New Hampshire Court Records

What is Included in New Hampshire Public Court Records

Criminal Court Cases

Assault & Battery, Domestic Violence, Parole Violation, Probation Violation, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Manslaughter, Murder, Drug Offenses, And More...

Civil Court Cases

Bankruptcies, Legal Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax & Property Liens, Contract Disputes, Probates, Family Law, Small Claims, Evictions, And More...

Traffic Court Cases

Driving Under Influence, Driving While Intoxicated, Speeding Tickets, Traffic Citations, Reckless Driving, Driving Without a License, License Suspensions, Criminal Driving Violations, Accidents, And More...

New Hampshire Court Record Lookup

New Hampshire NH Court records are those decrees and orders that originate from an official body in New Hampshire and carry the weight of legal authority. With a court record, one may appeal a decision, demand payment on a judgement, evict a tenant, secure custody of a child, sever a relationship, or clear a driving record. Court records are public documents that may be requested by anyone, they can be viewed by conducting a New Hampshire court records search. For this purpose, you can use Recordsfinder.com's online tools to find out NH criminal records, civil and traffic court cases, and more.

Circuit courts

New Hampshire’s court system was streamlined under a circuit court arrangement in 2011. Among the specialty divisions within circuit courts are probate, family, and district courts. The probate courts are found in 10 counties and are concerned with guardianships, wills, estates, and the care of the mentally ill. Family courts handle divorce, delinquency, child support, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, and similar issues and are found in 28 locations around the state. District courts handle misdemeanors, small claims, traffic tickets, landlord-tenant issues, and similar matters.

Some records, including those of cases involving juveniles and victims of certain crimes, are restricted from public access due to confidentiality laws.

Trial courts

Trials are held in the state’s superior courts for both criminal and civil matters, such as family case filings, including New Hampshire child support and custody cases. Anyone can access New Hampshire court records online via New Hampshire court case lookup

Appeals court

The state supreme court is the only appeals court in the state, which hears disputes over lower court decisions and oversees the state bar. 

Federal courts

Each state hosts at least one U.S. District Court. These New Hampshire courthouses have jurisdiction over lawsuits that involve multiple states, violations of federal laws, and bankruptcies. These cases documents can be accessed via New Hampshire court record lookup.

New Hampshire Notable Court Cases

In 1997, Claremont School District v. Governor of New Hampshire was noted for ruling on the constitutionality of school funding allocation. There were several cases leading to this final decision which began in 1993. The city of Claremont essentially alleged the allocation of education funds, as determined by the state, was unconstitutional. Five school districts, children and taxpayers from each district comprised the plaintiffs. At the time, there was an 8 percent cap on state aid given to public schools, allegedly failing to "'spread educational opportunities equitably among its students."

The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the funding system was in fact unconstitutional. Another suit was filed in 2005 by the plaintiffs, stating the state had yet to meet its constitutional requirements. The court then ordered the state to define a "'constitutionally adequate education" by June 2007 in Londonderry School District v. State.

 

New Hampshire Civil Case Statistics

Civil Caseload
Civil Caseload 40,944
Caseloads per 100.000 Population
Caseloads per 100.000 Population 3,067
Clearance Rate
Clearance Rate 99%
Small Claims Caseload
Small Claims Caseload 9,993

Civil Caseloads for New Hampshire, the sum of all civil cases reported by the state, account for 219,287 total cases at the year end of 2016, which makes it 3,067 cases per 100.000 population.

The clearance rate for the state is about 99% which makes up by dividing the outgoing to incoming civil cases and expressing the result in a percentage.

Civil Court Incoming & Outgoing Cases 2012-2016

The number of civil court caseloads in 2016 has decreased since 2012, being 40,944 vs. 48,799, which is by 16.1 % lower than 5 years ago. The same picture is seen with clearance rates, it’s lower compared to 2012, by 19.0% being 40,604 compared to 50,106.

State Small Claims & Rates Timeline

Year: Small Claims Max. Limit Small Claims Caseload per 100.000 Population Percent of Total Civil Caseload
2012$750014,5101,09930%
2013$750013,09498929%
2014$75009,32770322%
2015$100009,49171323%
2016$100009,99374924%

The caseload for small claims has decreased since 2012, going from 14,510 cases a year to 9,993 of 2016. The maximum limit of small claim charges has also seen a change and has reached $10,000 in 2016 compared to the $7,500 that was registered 5 years ago.

Accordingly the small claims rate has decreased- 749 cases per 100 000 population compared to the 1,099 of 2012. The total percentage of civil caseloads accounts 29.8% for the state of New Hampshire for 2016.

Criminal Caseloads by Type

Criminal Caseloads for New Hampshire sum in 45,622 cases at the year end of 2016 which has a share of 67% of misdemeanor and 33% of felony charges. Total criminal cases have increased in New Hampshire compared to the criminal caseload of 2012 - 45,376 cases. Felonies and misdemeanors have changed since 2012 by -14% and +6% accordingly.

The Proportion of Felony and Misdemeanor Caseloads

Criminal Incoming Court Cases by type 2012-2016

Criminal Caseloads Timeline

Domestic Relations Caseloads & Clearance Rates

The state’s domestic relations caseload has counted 15,008 cases which is 1,124 court cases per 100.000 population. It has decreased since 2012, the difference in caseloads is 636 for the last 5 years, being 15,644 in 2012.

State Court Holidays

Holiday: Date:
Observance New Year's DayMonday, January 1, 2018
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Civil Rights Day)Monday, January 15, 2018
Washington's BirthdayMonday, February 19, 2018
Memorial DayMonday, May 28, 2018
Independence DayWednesday, July 4, 2018
Labor DayMonday, September 3, 2018
Columbus DayMonday, October 8, 2018
Observance of Veteran's DayMonday, November 12, 2018
Thanksgiving DayThursday, November 22, 2018
Day after ThanksgivingFriday, November 23, 2018
Day before ChristmasMonday, December 24, 2018
Christmas DayTuesday, December 25, 2018

Supreme Court Caseloads & Clearance Rates