HB 1275 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/10
HOUSE BILL 1275
AN ACT relative to the common law rule of lenity.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires that any ambiguity in a criminal statute shall be resolved in favor of the defendant.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2317
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to the common law rule of lenity.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Construction of the Criminal Code; Lenity. Amend RSA 625:3 to read as follows:
625:3 Construction of the Code. The rule that penal statutes are to be strictly construed [does not] shall apply to this code. [All provisions of this code shall be construed according to the fair import of their terms and to promote justice] In construing an ambiguous criminal statute, the court shall resolve the ambiguity in favor of the defendant.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.