New Hampshire

Study finds trial-advocacy program works at teaching legal skills

The University of New Hampshire School of Law isn’t alone in developing a more skills-related approach to legal education. But its Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program has been ongoing for a decade, offering an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the trial-advocacy program that has been completed by about 120…

Jan 5, 2015 2:15 PM CST

Vermont law student and his mother die in murder-suicide

Called to a home for a welfare check in Amherst, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, police discovered the bodies of a Vermont law student and his mother. Police say the student, John Trombly, killed his mother with an AK-47 assault rifle before turning the gun on himself, report the Burlington Free…

Sep 18, 2014 7:04 AM CDT

Glock pistol forgotten by security officer in courthouse men’s room is missing

A pistol forgotten in the men’s room of a Derry, New Hampshire, circuit courthouse has gone missing. Officials say an unidentified security officer put his Glock handgun down there Monday and didn’t remember to pick it up, reports WMUR. Soon it was gone. State police searched the area with a…

Aug 26, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

Woman charged in wiretap case after videotaping traffic stop wins $57K settlement

In the wake of a recent federal appeals court decision that greenlighted her civil rights suit, a New Hampshire woman has won a $57,000 settlement over a criminal case pursued against her for videotaping a friend’s 2010 traffic stop. The wiretap case against Carla Gericke wasn’t prosecuted, but she sued…

Jun 5, 2014 7:15 PM CDT

1st Circuit says woman had right to video traffic stop, OKs civil rights suit against police

A federal appeals court has given the green light to a New Hampshire woman’s civil rights lawsuit against Weare police. Carla Gericke had a constitutional right to video a police traffic stop of a friend in 2010, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. Hence, she may…

May 27, 2014 9:45 PM CDT

Lawyer arrested at school board meeting after complaining about novel on daughter’s reading list

A New Hampshire attorney was arrested for disorderly conduct Monday after he complained longer than his allotted two minutes at a school board meeting about a novel on his 14-year-old daughter’s honors English class reading list. William Baer was arrested and handcuffed at the Monday meeting of the Gilford School…

May 8, 2014 11:40 PM CDT

Pro se plaintiff wins court victory in bid for ‘COPSLIE’ license plates

A New Hampshire resident formerly known as David Montenegro has won a free-speech victory in his bid to obtain a vanity license plate reading “COPSLIE.” The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled (PDF) that a regulation used to deny the plate violated the First Amendment because it is vague…

May 7, 2014 6:12 PM CDT

New Hampshire AG seeks to fast-track hearing on county attorney’s removal

New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster has asked a judge to fast-track a hearing on his petition to remove a county attorney from office. Foster is seeking to remove veteran Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams from office over allegations of sexual harassment and mishandling funds, the Concord Monitor reports. The…

Apr 22, 2014 10:15 PM CDT

Repeal of anti-adultery law goes to New Hampshire’s governor; 20 other states also have bans

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan has indicated she’s likely to sign a bill repealing the state’s anti-adultery law. The New Hampshire Senate on Thursday voted for repeal and sent the bill to the governor, report the Associated Press and USA Today. New Hampshire is one of 21 states with laws…

Apr 18, 2014 12:38 PM CDT

Customer support call leads to arrest in laptop theft

A call to Apple’s customer service department resulted in burglary charges against a New Hampshire man. Police made the arrest after the computer’s original owner, Mike Witonis of Dover, got an email from Apple thanking him for contacting customer support, WMUR reports. Witonis said he didn’t call Apple; the person…

Apr 9, 2014 5:05 PM CDT

Law firm is blank canvas for local painter in residence

Painter Melissa Miller was joking when she suggested to the president of Orr & Reno that the unfinished third floor of a new office for the long-established a Concord, N.H., law firm would be a great place for an artist’s studio. But Peter Burger took the idea seriously, and she…

Feb 3, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Former hospital lab tech gets 39 years for infecting patients with hepatitis C

A former contract hospital lab technician who spread his hepatitis C to dozens of patients through contaminated needles was sentenced Monday to 39 years in prison by a federal judge in Concord, N.H. David Kwiatkowski, 34, pleaded guilty in August to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining controlled substances…

Dec 2, 2013 10:10 PM CST

County attorney is ordered off the job amid investigation

A New Hampshire county attorney has been ordered off the job and banned from the courthouse amid an investigation into a complaint about management and operations of his office. Rockingham County Attorney James Reams and Deputy Rockingham County Attorney Tom Reid were placed on paid leave, report Foster’s Daily Democrat,…

Nov 8, 2013 4:30 PM CST

Hospital tech takes plea in hep C case, may get 30 to 40 years

A traveling hospital lab technician accused of infecting 46 patients in multiple states with hepatitis C through injections with tainted needles has taken a plea that calls for him to spend decades in prison. David Kwiatkowski, 34, has agreed to plead guilty to 16 federal drug counts in New Hampshire…

Aug 14, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

Town sues ‘Robin Hood’ citizen group known for feeding parking meters, says it harasses workers

A New Hampshire town has sued a group of half-a-dozen citizens known as the Robin Hooders, contending that their harassment of parking enforcement officers could force the workers to quit if a court doesn’t grant relief. Although the group feeds parking meters on behalf of strangers, the Keene suit says…

May 14, 2013 9:40 PM CDT