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Out of the 50 states in the U.S., there are only three that do not legally require motorcyclists to wear a helmet. New Hampshire is one of those three.helmet-laws-300x185

The issue of whether to require motorcyclists to wear a helmet is polarizing, especially in a state whose motto is Live Free or Die. However, the facts and statistics all support making helmets mandatory. Nevertheless, lawmakers in our state have firmly and repeatedly refused to pass a bill that would require bikers to wear a helmet, like in the rest of the country.

Here is why.

Forcing Riders to Wear Helmets Infringes Freedom

The core of all of the arguments against a law requiring helmets on motorcyclists is that it infringes on their rights and freedoms. As adults, they should be able to choose whether to be safe and wear a helmet or “feel the open road” and go without one. Many people claim that, because their choice not to wear a helmet does not impact anyone else, the law should not dictate what they can or cannot do.

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It is an unfortunate fact of life that riding a motorcycle is not as safe as driving a car. In 2013, while motorcycle accidents accounted for only 4% of the people hurt on the roads of America, they accounted for 14% of traffic fatalities.motorcycleAAd-300x229

Thankfully, just like it is helping improve the safety of cars on the road, technology is also protecting motorcyclists as well. As these developments continue, riding a motorbike should get safer and safer as we move into the future.

Helmet Technology

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A Massachusetts man has been arrested and charged with violating New Hampshire’s laws dealing with identity fraud. The incident highlights how the vagueness of identity fraud laws allows prosecutors to go after innovative techniques, but can also put innocent people into serious trouble.idtheft-300x133

Local Man Arrested and Charged With Identity Fraud

Last month, 39-year-old Maxherve Fleurme was arrested at Boston’s Logan Airport as he tried leaving the U.S. for Haiti. He was extradited to New Hampshire last week and was arraigned in the Derry District Court.

Mr. Fleurme is charged with identity fraud after, according to police, he stole enough personal information from several Londonderry residents to order debit cards in their names. He would then monitor the residents’ mailboxes and take the debit card out when it was delivered. Police said he then used these new debit cards at ATM machines to steal over $4,800 in cash. Continue reading →

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With the financial costs of getting a divorce skyrocketing, the legal field has adapted to try to give divorcing couples affordable options. Some of these options play with different ways of dispute resolution that do not require a court’s intervention.

One of these options is a collaborative divorce.collaborative-divorce-300x200

What is a Collaborative Divorce?

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A New Hampshire state representative is being accused of committing two counts of welfare fraud. Each count is a felony offense that can lead to years in jail if the lawmaker is convicted.

State Representative Accused of Welfare Fraud

State Representative John Manning, who has represented the town of Salem in the New Hampshire House of Representatives since 2010, has been indicted on two counts of welfare fraud. While the 65-year-old Manning has not yet been arrested, he is scheduled to be arraigned for the accusations on April 13. welfarefraudnload-1

The accusations are serious. They claim that Mr. Manning made false statements that allowed him to collect welfare checks over the course of several years.

They claim that, in one instance, Mr. Manning claimed that his niece was living with him. This allowed Mr. Manning to receive $12,640.50 in welfare funds, including Food Stamps, between March 2013 and September 2014. In another instance, Mr. Manning is claimed to have collected $714 in welfare checks by failing to report to the Department of Health and Human Services that his son had gotten a job—an employment change that, if reported, would have lowered Mr. Manning’s welfare entitlement.

Criminal Charges are Not Criminal Convictions

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In New Hampshire, springtime is upon us and the last  Nor’easter seems to have passed. Now that we are into May, though, spring is finally here. While the warmer temperatures and longer days are the best parts of the season, yard work and home maintenance also need to be squeezed in as well. Putting these chores off can increase the chances that you get hit with something worse than a blizzard—premises liability.springpink-2254970_1920-300x193

The Strain of Winter Damages Your Property

In New Hampshire, winter is long and grueling. Snow sits for weeks on the ground, untouched, seeping into whatever it is sitting on and damaging it over long periods of time. If untreated before the snow starts falling, or uncared for once it begins, outside fixtures can depreciate, bend, weaken, and soften to the point where they can break without much notice.

If you are the one who gets hurt by these unknown dangers, it can lead to a debilitating injury. If it is someone else who gets hurt, though, it can very easily be you who is made to pay for the costs of their recovery.

Hazards on Your Property Can Lead to Premises Liability

Dangerous conditions on your property can cause someone else to slip or trip and fall and get hurt. Potholes, weak stairs, rotted floorboards, slippery walkways, and crumbling railings can all lead to someone getting seriously hurt if the danger is not apparent and they do not notice the hazard.

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Police and prosecutors in Manchester, New Hampshire are scrambling after an internal investigation led to the firing of a longtime Manchester detective. While the results of the internal investigation have not yet been released, whatever was found has put numerous drug cases that were being pursued by the detective into serious doubt.Manchester-PD-300x300

The criminal defense attorneys at Tenn And Tenn, P.A. are watching this ongoing situation closely.

Internal Investigation Leads to Firing of New Hampshire Detective

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The state of New Hampshire is finally eyeing a change to its bail system, which has long been stacked against poor people. The judicial system is taking a look at the 3DaysCount campaign, which aims at reducing the number of people being held in pretrial detention simply because they cannot afford the cost of posting bail. If adopted, the change could work wonders for the world of criminal defense.Bail-Project-300x225

The Problem of Bail

If you get arrested for a relatively serious crime, you’ll be held in jail as a guarantee that you will be there for your arraignment. At the arraignment, though, the judge will “set bail”: He or she will look at a handful of factors – including the seriousness of your crime and the perceived likelihood that you will try to disappear before trial – and decide how much money you will have to post in order to get out of jail until trial. If you then fail to show up at a court hearing, that bail money will be forfeited to court. If you make it through trial without an absence, it will be returned to you.

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Spring break has always been the time to unwind after a difficult semester with your friends. However, it is easy to let “unwinding” turn into “acting irresponsibly,” and even easier for “acting irresponsibly” to slide into “being dangerous.”

So, if you are going to try missing New Hampshire’s twelve winter storms in March by spending spring break in the south, keep these common dangers in mind as you enjoy your time off.Spring-Break-2018-300x172

Driving Under the Influence

Driving under the influence (DUI) is not just a serious crime in the United States; other countries take it very seriously as well. In fact, the U.S. is often considered one of the more lenient countries in the world when it comes to drunk driving.

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sobriety-checkpointAA-696x441-300x190A recent push to ban the use of sobriety checkpoints in New Hampshire died in the Senate on Thursday after a majority of senators rallied behind the practice.

By a vote of 16-7, the chamber voted down House Bill 1283, which would prohibit the use of the checkpoints by police departments. These checkpoints have been used in New Hampshire since 2003 as a means to deter and catch impaired drivers. Police departments throughout the state use the technique to block off stretches of roads and detain drivers to determine their sobriety. Although many contest the constitutionality of such stops and question their effectiveness, police departments argue that sobriety checkpoints, which can detain hundreds of motorists in a night, act as a powerful tool to combat drunk driving.

Under present NH law, local law enforcement agencies must obtain a Superior Court order first, and must publish the times and general location in a newspaper.

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