Bill Text: NH HB1581 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Relative to procedures for arrest.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-02-22 - House Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote; House Journal 20, PG.1201 [HB1581 Detail]

Download: New_Hampshire-2012-HB1581-Introduced.html

HB 1581 – AS INTRODUCED

2012 SESSION

12-2800

04/03

HOUSE BILL 1581

AN ACT relative to procedures for arrest.

SPONSORS: Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Lambert, Hills 27

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill restricts the authority of law enforcement officers to make an arrest without a warrant.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12-2800

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to procedures for arrest.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Statement of Intent. This legislation supports Part First, Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution for the United States, and article V of the New Hampshire Republican Party Platform.

2 Standards for Weights and Measures; Police Powers, Right of Entry and Stoppage. Amend RSA 438:15 to read as follows:

438:15 Police Powers, Right of Entry and Stoppage. With respect to the enforcement of this chapter and any other law dealing with weights and measures that he or she is or may be empowered to enforce, the commissioner, or [his] inspectors at his or her direction, is hereby vested with special police powers, and is authorized to arrest, [without formal] after obtaining a warrant, any violator of said laws, and to seize for use as evidence, without formal warrant, incorrect or unsealed weights and measures or amounts or packages of commodity found to be used, retained, offered, or exposed for sale or sold in violation of law. In the performance of his or her official duties, the commissioner is authorized to enter and go into or upon, without formal warrant, any structure or premises, and to stop any person whatsoever and to require him to proceed, with or without any vehicle of which he or she may be in charge, to some place which the commissioner may specify.

3 Resisting Arrest. Amend RSA 594:5 to read as follows:

594:5 Resisting Arrest. If a person has reasonable ground to believe that he or she is being arrested and that the arrest is being made by a peace officer, it is his or her duty to submit to arrest and refrain from using force or any weapon in resisting it[, regardless of whether there is a legal basis for the arrest].

4 Arrest Without a Warrant. Amend RSA 594:10 to read as follows:

594:10 Arrest Without a Warrant Upon Observation of a Crime.

I. An arrest by a peace officer without a warrant on a charge of a misdemeanor or a violation is lawful whenever[:

(a) he] the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor or violation in [his] the officer’s presence[; or

(b) He has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has within the past 12 hours committed abuse as defined in RSA 173-B:1, I against a person eligible for protection from domestic violence as defined in RSA 173-B:1, has within the past 12 hours violated a temporary or permanent protective order issued under RSA 173-B or RSA 458:16 by committing assault, criminal trespass, criminal mischief or another criminal act, or has within the last 12 hours violated stalking provisions under RSA 633:3-a.

(c) He has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor or violation, and, if not immediately arrested, such person will not be apprehended, will destroy or conceal evidence of the offense, or will cause further personal injury or damage to property].

II. An arrest by a peace officer without a warrant on a charge of felony is lawful whenever[:

(a) A felony has actually been committed by the person arrested, regardless of the reasons which led the officer to make the arrest.

(b) The officer has reasonable ground to believe that the person arrested has committed a felony] the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a felony in the officer’s presence or in the presence of another peace officer with whom the officer is working.

III. No peace officer shall enter the dwelling or other private property not accessible to the general public without a warrant or consent of the owner, except where the peace officer has observed a person who has committed a felony or misdemeanor in the officer’s presence enter such dwelling or private property and the officer is in hot pursuit of the person.

IV. In the event an arrest is determined by a court or through a petition for redress of grievance to be unlawful, the law enforcement agency which made the arrest shall be liable for all of the arrestee’s legal and incidental costs associated with obtaining his or her freedom and expunging the record of the arrest. All records of unlawful arrests shall be destroyed by the law enforcement agency making the arrest.

5 Protection of Persons From Domestic Violence; Protection by Peace Officers. Amend RSA 173-B:10, II to read as follows:

II. [Pursuant to RSA 594:10, an arrest for abuse may be made without a warrant upon probable cause, whether or not the abuse is committed in the presence of the peace officer.] When the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the persons are committing or have committed abuse against each other, the officer need not arrest both persons, but [should] may arrest the person the officer believes to be the primary physical aggressor. In determining who is the primary physical aggressor, an officer shall consider the intent of this chapter to protect the victims of domestic violence, the relative degree of injury or fear inflicted on the persons involved, and any history of domestic abuse between these persons if that history can reasonably be obtained by the officer.

6 Annulment, Divorce, and Separation; Temporary Relief and Permanent Restraining Orders. Amend RSA 458:16, III to read as follows:

III. When a party violates a restraining order issued under this section by committing assault, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, stalking, or another criminal act, that party shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and peace officers shall arrest the party, detain the party pursuant to RSA 594:19-a, and refer the party for prosecution. Such arrests may be made within 12 hours after a violation [without] with a warrant upon probable cause whether or not the violation is committed in the presence of a peace officer.

7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

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