The State of New Hampshire continues to drag out my case despite Judge O'Neill recently ordering that a trial be scheduled. It turned out to be the fastest order the judge ever filed in response to a motion I filed. It came the very next day after the prosecution filed a limited objection to the initial motion to schedule the trial.
That motion to schedule my trial reiterated the fact that my Speedy Trial rights are actively being violated. I also used very specific language in the motion to explain that I was asking the judge to decide my request on an either/or basis. Either schedule a trial promptly or dismiss the case.
I don't always plan for things to work out perfectly in scenarios like this, but if this was a fishing expedition, Judge O'Neill's response was akin to a big fat fish jumping in the boat before you even bait a hook. Not only did he provide the most timely order possible for me, but he also wrote his order as if he only read the limited objection to any possible dismissal that Deputy Grafton County Attorney Tara Heater filed. It was written in a way that screams BIAS! I guess he forgot what the actual motion proposed as a prayer for relief and revealed his ultimate, unwavering loyalties to whatever the State suggests in any given scenario.
Essentially the language of my motion meant granting the request to schedule the trial would negate the need to deny the conditional request to dismiss. This concept completely escaped Judge O'Neill thanks to the way Attorney Heater wrote her objection. His order just made it clear that he would never dismiss this case voluntarily. He also confirmed he is eating out of the prosecutor's hand here. He purposely provided a ruling based only on her limited objection rather than taking the time to properly analyze the actual relevant choice I asked him to make in this scenario. He's like the proverbial horse with blinders on. That's how prosecutors use him to get whatever they want. They lead him to water and he drinks, even if it's a puddle of oil.
Judge O'Neill filed his order on November 19th. There is still no trial scheduled as of today, December 6th, 2021. He additionally decided not to hold any hearings on the last few motions despite religiously holding them for every other motion. If Judge O'Neill remains on this case I will have a guaranteed appeal should a jury convict me of the charges. It is truly a no-win situation for the state, but they will press on anyway. It's just another huge issue with the system as we know it. There is no mechanism for the state admitting to a prosecution being misguided and abandoning all charges. They would rather try to make these bad charges stick than figure out where things went wrong and make sure it never happens again. Everyone involved on behalf of the prosecution will look like morons when the smoke of the trial clears. So it appears the name of their game is delay, delay, delay.
Meanwhile, my speedy trial rights continue to be violated. Stay tuned to find out if I will be able to secure crucial evidence for my case. I have filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all materials regarding speedy trial calendars for Belknap County Superior Court beginning 9 months from my only waiver up to the present day. So far just asking for these documents to be delivered by either the prosecution or the Chief Justice has been a wasted effort. Their reluctance to cooperate tells me they have something to hide.
At trial, I will be highlighting the fact that Marijuana prohibition is a waste of time and money. The real problem is opioids, and people are dying as a result of our state spending too much time pretending Marijuana use is somehow a greater threat to public safety. If you want my opinion, our state is chasing the wrong dragon.
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