Manchester City Clerk Bureaucracy
“Just get it addressed in the courts!”
Such a naive statement could only be uttered by someone who has yet to experience the bureaucratic nightmare of the judicial process.
Despite harming no person or property, in June I was handcuffed, had my property taken (and lost) by people wearing “Manchester Police Department” badges. I was further threatened through two “disorderly conduct” charges, which has impeded me from making other plans and pursing other projects.
I don’t choose to proactively engage the state, but when it’s agents come after me it’s defensive to try to mitigate their onslaught. All they know after all, is force or its threat.
In this case, I argued via a couple of motions that my charges should be dismissed. Per the cumbersome process – remind yourself, that I never consented to in the first place – I had to attach an affidavit to each motion.
Being proactive, I contacted the Manchester District Court to double-check that someone there could in fact notarize the affidavits. “Yes”, I was told. Yet, when I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon in late September, I was told they would not sign my documents since they weren’t “official” documents. I was advised to go to the clerk’s office at city hall, where I had the pleasure of meeting Jeffrey Buldoc and Joanne Osborne Doukeris.
Due to the less-than-civil conversation from Jeffrey and Joanne, I returned to Manchester District Court, explained what happened, and found a sympathetic individual who decided it was ok to do their job. At the end of the day it didn’t make much difference – both motions were denied by William Lyons (read them below if you’re so-inclined).
This is but one of the many iterations of arbitrariness and unaccountability that exist in the criminal injustice system thanks to the granting of arbitrary authority. Don’t like what you see? Stop believing people with badges have extra rights or equating words on paper with “law.” You know how to act. Let’s live in a more commonsensical society and stop this nonsense.
If you were impressed with how Jeffrey Buldoc and Joanne Osborne Doukeris conducted themselves, feel free to let them know!
Manchester City Clerk’s Office
1 City Hall Plz
Manchester, NH 03101-2080
603.624.6455
