The NH House is scheduled to vote on the bill to repeal the NH death penalty – HB 1170 – on March 12. Join us in demonstrating the widespread of support in New Hampshire for repealing the death penalty.

March 12 will be our last best opportunity to show House legislators that New Hampshire citizens are serious about repeal. We have a broad base of supporters in the legislature, but many are still on the fence. Let’s help these legislators seize the historic opportunity to repudiate this unjust and inhumane practice in our state. Please come with your signs, buttons, and smiles. We’ll meet up at our 4 Park St office (Suite 208), across the street from the State House, at 8am and will then move to the State House at 8:30am—5pm.  We look forward to seeing you there!

On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 11:00 am, the NHCLU received a call from the public defenders’ office informing us that a defendant was just ordered by the Circuit Court to be jailed if he did not pay $302 in fees by the close of business.  The defendant had no ability to pay this amount and was therefore at risk of going to jail within hours.  The Circuit Court’s order was unconstitutional.  The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits jailing defendants who are unable to pay fines and fees assessed against them.  Jailing defendants in these circumstances discriminates against the poor.

In a written order later that afternoon, the Circuit Court modified its morning ruling, and now required the defendant to pay all the money in his personal possession ($90) and to pay the remaining $212 balance by 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 21.  In the order, the Circuit Court stated that, if the remaining $212 was not paid by that time “for any reason, he shall be, immediately, transported to the HCHOC [Hillsborough County House of Correction] to be held until the amount is paid in full.”

At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 20, 2014, the NHCLU filed with the New Hampshire Supreme Court an emergency petition appealing the Circuit Court’s order.  The emergency petition can be found here.  At 4:30pm, the New Hampshire Supreme Court stayed in its entirety the Circuit Court’s order.  The Supreme Court’s order can be found here.  This was a complete victory for the defendant, as the defendant was no longer required to immediately pay the $212 or go to jail.  The NHCLU will be continuing to monitor whether other courts in New Hampshire engage in this unconstitutional practice that makes it a crime to be poor.

For example, the ordinance prevented poor people from doing such things as peacefully holding a sign asking for help (i) within 50 feet of any entrance or exit of any business or organization during its business hours, (ii) within 50 feet of an ATM or bank, (iii) in a bus shelter or at a bus stop, and (iv) in a median of any public road.  These prohibitions effectively banned peaceful panhandling on sidewalks and other public spaces in the entire downtown/business district area of Rochester.  In addition, the ordinance was limited to those transactions most likely to be initiated by the poor—i.e., solicitation for an “immediate” donation—while excluding other forms of solicitation.  Unfortunately, the City also selectively enforced the ordinance since its passage by targeting panhandlers, while allowing the Rochester Fire Department to solicit funds for charity in the downtown area in violation of the ordinance without any repercussions.

In December 2013, the NHCLU sent a letter to the City of Rochester stating its concerns about the constitutionality of the anti-panhandling ordinance.  As the NHCLU explained, if the ordinance was not repealed in full, the NHCLU would file a lawsuit and seek an immediate injunction against the ordinance.

The NHCLU commends the City’s decision to fully repeal the anti-panhandling ordinance and its thoughtful consideration as to how the ordinance violated the free speech rights of New Hampshire’s poorest citizens.  The City’s repeal of the ordinance sends a powerful message to other cities and towns in New Hampshire that the NHCLU will aggressively protect the First Amendment rights of the economically disadvantaged in this state.

Next step: we expect a vote on the New Hampshire House floor as soon as next Wednesday, 2/19. Call your member today and ask them to support repeal!

“We welcome the decision of the New Hampshire House not to move forward with a bill that would have infringed upon basic constitutional rights” said Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. “HB 110 would have put an unacceptable burden on New Hampshire citizens, requiring them to act as agents of law enforcement.”

This afternoon the New Hampshire House voted to provide a safe and cost-effective alternative to marijuana prohibition for adults. The House became New Hampshire’s first legislative chamber to vote to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana. If enacted, the bill (HB 492) will direct scarce public resources to tackling violent crimes, general revenue, and end unfairly harsh consequences that burden individuals, their families, and their communities. The bill has now been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

To view the bill click here.

To read more about the abuse of license plate readers read the ACLU’s report.

In January 2013, Americans United, the NHCLU, and the ACLU sued on behalf of nine plaintiffs — including clergy, public education advocates, and parents of public school children — asserting that this education tax credit program vi­olates the state constitution because it diverts tax payments to religious schools.

In June 2013, the Strafford County Superior Court agreed, holding the following: “New Hampshire students, and their parents, certainly have the right to choose a religious education.  However, the government is under no obligation to fund ‘religious’ education.  Indeed, the government is expressly forbidden from doing so by the very language of the New Hampshire Constitution.”

Our brief before the New Hampshire Supreme Court defends the Strafford County Superior Court’s decision.  As the brief explains: “The Tax Credit Program violates both Article 83 of Part II — as the superior court held in its thorough 45-page opinion — and Article 6 of Part I of the New Hampshire Constitution.  In an unbroken line of decisions, this Court has made clear that these two articles strictly prohibit the diversion of tax payments — including through tax-credit programs and other such creative schemes — to sectarian education.  Under the Court’s decisions, no tax payments at all may be diverted to religious schools unless the funds are restricted to non-religious uses, but the Program has no such restriction.”

This ordinance is intended to prevent so-called “aggressive” begging, but in fact it prohibits a great deal of peaceful conduct which is a protected form of expression.  For example, the ordinance prevents people from doing such things as holding a sign asking for help, or soliciting (i) within 50 feet of any entrance or exit of any business or organization during its business hours, (ii) within 50 feet of an ATM or bank, (iii) in a bus shelter or at a bus stop, and (iv) in a median of any public road.  These prohibitions effectively ban peaceful panhandling on sidewalks and other public spaces in the entire downtown/business district area of Rochester.

Numerous courts throughout the country have ruled that peaceful panhandling is protected expression under the First Amendment.

Seeing panhandlers in a city makes many people uncomfortable, but as one homeless advocate in Maine has explained, “I can tell you from experience that it is much more uncomfortable to experience poverty than it is to witness poverty.”  People do not panhandle in the cold because it is a great way to pass the time.  They do it because they are desperate and feel they have no alternative.  And there are already laws in New Hampshire prohibiting individuals from interfering with traffic and from engaging in threatening behavior in a public place.

The NHCLU is here to protect the First Amendment rights of all the people of New Hampshire, and that includes making sure that poor people have the right to engage in peaceful speech in public places.