Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

Juvenile Trevor G. was arraigned on a delinquency petition alleging he had endangered the welfare of a minor. He moved to dismiss the petition because none of the State's witnesses against him were present, and therefore the State could not proceed with its case. The State acknowledged none of its witnesses were present and did not object to the motion, but requested leave to file for reconsideration if it learned there was a good reason why its witnesses did not show. The case was dismissed for lack of prosecution, and the State did not move for reconsideration. A few months later, the State refiled its petition. Trevor moved to dismiss, arguing that the adjudicatory hearing was outside the statutory time limit. The court again held a hearing, and again the witnesses did not show. The Court denied Trevor's motion, finding that because Trevor initiated the dismissal, the State was not barred from re-filing. The Supreme Court granted the trial court's request for interlocutory appeal. The issue before the Court was whether the trial court erred in its conclusion that the statutory time limits for the State to re-file its delinquency petition for lack of prosecution was not violated because the dismissal was initiated by the juvenile. The Supreme Court concluded that the trial court erred in its interpretation, and reversed the order denying Trevor's motion to dismiss. View "In re Trevor G." on Justia Law

Defendant John Smith, appealed the sentence he received after being convicted by jury of receipt of stolen property. He argued on appeal to the Supreme Court that the trial court committed plain error by imposing a felony-level sentence instead of a misdemeanor-level sentence when the jury was not instructed that it had to find that the stolen property consisted of firearms. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's sentence. View "New Hampshire v. Smith " on Justia Law

Defendant William Ramsey appealed his convictions on second degree assault, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and criminal threatening. On appeal to the Supreme Court, he argued the trial court erred by : (1) denying his request to cross-examine the victim about an allegedly false statement she made on her 2010 application to renew her driver’s license; (2) allowing the State to introduce evidence that he treated the victim’s dog well; and (3) imposing consecutive sentences for second degree assault and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions. View "New Hampshire v. Ramsey" on Justia Law

Defendant Barion Perry appealed a superior court order that imposed a suspended sentence. He pled guilty to one count of receiving stolen property and one count of stalking. On appeal, defendant argued: (1) the trial court erred in imposing the sentence based on conduct that occurred before he was released from custody; and (2) imposition of the sentence violated due process. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "New Hampshire v. Perry" on Justia Law

Defendant Kurt Carpentino appealed a superior court order that denied his motion to amend one of his sentences based on an amendment to the statute under which his sentence was based. The statute in question took effect after the offense, but before defendant's conviction became final. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's sentence. View "New Hampshire v. Carpentino" on Justia Law

Defendant Richard Gness appealed his convictions for possession of psilocin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine, and possession of marijuana. On appeal, he argued that the superior court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence derived from a warrantless search of a desk drawer located in the office of his convenience store. Defendant argued that because the search did not meet the requirements of the administrative search exception to the warrant requirement, it violated his constitutional rights. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions. View "New Hampshire v. Gness" on Justia Law

Defendant Jessica Botelho appealed her convictions of manslaughter, negligent homicide, and reckless conduct. She argued on appeal that the trial court erred: (1) by admitting into evidence the name and description of a particular website that she visited while leaving her children unattended in her bathtub; and (2) by excluding certain portions of a recorded police interview. Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "New Hampshire v. Botelho" on Justia Law

Defendant David Lantagne appealed a superior court decision that denied his motion to suppress evidence leading to his conviction on three counts of possessing images of child sexual abuse. On appeal, defendant argued, among other things, that the trial court erred when it found that the police had probable cause to arrest him for disorderly conduct that eventually lead to the discovery of the images. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded: "Photographing properly-attired children in an open and public portion of Canobie Lake Park, regardless of whether the photographs were of the children’s backsides, were taken surreptitiously, or would be uploaded to a computer, would not have warranted a reasonable belief that the photographer posed a threat of imminent harm to any patrons, including the children. [. . .] viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that the officer lacked probable cause to arrest the defendant." View "New Hampshire v. Lantagne " on Justia Law

Defendant Daniel Thompson appealed a circuit court decision that denied his request for permission to appeal a superior court decision that denied his petition to allow a misdemeanor appeal. Defendant was convicted of driving while intoxicated. He argued that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of prior offenses, and but for that admission, he would have been convicted of a class B misdemeanor instead of a class A misdemeanor. The Supreme Court found that neither the trial court nor the circuit court erred in their decisions. View "New Hampshire v. Thompson" on Justia Law

Petitioner Stephen Stompor petitioned the Supreme Court for review of a probate court decision that granted him and his brother Stan access to an attorney's file who drafted estate plan documents for their parents. In 2001 and 2002, the parents met with the attorney regarding their estate plans. The attorney drafted plan documents for them, however, due to a conflict, the attorney withdrew from representing them, and the estate plan documents were not executed. In 2004, petitioner wrote to the attorney to inquire whether the attorney would again represent the parents with regard to their estate plans. The attorney declined. Petitioner then helped his parents prepare certain estate plan documents, and the parents executed those documents in October 2004. In October 2007, the respondent filed a petition on the parents' behalf, to determine the legality of certain acts of petitioner and requesting, among other things, an accounting of the petitioner's handling of all of the parents' funds either personally or as a trustee of his father's living trust. In June 2009, respondent successfully moved to amend his petition to allege that, in 2004, the petitioner, as the parents' fiduciary, exercised undue influence over the parents when they lacked the capacity to understand the estate plan documents that gave the petitioner and his family exclusive inheritance rights to the parents' assets to the exclusion of the parents' other children. The parents passed away during the late summer of 2009. In February 2010, while his petition was still pending, the respondent sought disclosure from the Attorney of any information he had regarding his contact with the parents in connection with the challenged 2004 estate plan. Petitioner objected, arguing that the attorney-client privilege prohibited disclosure of any documents the attorney had relating to his consultations with his parents. The court ruled that the attorney's entire file was discoverable because it was relevant to a dispute among the decedents' children and to whether the petitioner unduly influenced the parents' decisions regarding their estate plan. The Supreme Court found no reversible error, and affirmed the probate court's ruling. View "Petition of Stephen Stompor" on Justia Law