(CN) - A New Hampshire man was enjoying his free-speech rights when made a movie on a mountain while dressed as Bigfoot, the state supreme court ruled, finding the state's special permit requirements unconstitutional.
     Jonathan Doyle and his girlfriend hiked up Mount Monadnock, a mountain in a New Hampshire state park where hikers can see all six New England states.
     Doyle had purchased an ape costume and was talking to other hikers while pretending to be Bigfoot, the mythical mountain creature also known as Sasquatch.
     On his way down the mountain, Doyle asked a pair of park rangers to report a Bigfoot sighting. Thinking they were playing along with a college project, they agreed.
     Doyle then reported to local and state police that Bigfoot had been seen on Mount Monadnock.
     Pleased with these results, Doyle decided to stage a second Bigfoot event. He had a friend write a press release, and the Keene Sentinel newspaper reported that Doyle would climb the mountain while dressed as Bigfoot. Doyle promoted the event on his website as well.
     Monadnock State Park Manager Patrick Hummel told his supervisor about Doyle's activities and stated that he was annoyed by media calls that asked if the Bigfoot sighting was legitimate.
     Doyle and his friends scaled the mountain for the second filming. Doyle portrayed Bigfoot, while two companions dressed respectively as a pirate and Yoda from the Star Wars films, Some hikers gathered and watched the filming.
     Hummel appeared and asked Doyle if he had a special-use permit. Doyle said no, so Hummel told them to leave the mountain.
     The special use permit, required for anyone who wants to do more than hike, picnic, camp, ski or showshoe, includes a $100 application process that must be initiated 30 days before the planned activity. Applicants also must obtain a $2 million insurance policy.
     Doyle sued Hummel and the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED), claiming that the permit requirement violated his free-speech rights.
     The trial court ruled that Doyle has not proven the permit law was unconstitutional "either facially or as applied."
     On appeal, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in Doyle's favor, stating that the law is overbroad and violates the free-speech rights guaranteed by the state constitution.
     The requirement of a 30-day notice period before a permit is issued would stifle spontaneous expression, Justice James Duggan wrote on the court's behalf.
     "Requiring a permit for one person - for example, a lone protestor holding a sign at the top of the mountain - does not further DRED's interests. A one-person event will not require the allocation of competing park resources, nor is one person likely to cause any unwarranted or unwelcome annoyance," he wrote.
     Duggan noted that the court's decision applied to Mount Monadnock and may not apply to other DRED properties that would not be considered "a traditional public forum."