In State v. Broadus, the NH Supreme Court reversed and remanded two felony-level possession of drug convictions because the search was illegal. Ms. Broadus was the passenger in a car that was stopped by a state trooper on Route 101 because he saw the driver throw a lit cigarette out the window. Once the car was stopped the trooper had...
Read More 🡒In the case of Susan R. White v Vermont Mutual Insurance Company, the NH Supreme Court had occasion to comment on when an adult child could be considered a household resident entitling coverage under the parent’s insurance policy. Susan White held a homeowner’s insurance policy from Vermont Mutual. Ms. White owned a home in Moultonborough and a home in Florida....
Read More 🡒Linda Yaman, a U.S. Citizen,  met her Turkish husband, Ismail Yaman, in the United States and they had one daughter in this country before moving to Turkey and having a second daughter.  Linda became suspicious that Ismail was sexually abusing the girls and filed for divorce in Turkey.  After conducting a review, the Turkish courts rejected the abuse claims and...
Read More 🡒Pursuant to a recently enacted New Hampshire law, RSA 651-A:22-a, inmates may obtain a reduction of their prison sentence of up to 13 months. Inmates must be both eligible and suitable to receive a reduction. An inmate sentenced on or after September 10, 2014 must be granted the option of having his/her sentence reduced by the sentencing judge at the...
Read More 🡒In the case of State v Brouillette the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that hiring a lawyer does not prevent an indigent defendant from obtaining State funds that are necessary to prepare her defense. Heidi Brouillette was charged with burglary, second degree assault and criminal mischief. She was indigent and initially requested court appointed counsel so a public defender was...
Read More 🡒In the recently decided case of State v Locke the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed Jamie Locke’s second-degree assault conviction. This case is significant because, for the first time, the Court adopted what’s known as a compulsory joinder rule for New Hampshire prosecutors. This means that a prosecutor must bring all the charges he or she is going to bring...
Read More 🡒In State v Hillman Blesdell-Moore the NH Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Blesdell-Moore’s conviction for possession of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms with the intent to distribute must be reversed. The Court reversed the decision of the trial court (Vaughn, J.) who ruled the search that ultimately lead to discovery of the drugs was constitutional. Blesdell-Moore was pulled over by Officer...
Read More 🡒In State v. Belleville, the defendant was driving his SUV on Route 28 in Pittsfield when he decided to read a text on his phone. While he was reading the text his vehicle drifted over two travel lanes and collided with a car traveling in the opposite direction resulting in serious injuries to a child and others. The defendant quickly...
Read More 🡒New Hampshire is one of the few states that only has one court of appeal – the New Hampshire Supreme Court.  Most other states have at least one intermediate appellate court. Since one court cannot possibly hear every possible appeal in the state, the result is that it has a system for picking and choosing what cases it will hear....
Read More 🡒In State v. Tabaldi the NH Supreme Court ruled that the State had produced insufficient evidence that Mr. Tabaldi was a felon in possession of an electronic defense weapon commonly referred to as a “taser.” RSA 159:21 defines an electronic defense weapon as “an electronically activated non-lethal device which is designed for or capable of producing an electrical charge of...
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