This bill amends RSA 597:2, I-III(a) to establish a presumption that a defendant is a danger to the public and should be detained for up to 36 hours if they are charged with certain offenses. The offenses include homicide, assault, domestic violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, stalking, trafficking, robbery, possession or distribution of child sexual abuse images, and computer pornography and child exploitation. The court may also order preventive detention or impose restrictive conditions if the defendant is charged with any other criminal offense, an offense listed in RSA 173-B:1, I, or a violation of a protective order. The bill also requires that arraignment occur no later than 24 hours after arrest, or no later than 36 hours after arrest if the arrest occurs between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and the defendant's attorney is unable to attend the arraignment on the same day.

The bill would result in more incarcerated arraignments, requiring additional resources such as judges, court assistants, and transportation for defendants. The indigent defense system would also experience increased costs due to the additional bail hearings and the need for more attorneys to represent defendants. The fiscal impact of the bill is indeterminable, but the Judicial Branch estimates that it would cost approximately $1,556,920 in FY 2024, $1,577,228 in FY 2025, and $1,598,608 in FY 2026 to manage the additional arraignments in the circuit courts with the busiest criminal dockets.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 597:2