Firm Wins NH Supreme Court Appeal.

On March 30, 2023, in State v. Tufano, an appeal case handled by Ted Lothstein, the NH Supreme Court reversed a conviction for cruelty to animals arising out of a very unusual fact pattern. The accused was seen by neighbors in a manufactured home park spraying water into a large plastic bin. Inside the bin, was a Havahart trap. Inside the trap, was a very vocal cat. When a neighbor saw this happening, he confronted our client, and eventually, got him charged by the local police department with Cruelty to Animals.

Over the accused’s objection, the prosecutor was allowed to introduce evidence that according to two neighbors, the accused had a history of trapping cats, which one witness described as a “history of being hostile towards cats.” But the NH Supreme Court reversed, finding that this evidence was precluded under NH Rule of Evidence 404(b), which prevents the introduction of “propensity” or character evidence.This legal principle is critical to the right to a fair trial: Each case must be judged on its own merits, so prosecutors are not allowed to introduce evidence of past criminal conduct and then argue: "He did it before, he must have done it again."'

You can read more about this important legal victory, and find links to read Attorney Lothstein's brief, read the Court's opinion and even listen the oral argument here.

Five days, three victories.

So we won an appeal on March 30... what were the other two victories?

On April 2, 2023, Richard’s alma mater, LSU, won the NCAA Div. 1 Women’s Basketball Championship. The next day, Ted’s alma mater, UConn, won the NCAA Div. I Men’s Basketball Championship.

Other law firms celebrate March Madness – at LG, we celebrate APRIL Madness!