Justia New Hampshire Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant Adam Mueller was convicted by jury on three counts of felony wiretapping. On appeal, he argued that the superior court erred in instructing the jury that a violation of the felony wiretapping statute required a "purposely" mental state when the statute called for a "willful" standard. The State agreed that the trial court’s instruction as to the requisite mens rea was erroneous, but asserted that reversal of the defendant’s convictions was not warranted because the prerequisites for application of the plain error doctrine have not been met. The Supreme Court agreed with defendant's argument on this issue, reversed the trial court, and remanded the case for a new trial.View "New Hampshire v. Mueller" on Justia Law

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 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 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

Petitioner Old Dutch Mustard Co., Inc. appealed a New Hampshire Waste Management Council (Council) decision upholding a determination by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) to grant a permit to intervenor Pioneer Point Enterprises, LLC (Pioneer), to build and operate a solid waste facility adjacent to the petitioner's property. In May 2008, Pioneer applied for a permit to operate a solid waste management facility in an existing structure near the Souhegan River in Greenville. The Souhegan River was a "designated river" under the New Hampshire Rivers Management and Protection Act (RMPA), and under the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA). DES denied the permit, concluding that the proposed facility violated the 250-foot setback requirement for solid waste facilities specified in the RMPA. Approximately six months later, Pioneer submitted an amended application, accompanied by a request for a waiver to build a new access driveway within fifty feet of the petitioner’s property. After the hearing, the Council ruled that the petitioner failed to prove that the issuance of the permit and waiver was either unreasonable or unlawful under the circumstances of this case. Petitioner argued on appeal that the Council erred when it: (1) concluded that only Unit 2 constituted the facility, or, alternatively, that Unit 2 itself did not violate the 250-foot setback; (2) failed to rule that because of Pioneer’s pre-permit construction, DES was required to deny the permit; (3) failed to consider the impact on the petitioner of granting the driveway setback waiver; and (4) reviewed the waiver of the driveway setback under an incorrect standard. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Appeal of Old Dutch Mustard Co., Inc." 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 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 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

Respondents The Local Government Center, Inc. (LGC), Local Government Center Real Estate, Inc., Local Government Center Health Trust, LLC, Local Government Center Property-Liability Trust, LLC, Health Trust, Inc., New Hampshire Municipal Association Property-Liability Trust, Inc., LGC-HT, LLC, and Local Government Center Workers' Compensation Trust, LLC, appealed a final order of a presiding officer of petitioner the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation (Bureau), finding that they violated RSA 5-B:5, I(c) (2013) and required, among other things, HealthTrust to return $33.2 million to its members, P-L Trust to return $3.1 million to its members, and P-L Trust to transfer $17.1 million to HealthTrust. After its review of the matter, the Supreme Court agreed with one of respondents' arguments with respect to the purchase of reinsurance: the presiding officer erred by requiring HealthTrust to purchase it. The Court affirmed the presiding officer in all other respects, and remanded the case for further proceedings on the reinsurance issue. View "Appeal of the Local Government Center, Inc." on Justia Law

The Town of Charlestown appealed a decision of the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) dismissing its petition for reclassification of current use parcels owned by taxpayer TransCanada Hydro Northeast, Inc. The Town asserted that, "[b]ecause the three parcels are part of a development involving land use for the purpose of generating electricity, they have been improperly classified as open space land under" RSA chapter 79-A. As a result, the Town requested that the BTLA revoke the current use status of the three parcels and require the Town's assessing officials to reclassify the parcels. The Town further requested that the BTLA issue an order requiring the assessing officials to reassess taxes for tax years 2007 through 2012. TransCanada objected, arguing that the three parcels were not improperly classified as open space land. After its review, the Supreme Court concluded that the BTLA did not err in dismissing the Town's petition for reclassification on the ground that the Town could unilaterally reclassify the land. As the Town agreed at oral argument, the Court did not address whether the Town could apply the reclassification retrospectively. View "Appeal of Town of Charlestown" on Justia Law