CHAPTER 64
HB 1636-FN – FINAL VERSION
22Feb2006… 0867h
2006 SESSION
09/01
HOUSE BILL 1636-FN
This bill establishes that appeals from class A misdemeanor sentences imposed by the district courts shall be made directly to the supreme court, when no appeal is made for a jury trial in superior court.
This bill was requested by the supreme court.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22Feb2006… 0867h
06-2657
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to appeals from class A misdemeanor sentences imposed by the district courts.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
64:1 District Courts; Appeals From Sentence. RSA 502-A:12 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
502-A:12 Appeals From Sentence.
I. A person sentenced by a district court for a class A misdemeanor after trial or after proceedings pursuant to District Court Rule 2.14 may appeal therefrom to the superior court for a jury trial as provided in RSA 599, except in cases in district courts served by regional jury trial courts as provided in RSA 502-A:12-a.
II. A person sentenced by a district court for a class A misdemeanor may, if no appeal for a jury trial in superior court is taken, appeal therefrom to the supreme court at the time the sentence is declared or within 30 days after the sentence is declared. The supreme court’s review shall be limited to questions of law.
64:2 Appeals From Convictions in District Court. RSA 599:1 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
599:1 Appeals. A person convicted by a district 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 except in cases in district courts served by regional jury trial courts as provided in RSA 502-A:12-a. The appeal shall be entered by the defendant at the next return day unless for good cause shown the time is extended by the superior court. If, after a jury trial in the superior court, the defendant is found guilty, the superior court shall sentence the defendant, and the defendant may appeal questions of law arising therefrom to the supreme court. In the event the defendant waives the right to jury trial after the case has been appealed, the superior court shall forthwith remand the case to the district court for imposition of the sentence originally imposed by the district court, and the defendant may appeal questions of law arising therefrom to the supreme court. In all misdemeanor cases which are appealed to superior court or in which defendants are bound over it shall be the duty of the superior court to transmit to the justice of the district court, within 10 days after the case is finally disposed of, a certificate showing the final disposition of the case.
64:3 Classification of Crimes; Misdemeanors. Amend RSA 625:9, VIII to read as follows:
VIII. If a person convicted of a class A misdemeanor has been sentenced and such sentence does not include any period of actual incarceration or a suspended or deferred jail sentence or any fine in excess of the maximum provided for a class B misdemeanor in RSA 651:2, IV(a), the court shall record such conviction and sentence as a class B misdemeanor. [Notwithstanding the foregoing, the person so convicted shall be deemed to have been convicted of a class A misdemeanor for the purposes of appeal.]
64:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.
Approved: April 24, 2006
Effective: January 1, 2007