A police officer requests that a judge sign an arrest warrant after preparing a sworn statement of allegations against you that the officer believes proves you committed a crime. It’s critical to understand that our criminal justice system is adversarial. meaning that once the police and prosecutors believe there is evidence of a crime, it is their job to try...
Nobody likes to spend time in jail, especially if they haven’t been convicted of anything. So when law enforcement charges someone with a crime, the court may give them the option of being released while awaiting trial. They do this in various ways, including releasing people on bond. A bond is essentially a form of bail used to get someone...
Criminal Defense Lawyers for Non-Citizens | Divorce Law Representation While we are not immigration lawyers, we often represent non-citizens in our criminal and divorce cases. We therefore have a basic familiarity with immigration rules. Often we recommend and work closely with immigration lawyers who guide our clients through that piece oft he process. Foreign nationals who commit a crime, pose...
What Is Self-Defense and How Does It Work? Self-defense is the right to use a reasonable amount of counter-force to defend one’s self or a third party from a forceful attack. On the surface, this concept is simple enough, but when applied to real-life situations, it raises various concerns. For example, what is a reasonable degree of force or violence...
Diversion Programs in New Hampshire Diversion is a program designed to allow certain first-time or low-risk defendants to complete a rehabilitation instead of being convicted of a crime. Most courts have some type of diversion program. Each program defines the crimes and characteristics of the offender that will allow the defendant to attend the program. Some diversion schemes “divert” defendants...
Judges usually issue a no-contact order in New Hampshire after a criminal arrest or conviction on domestic abuse charges. If the defendant tries to contact the attack victim, the order imposes harsh penalties, including jail time. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE NO-CONTACT ORDER The legislation compels the court to consider whether to issue a court order prohibiting the defendant from having contact with...
Discovery & Discovery Materials Discovery is a phase of litigation that occurs before trial. Although discovery can happen in criminal and civil cases, electronic discovery issues most often arise in civil cases. The goal of discovery (whether done electronically or on paper) is to uncover facts. These facts form the basis for creating a trial strategy (or perhaps a motion...
In everyday speech, the terms “evidence” and “proof” are frequently used interchangeably in casual speech. There is, however, a distinction to be made between evidence and proof. Evidence is data or facts that assist us in determining the reality or existence of something. A total collection of evidence can prove a claim. Proof is a conclusion that a certain fact...
How to Testify in Court One of the most common questions we get is how to prepare to testify in court. Testifying can be a nerve-wracking experience. However, our team can help you navigate testifying and work through being as confident as possible while on the stand and under oath. Refresh Your Memory Try to envision the scene, the items...
Prior convictions cannot usually be used to prove a defendant’s guilt or proclivity to conduct crimes. Still, they can sometimes be used to call into question the veracity or reliability of the defendant’s testimony. The credibility of any witness, including a defendant, is called into question when he or she testifies in a New Hampshire court. The fact-finder (whether a...