SB 0445

CHAPTER 168

SB 445-FN - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to a limited right to a jury trial for certain minors prior to commitment to an adult correctional facility.

SPONSORS: Sen. McCarley, Dist 6

This bill provides that a minor adjudged delinquent whose disposition includes an order of conditional release extending beyond the juvenile's age of majority, or suspended, deferred, or imposed incarceration at an adult correctional facility shall have the right to a jury trial.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to a limited right to a jury trial for certain minors prior to commitment to an adult correctional facility.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

168:1 New Paragraph; Delinquent Children; Limited Right to a Jury Trial. Amend RSA 169-B:19 by inserting after paragraph III-a the following new paragraph:

III-b.(a) A minor who meets the criteria for commitment to an adult correctional facility pursuant to RSA 169-B:4, RSA 169-B:19, III, or RSA 169-B:19, III-a, and whose disposition includes an order of conditional release extending beyond the juvenile's age of majority, or suspended, deferred, or imposed incarceration at an adult correctional facility shall not be committed without first being afforded the right to a jury trial or waiving the right to a jury trial.

(b) Any minor sentenced after a contested adjudicatory hearing to an order of conditional release extending beyond the juvenile's age of majority or suspended, deferred, or imposed incarceration at an adult correctional facility may, after the disposition is issued, request a de novo trial before a jury. To obtain a de novo jury trial under this chapter, the juvenile shall file a written request in the clerk's office within 3 days of the dispositional order. A copy of the written request shall also be provided to the local prosecutor and the county attorney. The request shall be given priority on the court's calendar. Whenever possible, any such hearing shall be held in a district court building equipped with jury capability. It shall be conducted by a district court judge specially assigned by the administrative judge of the district court. The jury panel shall be chosen from the jury pool of the superior court serving the county in which the court is located.

(c) The court in which the petition originated shall retain jurisdiction over all matters and orders pertaining to the placement, supervision and treatment of the juvenile during the pendency of the pre-trial and trial proceedings. The request for jury trial shall not suspend any provisions of the original court's order regarding placement, supervision, evaluation, or treatment. All other orders shall be vacated pending the de novo jury trial. The judge assigned to conduct the jury trial shall have authority to preside over the jury trial, decide trial management issues, and rule on all pre-trial and post-trial adjudicatory findings. In the event the juvenile waives the right to jury trial after the case has been specially assigned, the case shall be returned to the court in which the petition originated for continued action pursuant to this chapter.

(d) In the event the jury returns a finding of not true on all charges, the dispositional order in its entirety shall be vacated. In the event the jury returns a finding of true on one or more of the charges, the trial judge shall review and may reinstate or modify only those portions of the dispositional order made by the originating court suspended under this section during the pendency of the de novo process. In all other respects, the original dispositional order shall remain in effect.

(e) The provisions of RSA 169-B:34 through 169-B:38, relating to confidentiality of proceedings and records, shall apply to all de novo trials conducted pursuant to this section.