HB 1528-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 1528-FN
AN ACT requiring criminal penalties for attorneys in the attorney general’s office and the county attorneys’ office for failing to prosecute offenses related to falsification in official matters.
SPONSORS: Rep. Oligny, Rock 8; Rep. Krasucki, Hills 26; Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Mirski, Graf 10; Rep. Cohn, Merr 6
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill establishes a penalty against the attorneys in the attorney general’s office and the county attorney’s office for failing to prosecute a person who has committed an offense related to falsification in official matters.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2379
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT requiring criminal penalties for attorneys in the attorney general’s office and the county attorneys’ office for failing to prosecute offenses related to falsification in official matters.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion. Amend RSA 641 by inserting after section 8 the following new section:
641:9 Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion. Any attorney in the attorney general’s office or any attorney in the county attorney’s office is guilty of a class B felony if, with knowledge that another person has committed any act prohibited under RSA 641:1 through RSA 641:8, such attorney fails to prosecute the person for the offense committed.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.
LBAO
12-2379
12/0911
HB 1528-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring criminal penalties for attorneys in the attorney general’s office and the county attorneys’ office for failing to prosecute offenses related to falsification in official matters.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures, or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill adds a new criminal offense for attorneys in the attorney general’s office and the county attorney’s office for failing to prosecute offenses relating to the falsification in official matters with violations of this new offense punishable as a class B felony. The Branch has no information to estimate how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in the bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. The Branch states this class B felony would be treated as an average routine criminal case in the Superior Court. The Branch states an average routine criminal case will cost $389.84 per case in FY 2013, and $401.48 per case in FY 2014 and each year thereafter based case weight information from the last needs assessment completed in 2005. The possibility of appeals increases the likelihood the fiscal impact on the Branch will exceed $10,000.
The Judicial Council states the class of attorneys identified in this bill would likely not qualify for indigent defense representation, but for those that do qualify this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $756.25 per felony is charged by a public defender or contract attorney. If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour with a cap of $4,100 for a felony charge. The Council also states additional costs could be incurred if an appeal is filed. The public defender, contract attorney, and assigned counsel rates for Supreme Court appeals is $2,000 per case, with many assigned counsel attorneys seeking permission to exceed the fee cap. Requests to exceed the fee cap are seldom granted. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.