Title XII, Public Safety and Welfare

I. Absent a valid waiver, the court shall appoint counsel for an indigent minor pursuant to RSA 169-B:7, III. For purposes of this section, an indigent minor shall be a minor who satisfies the court, after appropriate inquiry, that the minor is financially unable to independently…

I. No minor shall be detained for more than 24 hours, Sundays and holidays excluded, from the time of being taken into custody without being brought before a court. At any arraignment the court shall: (a) Advise the minor in writing and orally of any formal charges; (b) Inform th…

I. Following arraignment a minor alleged to be delinquent may be ordered by the court to be: (a) Retained in the custody of a parent, guardian, or custodian; or (b) Released in the supervision and care of a relative or friend; or (c) Released to the custody of the department of h…

Following arraignment no minor shall be detained in any facility where adults charged, convicted or committed for criminal offenses are simultaneously detained.

Each facility used by law enforcement, county sheriffs, or state police to securely detain minors shall establish a lock-up log for all minors securely detained. The log shall contain the identification number, the charge, the date and time locked in secure detention, the date an…

The court shall notify parties of their right to request in advance of any hearing under this chapter that a record of such hearing shall be preserved and made available to the parties.

I. Each facility paid for in whole or in part with general funds and used by law enforcement, county sheriffs, or state police to securely detain minors shall continuously record and store digital video of activity in all common areas. Areas requiring privacy pursuant to federal …

I. An adjudicatory hearing under this chapter shall be conducted by the court, separate from the trial of criminal cases. II. Following arraignment, the court shall proceed to hear the case in accordance with the due process rights afforded a minor charged with delinquency. The p…

Following the initial dispositional order issued pursuant to RSA 169-B:19 regarding a charge or charges arising out of a single incident, a child shall not be securely detained for a period or periods totaling longer than 21 days while awaiting placement or a hearing regarding a …

The petitioner has the burden to prove the allegations in support of the petition beyond a reasonable doubt.

Following the adjudicatory hearing, release pending the dispositional hearing shall be determined in accordance with RSA 169-B:14.

I. The department of health and human services shall provide the court with costs of the recommended services, placements and programs. If the court finds that a minor is delinquent, the court shall order the least restrictive of the following dispositions, which the court finds …

In the case of an out-of-district placement, the appropriate court shall notify the department of education on the date that the court order is signed, stating the initial length of time for which such placement is made. This section shall apply to the original order and all subs…

There shall be a presumption that an in-state placement is the least restrictive and most appropriate placement. The court may order an out-of-state placement only upon an express written finding that there is no appropriate in-state placement available.

The court, wherever and to the extent possible, shall order services, placements, and programs by providers certified pursuant to RSA 170-G:4, XVIII who qualify for third-party payment under any insurance covering the minor.

For any child placed in a qualified residential treatment program, as defined in the federal Family First Prevention Services Act of 2017: I. The department shall have an assessment completed within 30 days of placement by a qualified individual as defined by the federal Family F…

Any psychological evaluations, including measures of personality functioning, shall be conducted or supervised by a licensed psychologist with specialized training in the evidence-based treatment of childhood trauma.

In this chapter: I. "Adult lock-up or jail" means a locked facility, used primarily to house adults charged with or convicted of violating criminal law. This includes police lock-ups, county correctional facilities, and any facility used by county sheriffs, state police, or local…

I. In each case brought pursuant to this chapter, on the date of the arraignment, the court shall identify the parent or parents of the minor or, in their absence, the guardian or other person charged by law with the responsibility for the welfare of the minor. It shall be the ob…

I. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Chronological immaturity" means a condition based on a juvenile's chronological age and significant lack of developmental skills when the juvenile has no sign…

I. Any court, finding that a minor has committed the alleged offense may, before making a final disposition, order the minor, minor's parents, guardian, or person with custody or control to submit to a mental health or substance abuse evaluation to be completed within 60 days. An…

I. At any point during the proceedings, the court may, either on its own motion or that of any other person, and if the court contemplates a residential placement, the court shall immediately, join the legally liable school district for the limited purposes of directing the schoo…

I. If the department of health and human services recommends or initiates an out-of-home placement or a change in placement, whether within or out of the district, the department shall notify the school district as soon as possible of the change in placement and shall work with t…

If it is alleged in any petition, or it appears at any time during the progress of the case, that a delinquent is in need of health treatment, the failure to receive which is a contributing cause of delinquency, due notice of that fact shall be given as provided in RSA 169-B:7. I…

I. All cases before the court in which the offense complained of constitutes a felony or would amount to a felony in the case of an adult may be transferred to the superior court prior to hearing under RSA 169-B:16 as provided in this section. The court shall conduct a hearing on…

If facts are presented to the county attorney or attorney general establishing that a person under the age of 18 has been guilty of conduct which constitutes a felony or would amount to a felony in the case of an adult and if such person is not within the jurisdiction of this sta…

At any time prior to hearing pursuant to RSA 169-B:16, a minor who is charged with an act of delinquency committed after the minor's seventeenth birthday may petition the court to be tried as an adult and to have such case dealt with in the same manner as any other criminal prose…

Any minor who has been tried and convicted as an adult shall henceforth be treated as an adult for all purposes in connection with any criminal offense with which said minor may be charged.

A judge who conducts a hearing pursuant to RSA 169-B:24, RSA 169-B:25, or RSA 169-B:26 shall not participate in any subsequent proceedings relating to the offense or conduct alleged in the delinquency petition if the minor or counsel for the minor objects to such participation.

An appeal, under this chapter, may be taken to the supreme court by the minor within 30 days of the final dispositional order; but an appeal shall not suspend the order or decision of the court unless the court so orders.

The court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings alleging delinquency.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, minors under the age of 11 years shall not be committed to the youth development center unless and until the court has referred the matter to and received the recommendation of an appropriate public or private agency or of a juvenile pr…

Upon making a finding that the purposes of this chapter have been met with regard to the minor named in the petition, or for such other reason the court may deem appropriate and consistent with the purposes of this chapter, the court may order a case closed. Any case remaining op…

I. For a minor who enters an out-of-home placement prior to an adjudicatory finding and who is in an out-of-home placement for 12 or more months, the court shall hold and complete an initial permanency hearing within 14 months of the minor's entry into out-of-home placement or wi…

I. The department shall establish a system to collect data related to: (a) Charges which led to involvement with the juvenile justice system. (b) The racial and ethnic identity of the child. (c) The length of time a child receives services under this chapter, beginning at the tim…

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the court shall close all cases other than those involving serious violent offenses no later than 2 years after the date of adjudication. This section shall not apply if, with the assistance of counsel, the minor consents to…

This chapter shall not be construed as applying to persons 16 years of age or over who are charged with the violation of a motor vehicle law, an aeronautics law, a law relating to navigation or boats, a fish and game law, a law relating to title XIII, a law relating to fireworks …

The court and officials, in placing minors, shall, as far as practicable, place them in the care and custody of some individual holding the same religious beliefs as the minor or the parents of said minor, or with some association which is controlled by persons of like religious …

I. (a) All juvenile cases shall be heard separately from the trial of criminal cases, and such hearing shall be held wherever possible in rooms not used for such trials. Only such persons as the parties, their witnesses, their counsel, the victim, a victim witness advocate or oth…

I. All case records, as defined in RSA 170-G:8-a, relative to delinquency, shall be confidential and access shall be provided pursuant to RSA 170-G:8-a. II. Court records of proceedings under this chapter, except for those court records under RSA 169-B:36, II, shall be kept in bo…

I. For the purposes of this section: (a) "Victim" shall mean a person who suffers direct physical, emotional, or psychological harm as a result of the commission of a violent crime. "Victim" also includes the immediate family of any victim who is a minor or who is incompetent, or…

I. It shall be unlawful for any person to disclose court records or any part thereof to persons other than those persons entitled to access under RSA 169-B:35, except by court order. Any person who knowingly violates this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. This prohibiti…

I. It shall be unlawful for any newspaper to publish, or any radio or television station to broadcast or make public the name or address or any other particular information serving to identify any juvenile arrested, without the express permission of the court; and it shall be unl…

The publisher of any newspaper or the manager, owner or person in control of a radio or television station or agent or employee of any of the above who violates any provision of RSA 169-B:37 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

I. The court shall have jurisdiction over any minor with respect to whom a petition is filed under this chapter after the minor's eighteenth and before the minor's nineteenth birthday for an alleged delinquency offense committed before the minor's eighteenth birthday. II. The cou…

I. (a) Whenever an order creating liability for expenses is issued by the court under this chapter, any expenses incurred for services, placements, and programs the providers of which are certified pursuant to RSA 170-G:4, XVIII, shall be payable by the department of health and h…