New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-E:10 – Rules of Procedure and Evidence
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In all civil commitment proceedings for sexually violent predators under this chapter:
I. The rules of evidence, the doctor-patient privilege under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 329:26, privileged communications pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 330-A:32, or other similar statutes or rules shall not apply in proceedings under this chapter.
II. The court may consider evidence of the person‘s prior conduct if such evidence is relevant to the issue of whether the person is a sexually violent predator.
III. Reports by a member of the multidisciplinary team or reports provided on behalf of the multidisciplinary team shall be inadmissible in proceedings under this chapter unless the court finds the report’s probative value substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect.
IV. Notwithstanding the general inapplicability of the rules of evidence, hearsay evidence is not admissible unless it falls within one of the recognized exceptions to the hearsay rule or unless the court finds that the hearsay evidence contains circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness and the declarant is unavailable to testify at the civil commitment proceedings. Hearsay evidence shall not be used as the sole basis for committing a person under this chapter.
I. The rules of evidence, the doctor-patient privilege under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 329:26, privileged communications pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 330-A:32, or other similar statutes or rules shall not apply in proceedings under this chapter.
Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-E:10
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
II. The court may consider evidence of the person‘s prior conduct if such evidence is relevant to the issue of whether the person is a sexually violent predator.
III. Reports by a member of the multidisciplinary team or reports provided on behalf of the multidisciplinary team shall be inadmissible in proceedings under this chapter unless the court finds the report’s probative value substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect.
IV. Notwithstanding the general inapplicability of the rules of evidence, hearsay evidence is not admissible unless it falls within one of the recognized exceptions to the hearsay rule or unless the court finds that the hearsay evidence contains circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness and the declarant is unavailable to testify at the civil commitment proceedings. Hearsay evidence shall not be used as the sole basis for committing a person under this chapter.