January 14, 2012|By Lynne Tuohy CONCORD, N.H. - The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Bigfoot’s right to romp around Mount Monadnock - and against a state regulation governing special events at parks.
The court ruled unanimously yesterday that the language of the regulation is so broad it would apply to six people holding a private prayer service, three people carrying campaign signs at a mountain’s peak, or even a lone protester.
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| Jonathan Doyle filmed a friend in costume on Mount Monadnock in September… (photos by NYCreator.com) |
Keene entrepreneur Jonathan Doyle and the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union Foundation appealed after state park officials barred Doyle, an amateur filmmaker, from wearing his monkey costume and interviewing other hikers about a Bigfoot sighting at Mount Monadnock in September 2009.
Park officials said Doyle had failed to pay $100 for a special-use permit 30 days in advance and secure a $2 million bond, as required by the regulation. The permit regulation applies to all properties operated by the state Department of Resources and Economic Development.
The court said the regulation violates constitutional free speech rights by requiring someone to get a permit 30 days in advance for any “organized or special events which go beyond routine recreational activities.’’
The justices called the regulation “panoptic’’- including in one view everything in sight.
The regulation, the court said, “is unconstitutional in a substantial number of its applications and is thereby overbroad.’’
Barbara Keshen, director of the NHCLU, called the ruling a “strong affirmation of people’s First Amendment rights to express themselves politically and artistically.’’
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Mavrogeorge, who argued to uphold the regulation, did not return calls seeking comment.
Doyle said he was uncertain how the court would rule and had doubts along the way about taking on the state.
“I’m very happy and pleased,’’ Doyle said yesterday. He said he will return to Monadnock in costume the first chance he gets.
Doyle first wore his Bigfoot costume on the top of Monadnock on Sept. 6, 2009, and interviewed hikers about what they saw. Those interviewed went along with the skit - some feigning fear and awe - and Doyle posted his video on YouTube.
He planned to make a movie, “The Capture of Bigfoot,’’ which The Keene Sentinel newspaper wrote about. Park manager Patrick Hummel saw the report and e-mailed a supervisor under the subject line, “Bigfoot problem on Monadnock . . . not kidding,’’ according to court documents. In another e-mail, Hummel wrote, “Why does this mountain attract these time wasters?’’
CREDIT: boston.com
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