Justia New Hampshire Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant Stephen Socci appealed a superior court order that denied his motion to suppress evidence that lead to his convictions for manufacturing a controlled drug (marijuana) and possession of a controlled drug with intent to sell. He argued that the trial court erred because the evidence resulted from: (1) an unlawful search of his property; and (2) a subsequent search involuntarily given or tainted by the prior unlawful search. Contrary to the State’s assertions, however, the trial court made no finding that the officers confronted the defendant solely with the odor of marijuana detected in this manner. Although the trial court found that one of the arresting officers "told the defendant that one of the officers could smell marijuana and asked [him] for consent," this statement did not indicate that defendant was also not confronted with other evidence. Because its findings were unclear, the Supreme Court remanded this case for the trial court to determine whether, prior to his consent, defendant was confronted with evidence obtained as a result of the illegal search of the area surrounding his garage, and whether the evidence obtained following defendant’s consent "has been come at by exploitation of that illegality or instead by means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint." Furthermore, the Supreme Court concluded the trial court failed to make particularized factual findings with regard to several critical allegations underlying defendant’s voluntariness argument. The trial court's order was vacated and the case remanded for further proceedings. View "New Hampshire v. Socci" 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

Defendant Jason Durgin appealed after a jury convicted him of second degree assault and negligent homicide. He argued that the trial court erred by: (1) denying his request to admit evidence of alternative perpetrators; (2) precluding him from cross-examining a witness about using his electronic benefits (EBT) card without his permission; and (3) denying his motion to set aside the verdict as conclusively against the weight of the evidence. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed.View "New Hampshire v. Durgin" on Justia Law

Defendant William Gaudet appealed his convictions on one count of felonious sexual assault, two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault, one count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault, and one count of attempted incest. On appeal, he argued that the trial court erroneously: (1) determined that he "opened the door" to certain otherwise inadmissible evidence; (2) denied his motion for a mistrial during the State’s opening statement; (3) denied his two motions for a mistrial during the State’s closing argument; and (4) failed to conduct an adequate inquiry after excusing one of the deliberating jurors. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "New Hampshire v. Gaudet" on Justia Law

Defendant Stephen Stangle was convicted by jury on one count of theft by deception. On appeal, he argued that the trial court erred in admitting a surveillance video without proper authentication. Finding no reversible error in the trial court record, the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed. View "New Hampshire v. Stangle" on Justia Law

Defendant David Fischer appealed his convictions on two counts of second degree assault, both of which resulted in extended terms of imprisonment. On appeal, defendant argued: (1) the trial court erred in admitting testimony under the "excited utterance" hearsay exception; (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; (3) the trial court erred in its instruction to the jury on "extreme indifference to the value of human life;" (4) that the trial court violated his rights against double jeopardy by sentencing him on both second degree assault convictions; (5) the trial court erred in imposing extended prison terms; and (6) the trial court erred in instructing the jury on unanimously finding "specific bodily injury." Finding no error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's convictions. View "New Hampshire v. Fischer" on Justia Law

Defendant Jamie Locke appealed her conviction by jury for second degree assault. She argued on appeal that because in her first trial the jury acquitted her of first degree assault, retrying her for second degree assault violated her State and Federal constitutional guarantees against double jeopardy. Alternatively, she argued that the State should have been required to join in one trial all charges arising from the same criminal episode. The Supreme Court took the opportunity of this case to adopt such a rule of compulsory joinder of criminal charges and reversed. View "New Hampshire v. Locke" on Justia Law

Defendant Robert Dupont was convicted by jury of alternative counts of knowing and reckless second-degree murder for the October 2008 stabbing death of his wife. On appeal, he argued: (1) the trial court erred in failing to specifically describe self-defense as an element of the offense that the State was required to disprove; and (2) the trial court instructed the jury in such a way that the jury could not consider whether he acted in self-defense. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "New Hampshire v. Dupont " on Justia Law