House endorses Ayotte's bail reform bill

Yahoo

13-03-2025

Mar. 13—The sweeping bail reform bill sought by Gov. Kelly Ayotte cleared its first major legislative hurdle Thursday.
The House of Representatives voted 205-170 to approve the measure after it rejected attempts by Democratic critics to water it down.
"Today the House brought us one step closer to shutting the revolving door for violent criminals," Ayotte said in a statement after the vote.
The House took four votes on the measure, none by a recorded roll call, however. All four were by division under which the votes of individual legislators were not identified.
The proportions of the vote roughly matched the ratio of Democrats and Republicans in the chamber Thursday.
The House debated the measure as many law-enforcement professionals supporting the cause sat in the gallery.
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, said last year lawmakers made changes to a 2018 bail reform law, but Ayotte and GOP legislative leaders wanted to go further.
"The bill last year was a good bill; it wasn't a Republican bill," Roy said. "We don't have to compromise; it is now a Republican majority, and we are going to pass a Republican bail bill. We don't have to be ashamed of that."
The most significant change would lower the standard of proof that prosecutors need to convince a judge that someone accused of a violent crime is dangerous enough to be held without bail.
The current standard is "clear and convincing evidence" while this year's bill, which has Ayotte's backing, would lower it to "probable cause."
Ayotte said higher standards have proven difficult for prosecutors to achieve in court.
"You are really requiring them to hold a mini-trial to reach that kind of standard, which isn't fair," said Ayotte, a former attorney general.
"Probable cause is a recognized standard that is used when someone in law enforcement seeks a warrant to search someone's private property. It is known and well understood in the criminal justice system."
Critics: violent crime down
Rep. Buzz Scherr, D-Portsmouth, was one of the chief architects of the 2018 law as an appellate law expert and professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law.
Since then, Scherr said, the number of serious violent and property crimes has dropped from 19,000 in 2017 to just over 13,000 in 2024.
"Despite the rhetoric, the bail reform law is working," Scherr said. "We don't need to fix bail reform."
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said during her campaign for governor, Ayotte had made the issue a top priority, and the entire GOP leadership team backed that decision.
"Upholding law and order and finishing our work to fix New Hampshire's bail system were a key part of the mandate which voters handed us when they sent a Republican trifecta to represent them in Concord," Osborne said.
Court administrators have maintained the bill could increase taxpayer costs since it will likely lead to detaining more accused offenders in county jails while awaiting trials.
Ayotte said the correctional system "has the capacity" to jail more offenders if that's necessary.
"Twenty-five to 30 percent of all people charged with crimes have their charges dismissed or are found not guilty," Scherr said.
"We will be jailing pre-trial people who have not been found guilty and some of whom will never be found guilty."
The legislation also would do away with three magistrates whose positions were created as part of a 2024 bail reform law.
These magistrates are charged with conducting initial bail matters on nights or weekends when full-time judges are not working.
Court officials said the three magistrates were named to five-year terms, and it would be appropriate for any change in law to phase them out of that judicial post over time.
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What's Next: The bill now heads to the State Senate.
Prospects: Excellent. Senate Republican leaders have already endorsed the measure.
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