What to Do if Stopped at a Sobriety Checkpoint in New Hampshire

Sobriety Checkpoint FAQ's in NH

Sobriety checkpoints are completely legal in New Hampshire and if you haven’t experienced one yet, you will. It is important to know what to expect and how to navigate them. While you should never drive drunk, there are times when you might have had one or two drinks and are perfectly capable of driving home and find yourself stopped at a sobriety checkpoint. While the DUI laws in New Hampshire can be tricky, you could still be indicated as driving drunk even when you’ve had very little to drink. Here are some tips to help you through the checkpoint.
 
Be Respectful

While it might be inconvenient or annoying to be stopped at a sobriety checkpoint, the police are simply doing their job to make the state of New Hampshire safe for everyone. It is important to keep that in mind and be respectful no matter what. The officer interviewing you will be respectful as long as you are as well. If you answer the questions respectfully, are compliant, and have your information available the stop is likely to be quick and painless.

Be Prepared

If you are stopped at a sobriety point, you will be required to gather the necessary documentation that the officer will ask for during the stop. The officer will want to see your license and registration. While waiting behind the other cars in line, be sure to gather all of this information so you have it available when it is your turn to speak to the officer. The officer will appreciate your preparedness. Another tip is to roll down the window to let out any odors of alcohol prior to approaching the officer to let the air ventilate throughout the vehicle.

Be Compliant at all Times

Whether you have been drinking or not, it is important to be compliant with the officer at all times. Answer any questions the officer asks you and hand over your information willingly. The more compliant you are, the quicker the process will be and you are more likely to be sent on your way with no issues. To add to your compliance, you could turn on your vehicles’ interior light and keep your hands on the steering wheel to be sure they are seen at all times. Be as brief and polite as possible when answering the officer's questions. If you get chatty with the officer or provide more information than necessary, this could lead the officer to ask you more questions, thus indicating that you have had alcohol. Even admitting to having only a couple of drinks could mean facing a DWI charge. Keep your answer respectful and short, to the point in order to avoid any problems.

If you do find yourself in a situation facing a DUI charge due to a sobriety stop or otherwise, it is important to find a DUI lawyer in New Hampshire to help you navigate the way.


By Kevin Tighe

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Gun Concealed to Carry (CCW) Laws in New Hampshire

New Gun Concealed to Carry (CCW) & Background Check Laws in New Hampshire

Despite New Hampshire being a state that does not require a permit for open carry or concealed weapons, it has the highest number of background checks across the country for handguns (pistols and revolvers). In response to federal law prohibiting firearms to felons, fugitives and domestic abusers, the State of New Hampshire has enacted its own laws that prohibit the sale of firearms to felons.

Criminal Background Check System

National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is mandated to keep the public safe by maintaining a database of convicted criminals, sex offenders, domestic abusers amongst others who may be a danger to the public. The NICS also aims to use the database to ensure timely transfer of firearms to law-abiding citizens.
The NICS is administered by the FBI and gathers data from criminal records across states. The database keeps records of people with convictions that led to imprisonment terms exceeding one year, foreign fugitives, and immigration offenders including those with none immigrants visas. The information is gathered from the National Crime Information Center, Department of Homeland Security and the Interstate Identification Index.

Usually, the NICS works with state governments, but state governments are not required to work in liaison with NICS. New Hampshire is a “partial contact state”. This means that the New Hampshire’s Department of Safety has agreed to act as a point of contact for handgun transfers but not for the transfer of long guns. This means background checks for handguns are initiated through the Department of Safety and long gun background checks initiated directly through the FBI.

Background Checks and Mental Illness

States report to the NCIS people who have been “adjudicated as a mental defective”. New Hampshire is one of the few states that had not been reporting people with mental illness to the background check system. However, there are laws that allow for the release of confidential patient information where it has been established that there is a need to protect the individual or members of the public.

In 2016 New Hampshire legislature passed the Medicaid Expansion Bill which prohibits agencies, individuals or organization from passing mental patient’s information to NICS unless ordered to do so by a court in which the person in question was present with his or her attorney.

Other Views on the Medicaid Expansion Bill

However, some like the New Hampshire Attorney General has differed with the courts on the provisions of the Medicaid Expansion Bill. The Attorney General, Joseph Foster, sent a letter in July 2016 to the courts ordering them to begin sending the information of dangerously ill persons to the NICS. His interpretations of the law would mean that New Hampshire’s Department of Safety will start providing information on people who have been found unfit to stand trial, people not found guilty for reasons of insanity will have their information released to NICS.
Opponents of the interpretation believe that the interpretation should come from the courts rather than from a letter from the Attorney General. Also, sponsors and supporters of the bill have insisted that the amendments to the Medicaid Expansion Act were made specifically to prevent access to victim records without a court order.

By Kevin Tighe

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