Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes > Chapter 262 - Antitheft Laws, Offenses, Penalties, Habitual Offenders, Arrest of Nonresidents and Abandoned Vehicles

• Accident: shall mean any event that results in injury or property damage attributable directly or indirectly to the motion of a motor vehicle or its load. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:1-a
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bus: shall mean every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than 10 passengers and used for transportation of persons; and every motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:7
• Certificate: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:9
• Citation: shall mean any citation, summons, ticket or other document issued by an arresting officer for violation of a law, ordinance or rule, pertaining to motor vehicle traffic, ordering the arrested motorist to appear. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:10
• Commercial driver: shall mean a person who drives a commercial motor vehicle as defined in N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:12
• Commissioner: shall mean the commissioner of safety. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:13
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: shall mean an adjudication of guilt which has not been annulled or vacated, a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an administrative proceeding, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court costs, or the violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether the penalty is rebated, suspended or otherwise affected by probation. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:14
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealer: shall mean a retail vehicle dealer or an auto wholesale dealer. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:18
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: shall mean the department of safety of the state of New Hampshire. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:19
• Director: shall mean the director of the division of motor vehicles of the department of safety. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:20
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Division: shall mean the division of motor vehicles in the department of safety. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:22
• Driver: shall mean a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle as defined in N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:25
• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garage: shall mean every place where 5 or more motor vehicles are stored or housed at any one time, except such places in which motor vehicles are kept by the owners thereof without payment for storage. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:38
• Habitual offender: means any resident or nonresident person whose record, as maintained in the office of the division, shows that such person has accumulated convictions in the number provided in paragraph I, II or III of this section for those offenses listed therein and committed within a 5-year period, based on the date of the offense. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:39
• Hazardous materials: shall mean hazardous materials as defined in N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:40
• Judgment: shall mean any judgment which shall have become final, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state, or of the United States. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:46
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• justice: when applied to a magistrate, shall mean a justice of a municipal court, or a justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the subject-matter. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:12
• License: shall mean any driver's license or any other license or permit to drive a vehicle issued under the laws of this state or a reciprocating state including:
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:48
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lienholder: shall mean a person holding a security interest in a vehicle. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:49
• modified: means , but is not limited to, a substantial and material alteration or replacement of the engine, drive-train, suspension or brake system or alteration of the body which may be chopped, channelled, sectioned, filled or otherwise changed dimensionally from the original manufactured body. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:106-a
• Motor vehicle: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:60
• Motor vehicle master key: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:62
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nonresident: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:67
• Number plate: shall mean the sign or marker furnished by the director, on which is displayed the registration number or mark of a vehicle assigned thereto by the director, which shall bear on the face thereof a permanent or changeable designation of the effective period. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:68
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:72
• Perfected: when used in reference to a security interest, shall mean that it is valid against third parties generally, subject only to specific statutory exceptions. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:73
• Person: shall mean the same as provided in N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:74
• Personal recognizance: shall mean a signed agreement by an arrested motorist that he will comply with the terms of the citation served upon him at the time of arrest. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:75
• petition: when used in connection with the equity jurisdiction of the superior court, and referring to a document filed with the court, shall mean complaint, and "petitioner" shall mean plaintiff. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:51
• Place of business: shall mean the site, location or building within this state at which a person conducts the business in which he is engaged. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:76
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Police officer: shall mean any constable, peace officer, or other officer authorized to make arrests or serve process. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:78
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Reciprocating state: shall mean a state having provisions of law to the same effect as the provisions of this title relative to reciprocal provisions as to arrest of nonresidents. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:84
• Resident: shall mean a resident of the state as defined in N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:88
• Revocation: shall mean the termination by formal action of the department or of a court of competent jurisdiction of a person's driver's license or privilege to drive on the ways of this state, or of any other license, registration or permit issued by the department. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:90
• Right-of-way: shall mean the right of one vehicle or pedestrian to proceed in a lawful manner in preference to another vehicle or pedestrian approaching under such circumstances of direction, speed or proximity as to give rise to the danger of collision unless one grants precedence to the other. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:91
• road: shall include all bridges thereon. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:26
• Snowmobile: shall mean any vehicle propelled by mechanical power that is designed to travel over ice or snow supported in part by skis, tracks, or cleats. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:102
• State: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:106
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Suspension: shall mean the temporary withdrawal by formal action of the department or of a court of competent jurisdiction of a person's driver's license or privilege to drive a vehicle on the ways of this state, or any other license, registration or permit issued by the department, which temporary withdrawal shall be for a period specifically designated by the department or court and until the reissuance of the license, registration, permit or privilege. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:107
• sworn: when applied to public officers required by the constitution to take oaths therein prescribed, shall refer to those oaths; when applied to other officers it shall mean sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their offices before a justice of the peace, or other person authorized to administer official oaths in such cases. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:25
• Traffic: shall mean pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any way for purposes of travel. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:110
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Truck: shall mean every motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:115-b
• United States: shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
• Vehicle: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:122
• Vehicle identification number: shall mean a unique distinguishing number issued by a vehicle manufacturer to a particular vehicle and stamped or embossed on a permanent part of the vehicle or on a plate provided by the manufacturer for that purpose, or such unique distinguishing number issued by the motor vehicle titling authority of this or any other state in lieu of a manufacturer's number. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:123
• Way: shall mean :
  I. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 259:125