Memorandum of New Hampshire and Federal Family Law
Here is a compilation of Constitutions, Laws, Court Rules and Legal Concepts I have found helpful in my family matter. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. This is in draft version, so feel free to bookmark and check back for a more articulated version.
You can learn more about my issues and other families have suffered in the courts by reading “New Hampshire Oliver Twist“.
Supreme Court Decisions
The Supreme Court has a long way to go with family law, but has made great strides to correct what is now obvious. Unfortunately, in the new Family Courts, these protections get overlooked to this day. It would be helpful to note these landmark cases:
Prohibition of Discrimination on Fathers; Unmarried
Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972). The Court declared unconstitutional an Illinois dependency statute that deprived unmarried fathers of the care and custody of their children on the death of the mother without any showing of the father’s unfitness.
Right to resist coercive state intervention in the family
- Duchesne v. Sugarman, 566 F.2d 817, 825 (2d Cir. 1977). The Second Circuit held “[T]he right of the family to remain together without the coercive interference of the awesome power of the state . . .encompasses the reciprocal rights of both parent and child.” The court explained that children have the constitutional right to avoid dislocat[ion] from the emotional attachments that derive from the intimacy of daily association with the parent.”
- Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972). The Court reasoned that because the marital privacy recognized in Griswold protects two independent and distinct individuals, this protection should apply equally to a single person. Accordingly, the Court invalidated a Massachusetts statute that prohibited the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried persons.
Right to Counsel
- Lassiter v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 452 U.S. 18 (1981). The Court held parents have a due process right to a fundamentally fair procedure that may require the appointment of counsel.
Rights of unfit parents:
- Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982). The Court declared unconstitutional a New York statute that authorized termination of parental rights based on a preponderance of the evidence. Santosky is the first Supreme Court case to hold that even after parents are found unfit in a contested court proceeding, they retain constitutionally protected parental rights.
Source: American Bar Association
5th Amendment
Due Process – “nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
· Right to a fair and public trial conducted in a competent manner
· Right to be present at the trial
· Right to an impartial jury
· Right to be heard in one’s own defense
· Laws must be written so that a reasonable person can understand what is criminal behavior
· Taxes may only be taken for public purposes
· Property may be taken by the government only for public purposes
[Art.] 2-b. [Right of Privacy.] An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.
December 5, 2018
[Art.] 3. [Society, its Organization and Purposes.] When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the protection of others; and, without such an equivalent, the surrender is void.
June 2, 1784
[Art.] 4. [Rights of Conscience Unalienable.] Among the natural rights, some are, in their very nature unalienable, because no equivalent can be given or received for them. Of this kind are the Rights of Conscience.
June 2, 1784
[Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
June 2, 1784
[Art.] 12. [Protection and Taxation Reciprocal.] Every member of the community has a right to be protected by it, in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property; he is therefore bound to contribute his share in the expense of such protection, and to yield his personal service when necessary. But no part of a man’s property shall be taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. Nor are the inhabitants of this State controllable by any other laws than those to which they, or their representative body, have given their consent.
June 2, 1784
[Art.] 14. [Legal Remedies to be Free, Complete, and Prompt.] Every subject of this State is entitled to a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries he may receive in his person, property, or character; to obtain right and justice freely, without being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay; conformably to the laws.
June 2, 1784
[Art.] 15. [Right of Accused.] No subject shall be held to answer for any crime, or offense, until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally, described to him; or be compelled to accuse or furnish evidence against himself. Every subject shall have a right to produce all proofs that may be favorable to himself; to meet the witnesses against him face to face, and to be fully heard in his defense, by himself, and counsel. No subject shall be arrested, imprisoned, despoiled, or deprived of his property, immunities, or privileges, put out of the protection of the law, exiled or deprived of his life, liberty, or estate, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land; provided that, in any proceeding to commit a person acquitted of a criminal charge by reason of insanity, due process shall require that clear and convincing evidence that the person is potentially dangerous to himself or to others and that the person suffers from a mental disorder must be established. Every person held to answer in any crime or offense punishable by deprivation of liberty shall have the right to counsel at the expense of the state if need is shown; this right he is at liberty to waive, but only after the matter has been thoroughly explained by the court.
June 2, 1784
490-D:1 Judicial Branch Family Division Established. – The general court hereby organizes, constitutes, and establishes the judicial branch family division. The goals of the family division are the respectful treatment of all citizens by justices, marital masters, and other family division staff, the prompt and fair resolution of family issues by justices and marital masters specially selected and trained to deal effectively with such issues, the use of alternative dispute resolution to reduce the adversarial nature of proceedings involving families, and the assignment of all family matters of a single family to one family division justice or marital master located in a family division court that is geographically accessible to the family.
Source. 2005, 177:14, eff. July 1, 2005
Legal Argument
Women and children were considered property until Slavery was Abolished. Now, the “family” is property, or an intangible asset, with the name being the trademark.
If you look at it as a business, the person causing the end of or refusing to continue the family should be and is the cause of considerable costs and damages to the family. Additional work, inefficiencies such as duplicate home and furniture, expenses in time and money, and articulatable mental anguish on the abandoned parent and deprived children.
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-sites/mary-ann-mason/books/from-fathers-property-to-childrens-rights-a-history-of-child-custody-preview/
Although the father was squarely at the head of the household, those elected or appointed by charter to enforce community standards carefully supervised the household. In New England these town officials could enter the household
Married Women’s Property Act 1870
Virginia, like New England, worried about “sloth and idleness where with such young children are easily corrupted.” Beginning in 1646 the legislature passed a series of ambitious laws to create workhouses for “the relief of such parents whose poverty extends not to give them good breeding.”
546-A:5 Amount of Support. – When determining the amount due for support the court shall consider all relevant factors including but not limited to: (a) the standard of living and situation of the parties; (b) the relative wealth and income of the parties; (c) the ability of the obligor to earn; (d) the ability of the obligee to earn; (e) the need of the obligee; (f) the age of the parties; (g) the responsibility of the obligor for the support of others.
Source. 1955, 206:1, par. 5, eff. June 20, 1955.
458-A:5 Effect of Child-Custody Determination. – A child-custody determination made by a court of this state that had jurisdiction under this chapter binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of this state or notified in accordance with RSA 458-A:7 or who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court, and who have been given an opportunity to be heard.
Section 458:13
458:13 Evidence of Marriage. – Upon a hearing for divorce, the admission of the marriage by the party against whom the process is instituted, general repute, the fact of cohabitation, or any other circumstantial or presumptive evidence from which the marriage may be inferred, shall be competent evidence for the consideration of the court.
458-A:16 Notice; Opportunity to be Heard; Joinder.
II. This chapter does not govern the enforceability of a child-custody determination made without notice or an opportunity to be heard.
Section 458:51
458:51 Attorneys’ Fees in Contempt Cases. – In any proceeding under this chapter in which a party alleges, and the court finds, that the other party has failed without just cause to obey a prior order or decree, the court shall award reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party.
458:52 Limitation. – Nothing in this chapter shall abrogate the common law doctrines of recrimination or condonation, or the rights of persons to enter into binding and enforceable prenuptial contracts concerning their respective property rights.
Source. 1987, 278:4, eff. Jan. 1, 1988.
2021-0376, CC 145 Main, LLC v. Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company
Dictionary Definitions determine a reasonable person.
“For an ambiguity to exist, the disagreement must be reasonable. In determining whether an ambiguity exists, we consider the disputed policy language in its appropriate context, and construe the words used
according to their plain, ordinary, and popular definitions.”
RSA 461-A Parental Rights and Responsibilities
Crimes of Family and Court
Domestic Violence
Article 15
173 B
Domestic Violence Court Protocol
Federal Title IV D (Child Support)
Child support grants from the federal government are meant to create and maintain nuclear families. Current;y, they are used to promote the opposite. Fictitious domestic violence claims restructure families, incentivizing single motherhood with Violence Against Women Act funding of hundreds of millions of dollars to the police and ineffective, biased non-profits.
Assets to Be Considered in Child Support
Assets are to be considered in Child Support, and they shall, in addition to all other rights and remedies.
CHAPTER 546-A
UNIFORM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR SUPPORT
Section 546-A:5
546-A:5 Amount of Support. – When determining the amount due for support the court shall consider all relevant factors including but not limited to: (a) the standard of living and situation of the parties; (b) the relative wealth and income of the parties; (c) the ability of the obligor to earn; (d) the ability of the obligee to earn; (e) the need of the obligee; (f) the age of the parties; (g) the responsibility of the obligor for the support of others.
Source. 1955, 206:1, par. 5, eff. June 20, 1955.
Sec. 401. [42 U.S.C. 601] (a) In General.—The purpose of this part is to increase the flexibility of States in operating a program designed to—
(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
(2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
(3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and
(4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
Section 402 (6) Certification of standards and procedures to ensure against program fraud and abuse.—A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State has established and is enforcing standards and procedures to ensure against program fraud and abuse, including standards and procedures concerning nepotism, conflicts of interest among individuals responsible for the administration and supervision of the State program, kickbacks, and the use of political patronage.
https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title04/0400.htm
Police Codes of Conduct – NH Police Standards and Training Council
“”Agency” means the department, division or governmental unit employing a police, corrections or probation/parole officer.” N.H. Code Admin. R. Pol 101.01
“”Moral character” means the degree or extent of an individual’s honesty and respect for the law.” N.H. Code Admin. R. Pol 101.28
“Felony” means a crime classified by the State of New Hampshire as a felony at the time the crime was committed, or an equivalent crime in any other jurisdiction whether civilian or military, if the crime has elements similar to those of a felony under NH law at the time the offense was committed.
N.H. Code Admin. R. Pol 101.23
“”Petitioner” means a party seeking action by the council.” N.H. Code Admin. R. Pol 101.31
21-M:8-b Office of Victim/Witness Assistance. –
(b) Provide victims or their representatives with information about how to contact the appropriate county office of victim/witness assistance and the appropriate state or county prosecutor’s office.
(c) Gather information from victim/witness assistance programs throughout the country and make that information available to county offices of victim/witness assistance, police departments, hospitals, prosecutor’s offices, the courts, and other agencies that provide assistance to victims of crime.
(e) Provide victims or their representatives with information about the availability of and access to restorative justice programs including victim-initiated victim-offender dialogue programs offered through the department of corrections.
21-M-8 H
(b) In the case of a child victim, the claimant, guardian ad litem, advocate or parent may claim compensation in the victim’s stead. (c) A family member of a law enforcement officer, an inmate at a state or county correctional facility, and an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or who is not a legal alien shall be considered victims eligible for compensation under this section.
II. The claimant, or parent may file a claim for compensation within 2 years of the crime, unless good cause is shown
III. A claimant shall not be deemed ineligible for compensation based solely upon failure to apprehend the offender, or based upon failure of the state to obtain a conviction against the offender, providing there is reasonable evidence to sustain the claim that a crime had been committed which resulted in injury to the victim.
IV. The commission may consider the finding of innocence or guilt of the alleged offender in arriving at their determination of eligibility of the claimant. In determining eligibility and the amount of compensation to be awarded, the commission shall consider the contributory fault of the victim in causing his injury. If compensation is paid to members of the accused’s immediate family, or persons who reside with or who have maintained a continuous relationship with the accused, the accused shall receive no benefit or enrichment as a result of payment of such compensation.
V. The claimant may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, medical expenses, funeral expenses, counseling expenses, rehabilitative expenses, expenses associated with the victim’s participation in post-conviction proceedings and victim-offender dialogue programs or other restorative justice programs, and lost wages directly resulting from the crime. There shall be a $50,000 maximum recovery per claimant per incident. If expenses paid through the victims’ assistance program fund are later covered by insurance settlements, civil suit settlements, or restitution, or through any other source, the claimant shall reimburse the fund for the amount of expenses recovered.
V-a. Notwithstanding any right by a victim to claim restitution or a court order for restitution under RSA 651:62-67, a victim shall be eligible for compensation under this section.
VI, VII. [Repealed.]
VIII. Any person who was a victim of a crime under investigation by the cold case homicide unit as established in RSA 21-M:8-m shall be eligible for victim’s compensation regardless of the date of the crime.
IX. Notwithstanding paragraph II, any person who was a victim of a crime for which the person convicted of the crime has filed a petition for post-conviction DNA testing under RSA 651-D shall be eligible for victim’s compensation regardless of the date of the crime. Compensation under this paragraph shall be limited to qualified expenses incurred after the post-conviction DNA testing petition is filed.
X. (a) No person that has received notice of a claim filed pursuant to this section shall collect a debt or attempt to collect a debt resulting from a crime-related expense against a claimant under this section until an award is made to the claimant or the claim is determined to be noncompensable. The statute of limitations for the collection of such debts shall be tolled during the period of this prohibition.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall be liable to the claimant pursuant to the provisions of RSA 358-C:4.
(c) In this paragraph, “person” shall have the same meaning as in RSA 358-C:1, X.
XI. With the approval of the fiscal committee of the general court and the governor and council, the attorney general may request additional funds to pay claims for compensation to victims pursuant to RSA 21-M:8-h, on the warrant of the governor, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
omission
ō-ˈmi-shən
NOUN
- something neglected or left undone
apathy toward or neglect of duty
CRIMINAL CODE
Chapter 626
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Section 626:1
626:1 Requirement of a Voluntary Act. –
I. A person is not guilty of an offense unless his criminal liability is based on conduct that includes a voluntary act or the voluntary omission to perform an act of which he is physically capable.
II. Possession is a voluntary act if the possessor knowingly procured or received the thing possessed or was aware of his control thereof for a sufficient period to have been able to terminate his possession.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:2
626:2 General Requirements of Culpability. –
I. A person is guilty of murder, a felony, or a misdemeanor only if he acts purposely, knowingly, recklessly or negligently, as the law may require, with respect to each material element of the offense. He may be guilty of a violation without regard to such culpability. When the law defining an offense prescribes the kind of culpability that is sufficient for its commission, without distinguishing among the material elements thereof, such culpability shall apply to all the material elements, unless a contrary purpose plainly appears.
II. The following are culpable mental states:
(a) “Purposely.” A person acts purposely with respect to a material element of an offense when his conscious object is to cause the result or engage in the conduct that comprises the element.
(b) “Knowingly.” A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance that is a material element of an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of such nature or that such circumstances exist.
(c) “Recklessly.” A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the circumstances known to him, its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the conduct that a law-abiding person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of having voluntarily engaged in intoxication or hypnosis also acts recklessly with respect thereto.
(d) “Negligently.” A person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he fails to become aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that his failure to become aware of it constitutes a gross deviation from the conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.
III. When the law provides that negligence suffices to establish an element of an offense, such element is also established if the person acts purposely, knowingly or recklessly. When recklessness suffices, the element is also established if the person acts purposely or knowingly. When acting knowingly suffices, the element is also established if a person acts purposely.
IV. A requirement that an offense be committed wilfully is satisfied if the person acts knowingly with respect to the material elements of the offense, unless a purpose to impose further requirements appears.
V. Neither knowledge nor recklessness nor negligence as to whether conduct constitutes an offense or as to the existence or meaning of the law defining the offense is an element of such offense, unless the law so provides.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1973, 370:29, 30, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:3
626:3 Effect of Ignorance or Mistake. –
I. A person is not relieved of criminal liability because he acts under a mistaken belief of fact unless:
(a) The mistake negatives the culpable mental state required for commission of the offense; or
(b) The statute defining the offense expressly provides that such mistake is a defense; or
(c) Such mistake supports a defense of justification as defined in RSA 627.
II. A person is not relieved of criminal liability because he acts under a mistaken belief that his conduct does not, as a matter of law, constitute an offense unless his belief is founded upon a statement of the law contained in a statute or other enactment, or an administrative order or grant of permission, or a judicial decision of a state or federal court, or a written interpretation of the law relating to the offense officially made by a public servant, agency or body legally empowered with authority to administer, enforce or interpret such law. The defendant must prove a defense arising under this subsection by a preponderance of evidence.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:4
626:4 Intoxication. – Intoxication is not, as such, a defense. The defendant may, however, introduce evidence of intoxication whenever it is relevant to negate an element of the offense charged, and it shall be taken into consideration in determining whether such element has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:5
626:5 Entrapment. – It is an affirmative defense that the actor committed the offense because he was induced or encouraged to do so by a law enforcement official or by a person acting in cooperation with a law enforcement official, for the purpose of obtaining evidence against him and when the methods used to obtain such evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the offense would be committed by a person not otherwise disposed to commit it. However, conduct merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense does not constitute entrapment.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:6
626:6 Consent. –
I. The consent of the victim to conduct constituting an offense is a defense if such consent negatives an element of the offense or precludes the harm sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense.
II. When conduct constitutes an offense because it causes or threatens bodily harm, consent to the conduct is a defense if the bodily harm is not serious; or the harm is a reasonably foreseeable hazard of lawful activity.
III. Consent is no defense if it is given by a person legally incompetent to authorize the conduct or by one who, by reason of immaturity, insanity, intoxication or use of drugs is unable and known by the actor to be unable to exercise a reasonable judgment as to the harm involved.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:7
626:7 Defenses; Affirmative Defenses and Presumptions. –
I. When evidence is admitted on a matter declared by this code to be:
(a) A defense, the state must disprove such defense beyond a reasonable doubt; or
(b) An affirmative defense, the defendant has the burden of establishing such defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
II. When this code establishes a presumption with respect to any fact which is an element of an offense, it has the following consequences:
(a) When there is evidence of the facts which give rise to the presumption, the issue of the existence of the presumed fact must be submitted to the jury, unless the court is satisfied that the evidence as a whole clearly negatives the presumed fact; and
(b) When the issue of the existence of the presumed fact is submitted to the jury, the court shall charge that while the presumed fact must, on all the evidence, be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the law declares that the jury may regard the facts giving rise to the presumption as sufficient evidence of the presumed fact.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Section 626:8
626:8 Criminal Liability for Conduct of Another. –
I. A person is guilty of an offense if it is committed by his own conduct or by the conduct of another person for which he is legally accountable, or both.
II. A person is legally accountable for the conduct of another person when:
(a) Acting with the kind of culpability that is sufficient for the commission of the offense, he causes an innocent or irresponsible person to engage in such conduct; or
(b) He is made accountable for the conduct of such other person by the law defining the offense; or
(c) He is an accomplice of such other person in the commission of the offense.
III. A person is an accomplice of another person in the commission of an offense if:
(a) With the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of the offense, he solicits such other person in committing it, or aids or agrees or attempts to aid such other person in planning or committing it; or
(b) His conduct is expressly declared by law to establish his complicity.
IV. Notwithstanding the requirement of a purpose as set forth in paragraph III(a), when causing a particular result is an element of an offense, an accomplice in the conduct causing such result is an accomplice in the commission of that offense, if he acts with the kind of culpability, if any, with respect to that result that is sufficient for the commission of the offense. In other words, to establish accomplice liability under this section, it shall not be necessary that the accomplice act with a purpose to promote or facilitate the offense. An accomplice in conduct can be found criminally liable for causing a prohibited result, provided the result was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conduct and the accomplice acted purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently with respect to that result, as required for the commission of the offense.
V. A person who is legally incapable of committing a particular offense himself may be guilty thereof if it is committed by the conduct of another person for which he is legally accountable, unless such liability is inconsistent with the purpose of the provision establishing his incapacity.
VI. Unless otherwise provided, a person is not an accomplice in an offense committed by another person if:
(a) He is the victim of that offense; or
(b) The offense is so defined that his conduct is inevitably incident to its commission; or
(c) He terminates his complicity prior to the commission of the offense and wholly deprives it of effectiveness in the commission of the offense or gives timely warning to the law enforcement authorities or otherwise makes proper effort to prevent the commission of the offense.
VII. An accomplice may be convicted on proof of the commission of the offense and of his complicity therein, though the person claimed to have committed the offense has not been prosecuted or convicted or has been convicted of a different offense or degree of offense or has an immunity to prosecution or conviction or has been acquitted.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 2001, 216:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002.
625:9 Classification of Crimes. –
I. The provisions of this section govern the classification of every offense, whether defined within this code or by any other statute.
II. Every offense is either a felony, misdemeanor or violation.
(a) Felonies and misdemeanors are crimes.
III. A felony is murder or a crime so designated by statute within or outside this code or a crime defined by statute outside of this code where the maximum penalty provided is imprisonment in excess of one year; provided, however, that a crime defined by statute outside of this code is a felony when committed by a corporation or an unincorporated association if the maximum fine therein provided is more than $200.
(a) Felonies other than murder are either class A felonies or class B felonies when committed by an individual. Felonies committed by a corporation or an unincorporated association are unclassified.
(1) Class A felonies are crimes so designated by statute within or outside this code and any crime defined by statute outside of this code for which the maximum penalty, exclusive of fine, is imprisonment in excess of 7 years.
(2) Class B felonies are crimes so designated by statute within or outside this code and any crime defined outside of this code for which the maximum penalty, exclusive of fine, is imprisonment in excess of one year but not in excess of 7 years.
IV. Misdemeanors are either class A misdemeanors or class B misdemeanors when committed by an individual. Misdemeanors committed by a corporation or an unincorporated association are unclassified.
(a) A class A misdemeanor is any crime so designated by statute within or outside this code and any crime defined outside of this code for which the maximum penalty, exclusive of fine, is imprisonment not in excess of one year.
(b) A class B misdemeanor is any crime so designated by statute within or outside this code and any crime defined outside of this code for which the maximum penalty does not include any term of imprisonment or any fine in excess of the maximum provided for a class B misdemeanor in RSA 651:2, IV(a).
(b) A violation does not constitute a crime and conviction of a violation shall not give rise to any disability or legal disadvantage based on conviction of a criminal offense.
V. A violation is an offense so designated by statute within or outside this code and, except as provided in this paragraph, any offense defined outside of this code for which there is no other penalty provided other than a fine or fine and forfeiture or other civil penalty. In the case of a corporation or an unincorporated association, offenses defined outside of this code are violations if the amount of any such fine provided does not exceed $50.
VII. The state may change any offense designated or defined as a class A misdemeanor as defined by paragraph IV to a class B misdemeanor, so long as no element of the offense involves an act of violence or threat of violence. The term ” act of violence ” means attempting to cause or purposely or recklessly causing bodily injury or serious bodily injury with or without a deadly weapon; and the term ” threat of violence ” means placing or attempting to place another in fear of imminent bodily injury either by physical menace or by threats to commit a crime against the person of the other.
Violence is bodily injury. Violence is physical, not mental……………… not someone feeling sad, angry or disagreeing with what you said. This is especially important if they can’t justify their standpoint. 173b is unconstitutional, AND conflicts with the ENTIRE criminal code.
Section 625:10
625:10 Burden of Proof. – No person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of such offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. In the absence of such proof, the innocence of the defendant is assumed.
Source. 1971, 518:1, eff. Nov. 1, 1973.
Chapter 629
INCHOATE CRIMES
Section 629:1
629:1 Attempt. –
I. A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if, with a purpose that a crime be committed, he does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as he believes them to be, is an act or omission constituting a substantial step toward the commission of the crime.
II. As used in this section, “substantial step” means conduct that is strongly corroborative of the actor’s criminal purpose.
III. (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor voluntarily renounces his criminal purpose by abandoning his effort to commit the crime or otherwise preventing its commission under circumstances manifesting a complete withdrawal of his criminal purpose.
(b) A renunciation is not “voluntary” if it is substantially motivated by circumstances the defendant was not aware of at the inception of his conduct which increase the probability of his detection or which make more difficult the commission of the crime. Renunciation is not complete if the purpose is to postpone the criminal conduct until a more advantageous time or to transfer the criminal effort to another but similar objective or victim.
IV. The penalty for attempt is the same as that authorized for the crime that was attempted, except that in the case of attempt to commit murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for life or such other term as the court shall order.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1979, 126:5. 1999, 158:3, eff. June 28, 1999.
Section 629:2
629:2 Criminal Solicitation. –
I. A person is guilty of criminal solicitation if, with a purpose that another engage in conduct constituting a crime, he commands, solicits or requests such other person to engage in such conduct.
II. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor renounced his criminal purpose by persuading the other not to engage in the criminal conduct or by otherwise preventing commission of the crime under circumstances manifesting a purpose that it not occur.
III. It is no defense to prosecution under this section that the person solicited would be immune from liability for engaging in the criminal conduct by virtue of irresponsibility, incapacity or exemption.
IV. The penalty for criminal solicitation is the same as that authorized for the crime that was solicited, except that in the case of solicitation of murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 years.
Source. 1971, 518:1. 1999, 158:2, eff. June 28, 1999.
Section 629:3
629:3 Conspiracy. –
I. A person is guilty of conspiracy if, with a purpose that a crime defined by statute be committed, he agrees with one or more persons to commit or cause the commission of such crime, and an overt act is committed by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy.
II. For purposes of paragraph I, “one or more persons” includes, but is not limited to, persons who are immune from criminal liability by virtue of irresponsibility, incapacity or exemption.
III. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this statute that the actor renounces his criminal purpose by giving timely notice to a law enforcement official of the conspiracy and of the actor’s part in it, or by conduct designed to prevent commission of the crime agreed upon.
