Revision: May 11, 2017, 4:53 p.m.
HB 397 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
8Mar2017... 0665h
05/11/2017 1617s
2017 SESSION
17-0719
05/03
HOUSE BILL 397
AN ACT relative to juvenile justice procedures.
SPONSORS: Rep. Walz, Merr. 23; Rep. Wallner, Merr. 10
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
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I. Prohibits the use of handcuffs and shackles on a minor who is the subject of a juvenile delinquency petition while the minor is in a court facility occupied by members of the public.
II. Prohibits a prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or other state or municipal employee from advising a juvenile or the juvenile's parent or guardian to waive the right to counsel.
III. Codifies the annulment procedure in 2015, 260:3, which provides for annulment of a criminal conviction if the criminal offense occurred between May 14, 2014 and July 1, 2015 and while the person was 17 years of age.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
8Mar2017... 0665h
05/11/2017 1617s 17-0719
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to juvenile justice procedures.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Delinquent Children; Court Sessions; Use of Handcuffs. Amend RSA 169-B:34 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. No minor who is the subject of a petition filed pursuant to RSA 169-B:6 shall be held in or escorted through any part of a court facility that is occupied by the members of the public while the minor is in handcuffs, shackles, or other devices which would indicated that the minor is in law enforcement custody or subject to an order of confinement, unless no reasonable, alternative means of egress is available.
2 New Paragraph; Delinquent Children; Waiver of Counsel. Amend RSA 169-B:12 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. No prosecutor, law enforcement officer, juvenile probation and parole officer, juvenile parole board member, or any other state or municipal employee shall advise a juvenile to waive their right to counsel under this chapter or under chapter 621, nor shall any such person advise a parent or guardian of a juvenile that the juvenile should waive their right to counsel, nor shall any such person provide information to a juvenile or the parent or guardian of a juvenile under circumstances which a reasonable person would know would encourage a waiver of the right to counsel.
3 New Section; Delinquent Children; Annulment. Amend RSA 651 by inserting after section 5 the following new section:
651:5-a Annulment of Criminal Record Based on Conduct Occurring Between May 14, 2014 and 31 July 1, 2015. Notwithstanding any provision of RSA 651:5 to the contrary, any person convicted of a criminal offense which occurred between May 14, 2014 and July 1, 2015, and while the person was 17 years of age, shall be entitled to an annulment of such conviction upon application to the court. This section shall not apply to any offenses which may continue to be prosecuted as an adult criminal offense after July 1, 2015 against persons who have not yet reached 18 years of age. Annulment requests brought under this section shall not be subject to any filing fee, and may only be brought following the expiration of any sentence imposed by the court. The only permitted basis for denial of an annulment request brought under this section is a written finding by the court, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the subject offense would have qualified for transfer to the superior court pursuant to RSA 169-B:24 and that the prosecution would have pursued such transfer.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.