Talk Show Host Sentenced to 93 Days in Jail For Having A Couch in His Yard

Ian Bernard, host and owner of the nationally syndicated radio talk show and podcast entitled Free Talk Live, was locked up for 93 days at a trial on Friday that pertained to a city code violation.

The first YouTube video posted above shows the beginning of the trial. In the video it is easy to see that Bernard was going to sit down, but he stood back up when someone said his name. At that point the judge yelled, "Have a seat!", four times, to which Ian replied, "I'll be doing that under duress." He then sat down. The judge then proceeded to take him into custody. They then took Mr. Bernard to a private room where the proceedings could not be witnessed by the others in the courtroom. So much for a public trial. You you may be asking yourself, "What crime did Ian commit that caused the judge to act in such a violent and threatening manner?" The answer may surprise, anger, or even disgust you. The problem started when Mr. Bernard's duplex was visited by Keene, New Hampshire housing inspector Carl Patten. Bernard lives in half of the duplex and rents out the other half. Patten cited him for a couch that was on his tenant's side of the lawn. At his first hearing (the second YouTube Video), Ian refused to pay because he did not believe there was evidence of a complaining party. He attempted to negotiate with the city, but the judge only wanted to set a court date. Ian refused to plea because he believed it was his right to, "Understand the nature and cause of the charges against [him]." So the judge entered a plea on his behalf and the court date was set. After the hearing Bernard had a meeting with Patten regarding an offer he made to the city during the hearing. He later said that he was willing to remove the couch if the original complaining party would step forward. The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, after all, does give everyone the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him." So much for that old piece of parchment. All of these events led directly to the Friday trial in which Ian was sentenced to 30 days in jail for a contempt of court charge involving his "refusal" to sit down, 3 days for the couch violation, and 30 days each for two yet to be explained contempt of court charges.