HB 1452 – AS INTRODUCED
2014 SESSION
05/08
HOUSE BILL 1452
AN ACT relative to jury nullification.
SPONSORS: Rep. Sapareto, Rock 6
This bill requires the court to give an instruction to the jury regarding jury nullification and requires the court to declare a mistrial if the instruction is not given to the jury.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14-2154
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to jury nullification.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Jury Nullification. Amend RSA 519 by inserting after section 23-a the following new section:
519:23-b Jury Nullification.
I. The court shall give the following instruction to the jury in all criminal proceedings: “The concept of jury nullification is well established in this country. If the jury feels that the law under which the defendant is accused is unjust, or that exigent circumstances justified the actions of the accused, or for any reason which appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit, and the courts must abide by that decision.”
II. A mistrial shall be declared in any case in which the court fails to give the jury instruction provided in paragraph I.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.