Title LIX, Proceedings in Criminal Cases

Whenever a witness, upon being ordered by a superior court justice to recognize, neglects or refuses to do so, the justice may issue a warrant and cause such witness to be committed to jail until he complies with the order.

Recognizance shall be taken in the name of the state, and with sufficient sureties, unless, in proper cases, the recognizance of the party shall be deemed by the superior court to be sufficient.

Recognizances may be taken with condition to attend the court or before the justice at the next term, from term to term, at a fixed day to which the case may be continued, or from day to day, there to wait and abide the order of the court, and not to depart without leave until di…

Recognizances may be taken in any other form which the court, considering the circumstances of the case, may direct or allow.

A surety for the appearance of a party or witness may be discharged by order of the superior court from further liability upon surrendering the party in open court, during the pendency of the original cause and before trial, on payment of the costs of any proceeding against them,…

Sureties may be discharged before forfeiture of the recognizance by committing the principal to the jail of the county, by leaving with the jailer a certified copy of the order to recognize and of the names of the bail, and a certificate of the bail thereon that they have committ…

The copies and certificates provided for in RSA 597:28 shall be sufficient authority for the keeper of the jail to detain the party committed until he shall be discharged by due order of law; and the accused may be again recognized with sureties, agreeably to the original order o…

All money deposited for bail shall be held for the use of the state until the clerk of the superior court where the bail is deposited shall certify that no liability exists against the bail.

When the sureties in a recognizance, without their fault, are prevented from surrendering their principal by an act of God or of the government of the state or of the United States, or by sentence of law, the superior court, on petition and notice thereof to the county commission…

If any party recognized to appear makes default, the recognizance shall be declared forfeited, and the state may cause proceedings to be had immediately for the recovery of such forfeiture.

Any court, for good cause, may strike off a default upon a recognizance or order it to be struck off at a future day, upon a substantial compliance with the condition.

The superior court may render judgment for the whole amount of any forfeited recognizance and interest and costs, or for such part thereof as, after hearing counsel, the court may think proper, according to any special circumstances in evidence affecting the case or the party lia…

Actions upon recognizances may be brought and tried in the county or judicial district thereof in which they were taken, unless the court shall order the venue to be changed.

No action on a recognizance shall be defeated, nor judgment thereon be arrested, for any omission to record a default at the proper term, nor for any defect in the form of recognizance or of the scire facias, but the court may order the record of process to be amended to conform …

In actions brought upon recognizances taken in criminal prosecutions, it shall be sufficient to set forth in the writ the substance of the recognizance and the time and place at which the same was declared forfeited, without setting forth the complaint or indictment or any subseq…

Any court may issue a warrant for the arrest of a person under recognizance to appear before the court who fails to appear according to the condition thereof or of any person who, being party to a criminal proceeding, is, by escape or otherwise, improperly at large.

If a recognizance is forfeited and paid in any case in which, if the recognizor had been convicted, any sum might have been due and payable to the complainant or to any other person, the superior court may ascertain the amount and may order it to be paid from the state treasury.

I. Whenever a party recognized to appear for any offense defaults, the court may impose an administrative processing fee in the amount of $50 in addition to any other fine or penalty assessment. II. The administrative processing fee provided for in paragraph I shall be retained b…

I. Whenever a party recognized to appear for any offense involving driving makes default and the recognizance is declared forfeited, the court shall send a notice of default to the division of motor vehicles. The division shall send a notice to the person owing the recognizance, …

The court, upon petition and notice to the county attorney, prosecutor or party interested, may order the discharge of any person imprisoned for inability to find sureties in a recognizance, upon such terms as may be deemed just.

If any person is charged with murder, the superior court or any justice thereof, upon application and notice to the attorney general or county attorney, and examination of such evidence as may be laid before them, may determine the amount of the bail, and take the recognizance re…

If a person is arrested in one county on a warrant for an offense alleged to have been committed in another county exceeding the jurisdiction of a justice to determine, the officer, on the arrestee's request, shall take the arrestee before a justice for the county or judicial dis…

A justice before whom a party is taken pursuant to RSA 597:40 may, upon good cause shown, take the recognizance of the party to appear before the court or justice as directed in the warrant on a day and hour named, within 10 days following. He shall certify the fact upon the warr…

The officer shall forthwith deliver the warrant and recognizance to the justice or court before whom the warrant is returnable, who may thereupon summon before him and order to recognize any witness that he may deem necessary to appear at the same time and place.

Every court and justice may, when a person is accused of an offense in which said court or justice is authorized to receive bail, release said person on personal recognizance or require said person to recognize, with sureties, to appear at a future time before said court or justi…

Upon motion duly made, a court shall schedule a bail hearing. Every court may, when a person is accused of an offense or a probation violation in which said court is authorized to receive bail, release said person on personal recognizance or require him or her to recognize, with …

If it appears from an affidavit filed by a party that the testimony of a person is material in a criminal proceeding, and if it is shown that it may become impracticable to secure the presence of the person by subpoena, a justice of the court in which the defendant will be tried …

I. If a person is ordered released by a bail commissioner, the person, or the state, shall be entitled to a hearing, if requested, on the conditions of bail before a justice within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays excepted. [Paragraph II effective until January 1, 2027; see also pa…

If the offense is bailable by the circuit court district division, the accused shall be ordered to recognize in accordance with the provisions of RSA 597:2, for the accused's appearance at the superior court, at the next term thereof for the county or judicial district thereof at…

If the order to recognize for his appearance is not complied with in a reasonable time, the court or justice, by warrant, shall cause the accused to be committed to jail until he complies therewith.

I. A peace officer may detain an accused until the accused can be brought before a justice if the peace officer has a warrant issued by a justice for default of recognizance or for breach of conditions of release or if the peace officer witnesses a breach of conditions of release…

I. In this section: (a) "Bail agent" means any person appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds for the insurer in connection with judicial proceedings and who receives a premium. (b) "Bail recovery agent" means a person who meets the requi…

A prisoner committed to jail pursuant to RSA 597:7 may at any time recognize agreeably to the order to recognize for his appearance, before a justice, and thereupon the justice shall issue his warrant for the discharge of the prisoner, and he shall be discharged from custody.

The justice issuing an order for the discharge of a prisoner shall file, in the office of the clerk of the superior court for the county or judicial district thereof in which the offense is alleged to have been committed, true and attested copies of the application to the justice…

To promote efficiency and economy, eliminate redundancies in licensure requirements, reduce administrative costs, and facilitate customer service, the responsibility for registration of professional bondsmen shall be transferred to the office of professional licensure and certifi…

A person proposing to become bail or surety and registered as a professional bondsman shall pay to the executive director of the office of professional licensure and certification an initial application fee. The fee shall be deposited in the office of professional licensure and c…

A person who has been accepted as bail or surety, contrary to the provisions of this chapter, shall nevertheless be liable on his obligation as such bail or surety. Approval and registration under this chapter may be revoked at any time by the executive director of the office of …

The executive director of the office of professional licensure and certification shall furnish all superior court clerks, all district courts having authority to accept bail, all jails, and all police stations with a list of the names of all persons registered as professional bon…

All professional bondsmen shall be governed by rules which shall be adopted under RSA 541-A by the executive director of the office of professional licensure and certification.

Any unregistered person receiving hire or reward for his services as bail or surety in any criminal case, any unregistered person becoming bail or surety in any criminal case in any calendar year after having become bail or surety in criminal cases on 5 separate occasions in said…

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a fidelity, guaranty or surety company duly authorized to transact business in New Hampshire nor any duly authorized agent thereof. A person shall be deemed to have become bail or surety on a separate occasion within the meaning o…

Except as provided in RSA 632-A:9-a, a person convicted by a circuit court of a class A misdemeanor, at the time the sentence is declared, may appeal therefrom to obtain a de novo jury trial in the superior court, which shall hear the appeal. The appeal shall be entered by the de…

A person sentenced for an offense by a district or municipal court who fails to appeal as provided in RSA 599:1 may petition said court to enter a late appeal. The petition shall be in writing and shall be made within 3 days from the date sentence is declared. The court shall gra…

Any person aggrieved by a decision of a district or municipal court who was prevented from appealing therefrom, as provided in RSA 599:1 or RSA 599:1-a, through mistake, accident or misfortune, and not from his own neglect, may petition the superior court at any time within 30 da…

I. Any person charged with any violation or class B misdemeanor may, at least 5 days prior to trial, request the district or municipal court that a sound recording be kept of all proceedings in his trial. If such a request is made, the district or municipal court shall make the s…

Before the appeal is allowed, the appellant shall enter into recognizance, with sufficient sureties, in such sum as the court shall order, not exceeding $2,000, to appear at the court of appeal, to prosecute his appeal with effect, to abide the order of the court thereon and, if …