Authority for decisions related to criminal charges or proceedings do not reside with staff or administration at the University. They are handled by the appropriate police department and county attorney's office. Even if you were arrested by the University Police Department, UPD operates as a law enforcement agency and follows established legal procedures and protocols. The decision to charge someone with a crime is made by the police officers and prosecutors, independent of university administration influence.
An ordinance is a local rule where there is only a fine which someone can incur. These are typically found in those transgressions directly affecting the quality of life of the University or Town (e.g. urinating in public, open containers or alcohol.)
A violation is an offense, often made more serious by the age of the party involved, and is NOT a criminal offense. The most frequent violation(s) we find is Transportation of Alcohol and Unlawful Possession of Alcohol/Underage Intoxication. A violation results in a fine being assessed by the Court at the recommendation of the State. If you are under 21 years of age and are convicted of an alcohol –related violation, you may petition the Court for an annulment of your record after one (1) year. The event may remain on a motor vehicle record, however until you have reached your 21st birthday.
Amisdemeanor is a criminal offense and they are typically charged as Class B misdemeanors for which no period of incarceration may be imposed. However, a fine may be assessed. A Class A misdemeanor exposes one not only to a fine but also to the possibility of being incarcerated. To petition the Court for an annulment for a conviction of a misdemeanor, one must wait three (3) years from the date of conviction.
For those person(s) charged with a felony level offense, your case will be directed to the Strafford County Attorney's Office for prosecution before the Strafford Superior Court. You may contact this Department with general questions; however, basic information will be forwarded to their Office.
The Office of Residential Life (603-862-2268) and UNH Housing Office (603-862-2120) are best able to address this question depending on the location of the circumstances involving your arrest. In general, students who live on-campus do not automatically lose their housing when they're arrested. Sometimes, an arrest or court order may result in students immediately being barred from campus or their residence hall. If this is the case, you will be told that by a police officer. If a conduct process is administered concurrently for behavior that forms the basis of a violation of the Code of Conduct, a possible sanction could be suspension or expulsion from university housing. That decision is not made by the police department. These are case-by-case decisions, made following the procedures outlined in UNH's Student Code of Conduct rather than students automatically being removed from housing for being arrested.
When our Officers happen upon a person whose faculties are impaired by alcohol and/or drugs, to the extent that our officers cannot be assured of their safety, the Officers place the person in Protective Custody. Protective Custody is NOT a criminal charge. It is a civil custody of a person requiring them to be taken to the House of Corrections in order to be monitored until such time as they are able to adequately take care of themselves. There is no criminal charge filed against a person for having been placed into Protective Custody, unless he/she is under 21 years of age and was found to be intoxicated in which case he/she would have received paperwork charging them with a violation-level offense for Unlawful Possession of Alcohol/Underage Intoxication. In addition, regardless of the age of the person having been placed into Protective Custody, if he/she vomits, etc., in any of the Police Department’s vehicles and/or facilities, he/she will be charged with Criminal Mischief and restitution will be sought by the Department for the cleaning costs.
The court date you were given has been scheduled by the 7th Circuit Court -Dover District Division and is for their arraignment. At their arraignment you will have the opportunity to speak to the Prosecutor(s), if you have not already done so, and a plea offer will be made to you. If you find the plea offer palatable, you may plea accordingly. If you would prefer, you may plea not guilty and a trial before the court will be schedule.
Please either call the UNH Police Department at 603-862-1427 to speak with the Prosecutor, or send an email to the UNH Prosecutor’s office advising us of the conflict, and they will contact you to provide an alternate date/time for the Hearing to be scheduled. During those discussions, a decision will be made as to who makes the request. This Department will try to be as understanding as possible with regard to academic conflicts which arise.
No. While some situations may overlap with criminal laws and town ordinances, campus policies and the university-wide conduct system are intentionally and appropriately independent of any criminal or civil proceeding. If a student is undergoing civil or criminal action for the same behavior which forms the basis of prohibited conduct articulated in the Code of Conduct, the conduct process will be administered concurrently should the University be made aware. Student status does not forgive or cover criminal, civil, or other legal consequences for violations of federal, state, or local laws or ordinances. Please contact the Office of Community Standards if you have concerns about a student conduct process.
If you are in need of retrieving items, scheduling and/or attending disciplinary hearings, or any other business which could be construed as being in violation of the bail conditions and/or general orders of the Court, you should come directly to the University Police Department and seek an escort to wherever you may need to go on campus.
