An Orrington man who claims he was exercising his right to free speech rather than threatening a town official will appeal his conviction Tuesday before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland.

Richard Bingaman, 39, of Orrington was found guilty of terrorizing Town Manager Dexter Johnson last year and sentenced to 15 days in jail in 3rd District Court in Bangor.

Bingaman’s attorney, Kirk Bloomer of Bangor, said Friday that what his client did was no worse than saying, “I wish you were dead.”

Bingaman was charged with terrorizing after he sent a note to the town office last June with a late tax payment, according to Bloomer. The homeowner believed that officials had illegally placed a lien on his property.

The note cited specific sections of the federal and state tax codes that Bingaman maintained the town had violated.

“The note also included the words, ‘I said deth [sic] to you. I did not state how,'” the attorney said. “He was expressing how he felt persecuted by the town and even quoted the fair debt collection act.

“This was not part of a physical confrontation and it was not done in person,” said Bloomer. “He wasn’t saying he was going to murder someone. The legal standard that this was a lawless action is not met by these facts.”

The court also will hold a public hearing on a proposed rule change for the Maine bar. If adopted, the change would permit reciprocal admissions to lawyers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Lawyers admitted to the bar in one state would automatically be eligible to practice in the other two.

Appeals the court is scheduled to hear Friday in Augusta include:

. William Robert Benson, 34, of Sangerville, who is appealing his conviction last year in Piscataquis County Superior Court on five counts of gross sexual assault against a minor under the age of 14. Attorney Stephen Smith of Bangor is expected to argue that the judge should not have allowed testimony about alleged instances of sexual abuse that Benson was not charged with and that the court erred instructing the jury;

. William C. Chapman, 38, of Saco, who is appealing his convictions last year in Waldo County Superior Court of trafficking and cultivating marijuana in Friendship. Chapman’s attorney Bradford Pattershall of Portland is expected to argue for a new trial because a juror appeared to be sleeping during the trial, among other things;

. Cebrina Fiandaca, age unknown, of Bangor is appealing a summary judgment entered against her in Penobscot County Superior Court last year. Fiandaca’s attorney Mark McDonough of Bangor is expected to argue that the city of Bangor can be sued for negligence for an injury Fiandaca suffered on the monkey bars of a school playground.

The justices also are expected to take part in the presentation of a portrait of former Chief Justice Daniel E. Wathen. He resigned from the court in 2001 to run for governor, but later withdrew from the race.