How New Hampshire handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in New Hampshire: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
Before arraignment, a bail commissioner sets bail. The Circuit Court appoints commissioners from justices of the peace, and they need not be lawyers. People charged with serious violent crimes are held for a judge within 36 hours, and the police can't set bail.
RSA ch. 597- Time to see a judge
A person arrested must appear before a Circuit or Superior Court judge within 36 hours, not counting weekends and holidays.
RSA 594:20-a- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. Since 2018, a court may not set money bail that keeps a person in jail only because they can't pay, unless it finds after a hearing that no other condition will work.
RSA 597:2- Pretrial risk assessment
New Hampshire has no statewide pretrial risk tool. Strafford County uses a version of the Colorado Pretrial Assessment Tool.
Mapping Pretrial Risk, How many jurisdictions use each tool?- Courts
The Superior Court tries felonies. The District Division of the Circuit Court tries misdemeanors and violations without a jury. Since 2016 felonies in Strafford and Cheshire counties start in Superior Court.
New Hampshire Judicial Branch, How NH Courts Work- Judges and magistrates
The governor appoints judges with the approval of the Executive Council, and they serve until age 70. There are no judicial elections.
New Hampshire Judicial Branch, How NH Courts Work- Prosecutors
Each county elects a county attorney, who must be a lawyer. Most serve two-year terms; Rockingham and Coos counties now elect for four years.
RSA 7:33- Public defense
The state's Judicial Council contracts with the New Hampshire Public Defender to represent people who can't afford a lawyer. When it is full or has a conflict, cases go to contract lawyers or court-assigned lawyers.
RSA ch. 604-B- Jails
Each county runs a department of corrections. Its superintendent is appointed by and answers to the county commissioners, not the sheriff.
RSA 30-B:4
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The bail statute changes often (amended 2024, 2025, and 2026, with a change effective January 1, 2027). Whether Circuit Court judges must be lawyers was not confirmed.