Multiple Felony Convictions Vacated

In State v. Charles Glenn, a published opinion decided December 10, 2014, the New Hampshire Supreme Court vacated a number of serious felony convictions arising out of the retrial after a hung jury, because the prosecution did not bring the charges in a timely fashion.

• In the first jury trial, the State charged Glenn only with first degree murder (acquitted) and second degree murder, which resulted in a hung jury. Before the second jury trial, the State added five more felony charges: Criminal Threatening, Attempted Armed Robbery, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and two counts Falsification of Physical Evidence. The second jury convicted Glenn on all charges.
• The Court vacated all of the convictions, except for second degree murder. The Court held that the doctrine of mandatory joinder requires the prosecution to join all charges from the beginning of the prosecution.
• As you can see from the Court’s opinion, this ruling cut Glenn’s sentence by 10 years. Read the Court’s opinion in State v. Glenn (N.H. Dec. 10, 2014).