What rights do I have in Court?

You are entitled to a variety of rights, under the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, the Constitution of the United States, and under New Hampshire statutory, administrative, and case law. The rights below are important to you and to your defense.

• The first, and arguably the most important, right you have is the right to counsel, the right to be represented by a lawyer.

• You have a right to a speedy and public trial.

• You have a right not to be convicted unless the State can prove each and every element of the offense with which you are charged.

• You have the right to confront witnesses against you in person, as well as the right to cross-examine those witnesses, by yourself or by your lawyer.

• You may present evidence on your own behalf and you may testify on your own behalf, but only if you choose to do so.

• You cannot be made to furnish evidence against yourself in the courtroom, and your failure to take the witness stand cannot be used as evidence of your guilt.

• You have additional rights to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures of your person, your home, your possessions and papers, and of your automobile.

• If evidence against you has been obtained in violation of these rights, upon proper motion, that evidence cannot be used against you.

It is close to impossible for a non-lawyer to assert these important rights. You may lose some of your rights by not asserting them soon enough, as the law creates deadlines that must be met. Although the earliest of these deadlines occurs thirty days after your arrest, if you do not contact a lawyer within ten days you may lose certain legal advantages.