not silencing of a citizen by the state for actions which do not warrant a criminal arrest or conviction."

Baer was represented by attorney Mark Sisti, who said yesterday that Carroll's ruling was exactly what they requested in their motions to dismiss the charges.

"I'm not surprised but I certainly am grateful," he said.

"We're happy. We're glad it's over and it was a long, strange trip," Sisti said.