
Is NH Violating a Defendant’s Right to a Public Trial?
Criminal cases do not come to a halt because of a pandemic, and criminal courts throughout the United States have been finding solutions to prevent delays. Courts in Austin recently held the first criminal trial entirely by Zoom, for example. Courts in New Hampshire have been holding trials in court since August, but for social distancing purposes, the courtroom has been closed to the public. Instead, the courts have been live-streaming jury trials online for the public to watch. Now, however, the New Hampshire Superior Court announced a change in this live-streaming policy. Moving forward, the testimony of victims will not be live-streamed unless the victim consents. This is based on victims’ advocates stating that many crime victims might not testify if they knew the trial was being live-streamed. While…