New Hampshire
NH Supreme Court Keeps One Cop on the Laurie List While Letting Another Off
The most recent Laurie List of dishonest cops can be seen here: https://indepthnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/November-5-2024-EES-List.pdf
By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
One police officer accused of lying is getting removed from the state’s Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, while another accused of lying will remain on the list.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued case orders on Tuesday on two separate Laurie List appeals, and while the cases are similar, the different results highlight the fact the court is still defining how Laurie List functions since it became a public document in 2021.
The Laurie List, or EES, is a list maintained by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office of police officers with known credibility issues that need to be disclosed to defense attorneys. After the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism, publisher of InDepthNH.org, sued the state to make the list public, New Hampshire’s courts have been adapting to the new legal landscape.
Neither officer is named in the lawsuits decided Tuesday, but both share basic facts. Both officers were put on the EES after being accused of lying in incidents that took place more than a decade ago, and both officers had lower court judges rule the triggering incidents did not need to be disclosed during trials when considered as part of possible evidence.
But the key facts the Supreme Court seemed to base the decisions on is the weight of the evidence against the officers.
The first John Doe was accused of lying during an internal investigation in 2013, but the Supreme Court justices found his reported lie came down to a possible misunderstanding of an unclear question.
In 2013, the officer was told by a relative of his police chief that a complaint had been submitted over some incident. The same day, the officer was given a letter that an internal investigation was underway into the complaint, and he later spoke with the investigator. During that interview, the officer was asked how he learned about the investigation.
“[T]he plaintiff ‘verbally stumbled with a response’ and gestured to the department’s mail slots. He then said ‘from your . . . letter advising of the complaint,’” court records state.
The officer was never disciplined over the complaint, but instead the investigator determined that he lied about first hearing about the investigation from the letter and not from the chief’s relative. However, the officer claimed he learned about the complaint before he got the letter informing him about the investigation, and therefore he did not lie.
It was over this alleged lie that the officer was placed on the EES, and not over any complaint or other misconduct. The Supreme Court ruled that the potential confusion over the interviewer’s question creates enough doubt about whether or not the officer lied at all.
“The plaintiff claims that, although he told the investigating officer that he had spoken with another officer regarding the complaint, ‘he was honest in answering that he only became aware of the investigation when he was formally apprised of it in writing,’” the Supreme Court ruled. “We agree with the plaintiff that it is unclear whether the investigating officer asked him when he first learned of the complaint or when he first learned of the investigation.”
The case against a second John Doe, a New Hampshire State Trooper, is less ambiguous, according to the court. More than 14 years ago, the Trooper failed to appear at an Administrative License Suspension hearing. When he requested a rescheduled hearing, the trooper claimed he never got the first notification that was sent to his email account, and actually testified he never got the email during the rescheduled hearing.
Unfortunately for the trooper, a follow-up internal investigation found that not only did he get the original email notification, he reportedly deleted that email after he missed the first hearing. The trooper was disciplined and he appealed to the Personnel Appeals Board, which also found he lied during its hearing.
Even though he went on to have an exemplary career and the incident was more than a decade old, the lies about the email are enough to keep him on the EES, the Supreme Court ruled.
“In light of these undisputed facts, we conclude that while the misconduct occurred over ten years ago and, according to the trial court, the plaintiff ‘apparently had an exemplary career as a trooper’ since then, the misconduct is nevertheless potentially exculpatory impeachment evidence ‘that is reasonably capable of being material to guilt or to punishment,’” the justices wrote.
The fact that a lower court judge deemed the trooper’s email lies did not need to be disclosed during other proceedings does not mean the incident can’t be disclosed at some point, the Supreme Court ruled. Whether an EES issue is disclosed to a defendant in a criminal case depends on the facts of the criminal case and does not reflect an opinion about the EES status.
“That the circuit court concluded that disclosure of that information to the criminal defendants in two separate criminal proceedings was not required does not necessarily mean that the court concluded that the information was not ‘potentially exculpatory,’ and that plaintiff’s name should be removed from the EES,” the Supreme Court ruled.
Sara Doherty
Franklin, NH – Sara Jane (Sanford) Doherty, 79, of Franklin, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully at her home on June 11, 2026. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Sara was born on June 5, 1947, in Hanover, New Hampshire, to Harold and Sadie (Pettengill) Sanford.
As the daughter of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee, Sara spent her childhood moving throughout New England, living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She graduated from high school in Hudson, Massachusetts, and later returned to New Hampshire, eventually settling in Franklin, where she made her home for more than forty years.
Sara built a successful career in the textile industry. She worked as a seamstress at Howland Originals before joining Star Specialty Knitting, where she began as a stitcher and, through hard work and determination, advanced to Plant Manager. She retired in 2003, and one of the greatest joys of her retirement was caring for several of her grandchildren, whom she adored.
Sara was a remarkably talented and creative artisan. She sewed clothing for her children when they were young and later created outfits for her grandchildren and their dolls. She was a gifted painter and artist whose extraordinary drawings and paintings brought joy to those around her. An accomplished seamstress, knitter, crocheter, cake decorator, and musician, Sara had an exceptional ability to create beauty in many forms. Her handmade gifts and treasured creations will be cherished by her family for generations to come.
Her talent for cake decorating blossomed into a successful side business that spanned more than thirty years. Sara created hundreds of stunning and imaginative cakes, including wedding and birthday cakes for her own children and grandchildren. Her passion for baking was so well known that for many years her license plate proudly read “CAKES+.”
Sara also had a remarkable gift for bringing people together. She hosted countless family reunions, each one more creative than the last. With elaborate themes, games, prizes, delicious food, and endless laughter, she created memories that her family will treasure forever. She was also known for her generous holiday gatherings, often welcoming more than thirty family members and friends into her home for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Summers brought cherished Fourth of July cookouts by Webster Lake, where Sara delighted in decorating the waterfront and gathering loved ones to enjoy the annual boat parade.
Sara’s love of giraffes was known by all who knew her. She spent years collecting hundreds of them, giving each a special “G” name. Before her passing, she shared one of her favorites, “Geebri,” with her granddaughter Sydni, who is expecting Sara’s first great-grandchild.
Her warmth, creativity, generosity, and love of family touched everyone who knew her. To say she will be missed is a vast understatement. She was truly the heart of her family.
Sara leaves behind her devoted husband of 43 years, Joel Doherty; her sons, Todd (Michelle) Chapman of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, and Paul (Cheryl) Chapman of Northfield, New Hampshire; her stepdaughters, Ali (Oliver) Frates of Amherst, New Hampshire, and Kate Hodge of Durham, New Hampshire; and her beloved grandchildren, Shelby, Sydni, Morgan, Owen, Duncan, Calum, Macy, and Elyse, and Step-grandchildren, Matthew, Jennifer, Eric, & Kevin.
Sara was predeceased by her parents.
Sara’s family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Franklin VNA for their rapid and seamless response in setting up hospice, and to The Payson Center for their dedication and care, which gave us more precious time with her.
A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM in Franklin Cemetery, Thompson Park in Franklin.
For more information or to leave the family an online condolence, please visit www.smartmemorialhome.com.
Click here to sign the guest book or honor their memory with flowers, donations, or other heartfelt tributes
A staple of many New Hampshire town fairs, the pig scramble may soon look a little different.
A bill signed into law by Gov. Kelly Ayotte last week requires the commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture to create best practices for any event in which people compete to capture a pig. Those guidelines will be published before the 2027 fair season, so they won’t be in place for any fairs with pig scrambles this year, such as the upcoming Deerfield Fair in the fall.
Generally, a pig scramble involves people of the same age competing to capture pigs that have been let loose in a large pen. Contestants have to catch the pig in a drawstring bag, and the first one to do so can take the pig home.
Rep. Cathryn Harvey, a Democrat from Spofford, is the prime sponsor of the bill. She said each fair has different rules for their pig scrambles, meaning some can be more humane than others. One aspect of the events she hopes will change is the bags pigs are captured in.
“They’re putting an animal in a plastic bag on a hot summer day,” Harvey said. “It isn’t a great idea.”
Although some fairs already use more breathable bags out of burlap, Joan O’Brien, president of the New Hampshire Animal Rights League, said she’s also seen pigs being kept in plastic bags for long periods of time after the event. Not only would a burlap bag improve the pig’s ability to breathe in the heat, she said, but she also wants fairs to require participants to bring an animal carrier for the trip home. Her organization was ultimately in favor of the legislation.
“If you don’t have a carrier, you should not be allowed to leave your pig lying in a bag,” O’Brien said, adding that some fairs already ask contestants to bring carriers. “You should be taking them right home.”
The Deerfield Fair has implemented another rule that O’Brien and Harvey hope becomes part of statewide best practices — having parents supervise their child in the pen. O’Brien once witnessed a child hang a pig upside down by its legs and then lower it headfirst into the bag.
“In the heat of the moment, the kids get excited and they just do whatever it takes to get the pig in the bag,” O’Brien said. She said parents should work with the event referee to make sure their kid is handling the pig humanely.
Harvey’s bill originally called for pig scrambles to be banned around the state, but both she and O’Brien feel that universal guidelines for fairs would still make the experience better for the animals. Even seemingly small things, Harvey said, like giving the pigs water after the scramble, would be an improvement to the current situation for them.
“I think that the bill will embolden people to speak up at these events,” O’Brien said. “If they think a pig is being mistreated, they’ll be able to say to themselves, ‘I know that there’s supposed to be a rule, so I’m going to say something.’ So I think that would be a good outcome.”
-
Washington2 minutes agoWashington Commanders announce 2026 training camp schedule
-
Wisconsin9 minutes agoWisconsin man arrested in Colorado in connection with deadly hit-and-run in north suburbs
-
West Virginia11 minutes agoThe Moving Wall returns to West Virginia with stop in St. Albans this week – WV MetroNews
-
Wyoming17 minutes agoFeds advance permit for controversial Seminoe pumped-water project in Wyoming
-
Finance22 minutes agoBangladesh Says $300 Billion Climate Finance Goal Falls Short, Calls for More Support
-
Crypto24 minutes ago
Man arrested for allegedly stealing $50,000 during meeting to purchase cryptocurrency
-
Fitness32 minutes agoAngela Rippon, 81, reveals the one exercise she never skips for strong legs: ‘I do it every morning without fail’
-
Movie Reviews47 minutes ago‘Mr. Reset And The Society Of Turnbuckle And Bone’ – Movie Review – PopHorror
