On August 21, 2019 Larry Swearingen was executed by the Texas Department of Justice in Huntsville, Texas. Swearingen was convicted of the 1998 murder of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter and sentenced to death in 2000. Despite his relentless claims of innocence and at least 5 defense experts who testified that Swearingen couldn’t have been the killer because he was in jail on...
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Nobody wants to go to trial. Ok, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. There are some people who are eager to get their day in court and aren’t afraid of a courtroom. For the vast majority, the mere thought of a trial is enough to cause shivers. It doesn’t matter the type of case. It could be a divorce,...
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State v Craig is an interesting case that gives some insight into how New Hampshire courts will view posts on social media, such as Facebook, that are directed to someone who has a restraining order against the person making the post. The case centers around a waitress who got a restraining order against Craig, a man who started coming into...
Read More 🡒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...
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