Exeter603.772.3433
Portsmouth603.373.1664
Bedford603.580.4726
Car accidents can be devastating. Not only can your vehicle sustain property damage, but an injury to you can be life-threatening or life changing. Auto accidents typically occur from negligent driving. Everyone who drives has a duty to use caution, to drive within the speed limits, obey the t...
There's no denying that distracted driving is a serious issue. It's an issue that leads to thousands of lives lost and hundreds of thousands of injuries each year across this country. As one of the more prevalent distractions for motorists today, the trends of driving while texting are especially...
DWI charges as a civilian in New Hampshire can be severe. Even for a first offense, you may receive a fine, probation, a temporary loss of driving privileges or even jail time. If you are active-duty personnel and receive a DUI in the Army, Navy or Air Force – the potential consequences for a mil...
I have serious issues with the validity of field sobriety tests. I have many questions as to whether the standard field sobriety tests are truly designed to determine evidence of impairment by alcohol, or if they simply determine if the subject is just poorly coordinated and/or cannot follow mult...
Unlike most states, New Hampshire does not generally require drivers to carry automobile insurance. However, after a conviction for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), New Hampshire requires drivers to carry a minimum auto liability insurance policy even if they do not own a vehicle. The minimum cov...
More than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year, with close to 900,000 of the victims requiring medical attention. A serious dog bite can be a costly and painful injury – if you have been injured by a dog, it is important to understand your rights. The New Hampshire legislature enacted...
New Hampshire allows for aggravated DWI charges to be filed against any person that: Has a blood alcohol level in excess of .16 Has a child under the age of 16 in the car while drunk driving There has been serious bodily injury caused in a DWI accident Being arrested on suspicion of ag...
People who are suffering any kind of illness due to asbestos exposure could have a legal claim for damages. Relatives who have proof that their deceased family member died due to mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos could also pursue a claim. Such damages claim could be filed against the...
According to the Consumer Sentinel Databook released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in February 2010, credit card fraud cases make 17% of the total number of reported identity theft incidents in 2009. It is followed by fraud cases involving government documents (16%), bank fraud (10%) and...
This is to help you understand what your attorney will be doing to prepare for trial in more detail, as well as provide you with more insight about what a great DWI attorney looks like. While you are encouraged to continue living your life and going to work, it is inevitable that you will be pre...
The Intoxilyzer 5000 uses infrared energy absorption of alcohol to measure the alcohol concentration of a breath sample. Because different molecules absorb energy at different frequencies, and alcohol molecules absorb certain frequencies of infrared energy, the machine can measure how much alcoh...
The breath test, for many reasons, is the most commonly used test for DWI evidence. It is easily obtained, costs less than other measures, and results can be obtained on the spot. The portable testing equipment that the officers carry is more often used for the preliminary breath test, and ther...
In general, statutes of limitation pertain to the part of criminal law that prevents someone from bringing a legal claim to court because the length of time to do such has expired. In New Hampshire, defendants could face criminal charges for criminal offenses and the statutes of limitation could...
No matter how much work you and your attorney put into your case, and no matter how solid your defense may be, you may still be found guilty. Particularly in our culture right now, there is no other crime that is more disparaged both in the media and in the courtroom. No matter how much prepara...
Refusing to submit to alcohol concentration testing is not without its own set of consequences. Not only will your license be suspended, but some states are beginning to make penalties even more severe by adding fines, suspending your vehicle registration and adding jail time. In California, yo...
Almost as quickly as there were vehicles to contend with, there were laws describing how to handle drinking and driving. Testing for alcohol concentration levels became a sure way for the state to ensure a conviction – it was undeniable proof of being over the statutory alcohol concentration lim...
The DUI Arraignment One of the first court appearances you will make is your arraignment hearing. This usually occurs within a few days of your arrest. At this time, you will be informed of the charges against you and asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, your ne...
Regardless of the term used, DWI is considered the most serious driving offense in almost all states. Statistics show that 30% of all traffic fatalities have been caused by drunk driving. For this reason, legislators have introduced serious consequences, such as high fines and imprisonment, to ...
Birth injuries could result from a negligent act of a physician or any medical staff in treating patients during the term of pregnancy or at the time of the delivery. These cases fall under the category of medical malpractice for which the rules vary depending on which state the incident occurre...
In the history of criminal law, embezzlement used to be a crime where defendants easily got away from conviction because of a loophole in the law. Lack of proof for the element of a “trespassory taking” made it difficult for the prosecution to pursue the embezzlement charge. For this reason, le...
What can you expect the length of your Jury trial to be in New Hampshire? Jury trials will often last longer than bench trials; not only is there the time spent on choosing the jury members and conduction voir dire, but instead of presenting the evidence to a judge (who is familiar with the la...
Earlier this month, a New Hampshire DWI arrest was made involving a 52-year old driving a 2001 Ford Windstar van in Merrimack. Anthony Marshburn was charged with a 1st DWI offense, DWI per se, along with an open container violation. He was stopped by Merrimack police due to a yellow line violat...
I want to help you understand, in greater detail, the many nuances of plea bargaining your case rather than facing a criminal trial. This is the first of a 2 part article series explaining the various plea bargains that can be obtained while going through your drunk driving defense case. We will...
In order for an officer to be able to legally detain you or require you to pull over when you are driving, he or she must have “reasonable grounds to believe that you have committed a traffic violation. Once that stop is made, the officer may expand the investigation for DUI. The officer must b...
In a personal injury claim, negligence defenses are used by the defendants as a “blame-shifting” weapon to avoid having to pay for personal injury compensation. These defenses usually highlight the misconduct of the injured that contributed to the cause of the injuries. If successful, the defend...
Copyright © 2026 Russman & Phinney Law