The state Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Concord woman's stalking petition against a local private investigator, partly because the investigator refused to tell the court why he'd been hired to follow the woman.

The state's stalking law does not specifically exempt private investigators. And it requires that people have a lawful and "legitimate purpose" for following someone. In an unanimous decision, the justices ruled that Brian Blackden's unwillingness to reveal his reasons for following a woman last year made it impossible for the trial judge or them to determine whether Blackden had a legitimate purpose to surveil the woman. Therefore, the justices said, the trial court was right to find that Blackden had been stalking her.

Blackden and his lawyer, Penny Dean of Concord, said the ruling will make it impossible for private investigators to do their jobs because no investigator is going to be willing to reveal in a public courtroom - likely in front of their target - why they've been hired to follow the person. Blackden also predicted that the ruling could hurt women and others who hire private investigators if the targets of the investigation learn they are being followed and retaliate.

"It puts PIs in a difficult position," Blackden said. "If someone asks you what you are doing you don't tell them, they can jam you up. I have a state license that says I can conduct surveillance. That should be enough for a court."

Blackden, who was never criminally charged with stalking, and Dean said they plan to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling. And Blackden said he will ask a lawmaker to amend the state stalking law to exempt private investigators. Dean declined to discuss the ruling in more detail until after the court rules on her motion for reconsideration.

The stalking case began about a year ago when Blackden, owner of New Hampshire Forensic and Detective Services on South Main Street, was hired by Eric Raymond, 27, to watch Raymond's ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Miller.

Raymond retained Blackden after the police arrested him for assaulting Miller and refusing to let her leave her home. According to the police report detailing the arrest, Raymond let himself into Miller's Concord apartment, awoke her by shining a light in her face and restrained her on her bed. He also took items from her home when he left, the police report said.

At the time he was hired, Blackden suggested Miller had made up the charges against Raymond. He said he had been hired by Raymond to determine Miller's motivation for fabricating her claims of assault. He has declined to be more specific.

Shortly after Blackden began watching Miller, a Concord police officer asked him what he was doing and told him to "rethink" his activities, according to Blackden. The officer, meanwhile, told Miller that Blackden was following her and that she should be careful.

Blackden continued his surveillance and followed Miller six times in a single day, including at her son's school. The stalking statute requires only two instances of following. Miller responded by seeking a stalking petition against Blackden, saying the surveillance had frightened her. She asked the court to forbid Blackden to come near her.

Judge Michael Sullivan of Concord District Court granted Miller the restraining order, which required Blackden to keep a distance from Miller. Blackden faced criminal arrest only if he violated that order. The order also required that Blackden turn his firearms over the court, including those he had as part of his Main Street retail store. (Blackden and his attorney are awaiting a court hearing Dec. 11 to get the guns back because the year-long restraining order is now expired.)

In granting the stalking petition, Sullivan rejected Blackden's defense that he had not done anything to harm or terrorize Miller, as is required to justify a stalking petition. Sullivan also rejected Blackden's argument that as a private investigator licensed by the state he had a right to watch Miller and her house.

Blackden and his lawyer appealed the petition to the state Supreme Court on several grounds: They argued the stalking statute was too vague to be constitutional; that there wasn't enough evidence to show Blackden had stalked the woman and that Sullivan should have recused himself because he had recused himself on a separate case involving Blackden's business partner. They also reiterated their position that Blackden's state license to conduct private investigations exempted him from the statute.

Yesterday, the court rejected all those points.

While other states do exempt private investigators, New Hampshire does not, the court ruled. To be exempt, Blackden needed to show his purpose in following the woman was lawful and legitimate. "(Blackden) contends that he met this burden of proof by testifying that he secretly followed (Miller) in his capacity as a licensed private detective," the court wrote. "We disagree."

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