New Hampshire’s Family Division Rule 1.25-A

January 13, 2012 By

New Hampshire recently put into effect a much need mandatory self-disclosure rule for Family Division cases. Family Division Rule 1.25-A took effect on December 1, 2011. The rule is designed to streamline the discovery process by having the parties exchange certain required financial documents early in the litigation process. The expectation is that this will reduce costs for litigants (by reducing the amount of discovery requests by attorneys) and enable parties to have a more productive divorce mediation or temporary hearing early in the process. The rule applies in full to all new actions in the Family Division for divorce, legal separation, annulment and civil union dissolution. An abbreviated version of the rule applies to parenting petitions, child support petitions and petitions to enforce or change court orders in parenting, divorce, legal separation or civil union dissolution cases. Please see the N.H. Court website for instruction and a copy of the Court’s checklist form.

Parties must provide the required documents no later than either forty-five (45) days from the date of service/delivery of the petition or ten (10) days prior to the temporary hearing or initial hearing on the petition, whichever is earlier. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Divorce Articles

Will an out of state conviction count as a first offense in MA?

January 11, 2012 By

Additional Information:

Seven years ago, while I was living in NJ, I was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. I’m in grad school now in Central Mass and was arrested on similar charges. I did some research and found that the possession law in Massachusetts has stiffer penalties for those convicted of a second offense. For possession of a Class B substance, maximum of 2 years in jail vs. only one year for a first offense. Will the New Jersey conviction count as a first or prior offense for me? Thanks for any help.

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

The Answer is maybe.  If the Commonwealth does what is known as a III search for out of state records, they could try to amend the charge to a second offense.  Please keep in mind, however, that proving an out-of-state conviction is more difficult as it is unlikely that anyone from NJ is going to come to Massachusetts to confirm that you are the same person as that the named defendant in the NJ case. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Criminal Defense Questions, Questions & Answers

If a person attends drug counseling will that stop the prosecution of a drug charge in MA?

January 4, 2012 By

Additional Information:

Our son was arrested for drug possession and is awaiting trial.  You should also know that he was arrested nearby a school in Lowell.  He has a court appointed lawyer but the lawyer hasn’t talked much to my son about it and hasn’t advised him on what he should do. I read somewhere that a person can ask the judge to stop the prosecution if he agrees to do drug counseling. Does that apply for a drug possession case in Massachusetts?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

If your son was charged with what is called a “School Zone” violation (possession of drugs within 1000 feet of a school), he is facing mandatory jail time unless the charge is broken down to straight possession.  Drug counseling would not apply to this situation.  Whether or not drug counseling rules apply depends on the type of drugs.  If your son is unhappy with his attorney, he should seek out a consultation with a criminal defense attorney.  I would be happy to consult with him.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Criminal Defense Questions, Questions & Answers