Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet - New Hampshire

IMPORTANT: PREPARATION WORKSHEET — NOT THE OFFICIAL FORM

Complete a separate petition for each charge and file it in the court jurisdiction where
that charge was disposed. Current principal forms include:

• NHJB-2317-DSe — general petition for charges disposed before January 1, 2019;
• NHJB-3056-DSe — eligibility petition for qualifying nonconvictions disposed on
  or after January 1, 2019;
• NHJB-3057-DSe — eligibility petition for convictions on or after January 1, 2019;
• NHJB-3124-DS — special pre-September 16, 2017 marijuana-possession route.

Confirm the current form and filing method on the New Hampshire Judicial Branch
annulment page before submission.

NEW HAMPSHIRE CRIMINAL-RECORD ANNULMENT WORKSHEET

1. ROUTE SELECTION

☐ Pre-2019 nonconviction. Arrest resulted in not guilty, dismissal, or no
prosecution; petition may be filed at any time under § 651:5, II.

☐ Post-2018 nonconviction. All charges resulting from the arrest were found not
guilty, or the case was dismissed or not prosecuted. Section 651:5, II-a provides
annulment 30 days after dismissal if no appeal is taken or after a not-guilty finding, or
after final appellate affirmance of dismissal.

☐ Vacated conviction. The conviction was later vacated; apply the route determined
by the disposition date and § 651:5, II or II-a.

☐ Conviction annulment. Sentence terms are complete, the required crime-free period
has run, and no statutory bar applies.

☐ Special marijuana route — § 651:5-b / NHJB-3124-DS. The offense occurred
before September 16, 2017 and involved personal possession of three-quarters of an ounce
or less.

2. CHARGE INFORMATION

3. CONVICTION WAITING PERIOD — § 651:5, III

The petitioner must complete every term and condition of the sentence and then remain
free of another criminal conviction during the applicable period, except a motor-vehicle
violation other than the specified DWI-related offenses.

For a violation or Class B misdemeanor conviction on or after January 1, 2019 that was
the highest offense of conviction, the statute measures the stated period after completion
of all sentence terms. Older convictions and lower offenses in a multi-offense case require
careful application of the exact subsection language.

DWI warning

RSA 265-A:21 imposes a 10-year rule for the covered impaired-driving convictions and
requires permanent retention for later impaired-driving sentencing. Apply that statute,
not the ordinary offense-class table.

4. ABSOLUTE AND MULTIPLE-OFFENSE BARS

No petition may be brought and no annulment granted for:

• a “violent crime” listed in § 651:5, XIII;
• a felony obstruction-of-justice crime defined in § 651:5, XIV; or
• an offense for which petitioner received an extended term under § 651:6.

If petitioner has more than one offense of record, annulment is unavailable if any part of
the record is barred or until the timing requirements for all offenses of record are met.

☐ Complete State and federal history reviewed.

☐ No offense of record creates a paragraph V bar.

☐ Every offense of record has reached its applicable eligibility date.

☐ Any out-of-state conviction that would not be an offense under New Hampshire law has
been analyzed under paragraph VI-a.

5. PENDING CHARGE AND PRIOR DENIAL

If petitioner is charged before decision with an offense whose conviction would bar
annulment or extend the timing rules, the court must hold the petition until that charge is
resolved.

☐ No such pending charge exists, or disposition is documented: [DETAILS].

If a petition was denied, another petition may not be filed more frequently than every
three years.

6. REHABILITATION AND PUBLIC-WELFARE SHOWING

Except for routes in which the statute directs annulment after specified eligibility and
notice steps, the sentencing court considers whether annulment will assist petitioner's
rehabilitation and remain consistent with public welfare.

Explain in detail, as Rule 31 requires:

7. APPLICATION, NOTICE, AND HEARING — RULE 31 / § 651:5

• Identify applicant, offense, sentence, and docket number.
• State detailed facts supporting annulment.
• Sign and swear to the application as the current form requires.
• The clerk issues an order of notice within seven days.
• Parties ordinarily have 30 days from the notice date to state their position.

• The clerk sends the application to the Department of Corrections for the statutory
  report.

• The court may grant or deny without a hearing, but must hold a hearing if petitioner
  requests one. A statutorily premature or barred petition is dismissed without a hearing.

For an eligible post-2018 highest-offense violation or Class B misdemeanor, § 651:5,
III(a)(2) and (b)(2) give the prosecutor 20 days after receipt of the court's eligibility
notice to object on the limited statutory grounds.

8. FEES

Confirm current court filing fees before filing. Section 651:5, IX separately authorizes:

• a $100 Department of Corrections investigation fee; and
• up to $100 for State Police research and correction after successful relief.

The statute provides indigency exceptions and exceptions for not-guilty, dismissed, or
unprosecuted matters. Use the court-supplied fee-waiver form when requesting a waiver.

9. EFFECT AND LIMITS OF ANNULMENT

After an order, petitioner generally is treated as though never arrested, convicted, or
sentenced. Court records are sealed with the access specified in § 651:5, X(c). The court
notifies State Police, the prosecutor, and the arresting agency, and those agencies mark
their records annulled.

Important limits remain:

• a later criminal court may consider the prior conviction at sentencing and for habitual-
  offender status under § 259:39;

• law enforcement may retain and share the information for legitimate investigative,
  specified civil-defense, and police-standards purposes;

• journalists have the protections stated in paragraph XVI; and

• public or private persons are not penalized for failing to remove or correct an earlier
  report after the record is later annulled.

10. SPECIAL MARIJUANA ROUTE — § 651:5-b

For a qualifying pre-September 16, 2017 possession matter, provide the petition to the
underlying prosecutor. The prosecutor has 10 days to object and request a hearing. If a
hearing occurs, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the amount
exceeded three-quarters of an ounce; otherwise the court grants relief.

OFFICIAL SOURCES

• RSA 651:5: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LXII/651/651-5.htm
• RSA 651:5-b: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LXII/651/651-5-b.htm
• RSA 265-A:21: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265-A/265-A-21.htm
• New Hampshire Rule of Criminal Procedure 31: https://www.courts.nh.gov/new-hampshire-rules-criminal-procedure/rule-31-annulments
• Judicial Branch annulment page and current forms: https://www.courts.nh.gov/annulment