Title LIX, Proceedings in Criminal Cases

I. An order issued upon an application made pursuant to RSA 600-A:1 shall: (a) Convene a multicounty grand jury having statewide jurisdiction, or jurisdiction over all counties and judicial districts thereof requested in the application by the attorney general; (b) Designate a ju…

In case of emergency, venires may be issued for grand jurors to be drawn and notified and to attend forthwith as in the case of petit jurors.

Grand jurors before entering upon their duties shall take the following oath: You, as grand jurors, do solemnly swear that you will diligently inquire, and a true presentment make, of all such matters and things as shall be given you in charge; the state's counsel, your fellows' …

The regular term of the multicounty grand jury shall be 6 months. The terms may be shortened by the supervising judge at the request of the attorney general. The term may be extended by the supervising judge for a specified time period upon a written petition by the attorney gene…

The law applicable to county grand juries, including their powers, duties and functions, shall apply to multicounty grand juries except insofar as it is in conflict with this chapter.

The foreman of the grand jury, the prosecuting officer or any justice upon the jury may administer oaths to witnesses to be examined before them.

The grand jury may appoint one of their number to be clerk to preserve minutes of the proceedings before them, which shall be delivered to the attorney general or county attorney.

Evidence shall be presented a multicounty grand jury by the attorney general or his designee.

Any indictment by any multicounty grand jury shall be returned to the supervising judge and shall include a finding as to the county, judicial district thereof, or counties in which the alleged offense was committed. Thereupon, the supervising judge shall, by order, designate the…

The attorney general or his designee shall prosecute all indictments returned by a multicounty grand jury.

The costs and expenses incurred by impaneling a multicounty grand jury and in the performance of its functions and duties shall be paid by the state.

No person shall be tried for any offense, the punishment of which may be death or imprisonment for more than one year, unless upon an indictment found against such person by the grand jury of the county or judicial district thereof in which the offense is committed or is triable.

Any person who has been bound over or committed by a justice or circuit court under provisions of RSA 592-A:4-a or 592-A:6 for trial in the superior court upon a complaint charging a crime not punishable by death, and who desires to waive indictment, may apply in writing to the s…

If the attorney general or the county attorney desires to charge a defendant making application under RSA 601:2 with a crime or crimes not punishable by death other than a crime charged in the complaint upon which the defendant has been committed, the attorney general or the coun…

If there is no provision in RSA 601:2 or 3, any county attorney may charge a person with a felony not punishable by death by preparing a complaint charging such felony and serving the same on the defendant in order that the defendant may have an opportunity to waive indictment on…

An indictment, information or complaint is sufficient if it sets forth the offense fully, plainly, substantially and formally, and it is not necessary to set forth therein the special statute, bylaw or ordinance on which it is founded.

When an intent to defraud is necessary to constitute any offense, it is sufficient to allege in the indictment or information such intent generally, and proof of an intent to defraud some person or body corporate is competent to support such indictment or information.

In indictments charging any degree of murder, including capital murder, it is not necessary to set forth the manner in which or the means by which the death of the deceased was caused, but it is sufficient in an indictment for murder to charge the culpable mental state applicable…

The crime of murder shall not be charged in the same indictment with the offense of concealing the death of a newborn child.

It is not necessary, in an indictment for assault and battery, to allege that any preliminary proceedings have been had in the case before a justice or district or municipal court.

No indictment, complaint, return, process, judgment or other proceeding in any criminal case in the courts or course of justice shall be abated, quashed or reversed for any error or mistake where the person or case may be rightly understood by the court, nor through any defect or…

In a complaint or indictment in any case arising under RSA 647:1, a lottery may be described as a pretended lottery, which shall be sufficient, whatever the proof may be, and it shall not be necessary to allege or prove, upon trial, who is the owner of the property, nor who manag…

Offenders shall be prosecuted and tried in the county or judicial district thereof in which the offense was committed. But if any person is feloniously stricken, wounded or poisoned in one county or judicial district thereof and dies thereof in another, or if parts of an offense …

A justice of any district, municipal, or superior court in this state shall hold an arraignment and bail hearing on any person who has been arrested on a warrant for default of a court appearance or nonpayment of a fine, regardless of the county or judicial district in which the …

The purpose of this chapter is to provide adequate representation for indigent defendants in criminal cases, as a precondition of imprisonment, and indigent juveniles charged with being delinquent in any court of this state. Representation of juveniles shall include all court ord…

Every person indicted for an offense punishable by death or for murder in the first degree shall be entitled to a copy of the indictment before he is arraigned thereon; to a list of the witnesses to be used and of the jurors returned to serve on the trial, with the place of abode…

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to continue a public defender program for representation of indigent criminal defendants in Belknap, Merrimack, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties and to extend that program to the remaining 6 counties in the state.

In cases involving a neglected or abused child, when a guardian ad litem is appointed for the child as provided in RSA 169-C:10, the cost of such appointment shall be paid from funds appropriated for indigent defense pursuant to this chapter. In cases involving a neglected or abu…

In the event that expenditures for indigent defense by the judicial council are greater than amounts appropriated in the operating budget, the judicial council may request, with prior approval of the fiscal committee of the general court, that the governor and council authorize a…

After an accused person has been bound over to the superior court and prior to indictment, the accused person shall have the same rights to discovery and deposition as he or she has subsequent to indictment, provided that all judicial proceedings with respect thereto shall be wit…

I. Every state department, board, institution, commission, or agency which receives general fund grants or supplemental appropriations outside of the state biennial operating budget for the purpose of conducting law enforcement activities that may result in increased costs for in…

I. The judicial council shall keep records of the notification of eligibility and assignment of counsel as submitted by the courts of the state pursuant to supreme court order 81-5A and subsequent related orders. In addition to any other use the judicial council shall make of the…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, when the appointment of counsel is required: I. For indigent defendants in criminal cases, or II. For juveniles charged as delinquents under RSA 169-B, the district, municipal, superior and supreme courts shall appoint …

I. In every criminal case in which the defendant is charged with a felony or a class A misdemeanor and appears without counsel, the court before which he or she appears shall advise the defendant that he or she has a right to be represented by counsel and that counsel will be app…

The state of New Hampshire, by the judicial council and with the approval of governor and council, may, within the limits of available appropriations, contract with any qualified attorney in the state to provide for the representation of indigents in circumstances where, pursuant…

The determination of a defendant's financial ability to obtain counsel shall be made by comparing the defendant's assets and incomes with the minimum cost of obtaining qualified private counsel. The defendant's assets shall include all real and personal property owned in any mann…

Courts assigning counsel in RSA 169-B proceedings shall do so in accordance with standards adopted by the judicial council.

I. No defendant shall be incarcerated after a final hearing for nonpayment of an assessment or nonperformance of community service unless counsel has been appointed for a defendant who is indigent or such defendant has executed a valid waiver of counsel for the final hearing. Inc…

A defendant for whom counsel is appointed shall be represented by counsel from his initial appearance before the court at every stage of the proceedings until the entry of final judgment. If at any time after the appointment of counsel the defendant is financially able to obtain …

The public defender program shall not represent more than one person where a conflict of interest exists under the code of professional responsibility.

The state of New Hampshire, by the judicial council and with the approval of governor and council, shall contract with any organization or groups of lawyers approved by the board of governors of the New Hampshire Bar Association to operate the public defender program and provide …

I. Counsel appointed pursuant to this chapter to represent the defendant, at the conclusion of the representation or any segment thereof, shall be reasonably compensated therefor and shall be reimbursed for expenses reasonably incurred. A separate claim for compensation and reimb…

The public defender program shall be under the general supervision of the judicial council for such matters pertaining to, but not limited to, allocation of cases between the public defender program and assigned counsel, performance, professional competence, and fiscal and budget…

The allocation of cases between the public defender program and assigned counsel shall be in accordance with a plan adopted by the public defender program and approved by the judicial council. The plan shall establish caseload limits for defender attorneys in accordance with prof…

I. In any criminal case in which counsel has been appointed to represent a defendant who is financially unable to obtain investigative, expert, or other services necessary to an adequate defense in his or her case, counsel may apply therefor to the court, and, upon finding that s…

The state of New Hampshire, by the judicial council and with the approval of governor and council, may, within the limits of appropriations, contract with qualified firms or individuals in the state to provide stenographic, interpretation, translation, transportation, investigati…