Court Cases

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire (ACLU-NH) and the law firm Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A. filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a mail policy imposed by the NHDOC that prohibits prisoners from receiving original drawings and greeting cards.

On September 1, 2015, the ACLU-NH filed an amicus brief in support of the disclosure to the Valley News, the Union Leader Corporation, and Hearst Properties, Inc. (including WMUR-TV) of the four (4) videos depicting the events surrounding the fatal police shooting of Hagen Esty-Lennon.

This case challenges the registration requirement for those sex offenders who completed their sentence before the registry went into effect; the NH Supreme Court held that the law's retroactive, lifetime registration requirements were “punitive in effect” and therefore unconstitutional.

The ACLU-NH filed an amicus brief asking the NH Supreme Court to end the practice of sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole ("JLWOP") and arguing that a US Supreme Court decision apply retroactively to four New Hampshire children sentenced to JLWOP.

Richard Vaughan was jailed for failing to pay a fine — a fine he simply had no ability to pay because he is poor. The ACLU-NH filed an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus and secured his release.

A woman who retained a private attorney instead of a public defender was denied funds to secure an expert in support of her defense, effectively denying her constitutional rights unless she waived her right to retain willing private counsel; ACLU-NH appealed to the NH Supreme Court.

An incarcerated man was denied transportation in order to appear for his small claims hearing to present written evidence. Instead, he conducted his hearing over telephone without any way to submit the written evidence. A trial court ruled against him and he appealed to the NH Supreme Court.

A single mother of two was ordered to jail if she did not pay a fine she didn't have the means to pay. After spending a night in jail, the ACLU-NH filed an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking her release; she was granted release immediately.

A man was ordered to be jailed if he did not pay fines he was unable to pay. The ACLU-NH filed an emergency petition with the NH Supreme Court which ordered a stay on the enforcement of the order.