New Hampshire Student Defense Lawyer

New Hampshire is home to a host of community colleges, four-year universities, and graduate, and law schools including the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Southern New Hampshire University, Plymouth State University, and Keene State University, to mention just a few.

Thousands of students are accepted, become enrolled, and graduate fromones of the state’s schools each year with high hopes of attaining gainful employment in their respective fields of study. At the same time, though, many risks losing it all because they find themselves dealing with the repercussions of having made some poor choices that stand to potentially jeopardize all they have worked for.

If you are facing charges, or your child is, you should contact a New Hampshire student defense lawyer who can help build a defense as soon as possible. A skilled criminal attorney can help you evaluate and prepare how to present your defense in court.

Common Student Offenses

When individuals first leave the nest, and go off to college or move out on their own, they are put in the position where they can give into peer pressure. Living freely without their parent’s oversight and perhaps a more limited budget, it is not all that uncommon that these young adults will engage in activities that they would otherwise not engage if they were still subject to their rules.

Being arrested for DUI or an alcohol-oriented offense, drug possession or distribution, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, rape, burglary, vandalism, or theft are just some of the many crimes students across the state find themselves charged with as a result.

Potential Penalties

Given that the charge and conviction for any crime will most definitely show in any violator’s background check, it can not only impact the student’s ability to remain enrolled in school, but also cause scholarships and financial aid to be taken away as well. Given that most employers conduct background checks and convictions never fall off one’s record, their ability to secure a job can be difficult, if not impossible as well.

With such high stakes, it is important to be aware that for most offenses in which someone is charged as a juvenile for their role in committing a crime will be sealed, so long as the crime was committed prior to one turning 18. The act of sealing the record in this case will essentially give them a clean slate with which they can enter adulthood.

Alternative Sentencing

For students over 18 that are deemed to be adults, it is important to be aware that the state of New Hampshire offers what are referred to as an Alternative Sentencing Program or Pretrial Diversion Program. They are known at the state and federal levels respectively. Under these programs, New Hampshire student defense lawyers have seen certain eligibility requirements set by the prosecutor.

If accepted into the program, their continued participation is largely contingent on meeting pre-stipulated requirements such as continuing to pay a pre-determined restitution to the victim, taking alcohol education classes, doing drug testing, undergoing monitoring, and completing community service. If successfully completed, alternative sentencing, which amounts to a pre-adjudication, off-the-record type of probation, will allow the individual to move forward in their life without the charge ever appearing on their permanent record.

Consulting an Attorney

In cases where a student does not meet the established criteria to participate in a pretrial diversion program, they may be able to have their New Hampshire student defense attorney work with a prospector to have charges reduced to lesser offenses or, dependent on the details of the case, charges altogether dropped.

If you are facing charges, or your child is facing criminal charges that stand to potentially put to an abrupt end a college career and greatly impact future job prospects, then it is in your best interest to speak with a New Hampshire student defense lawyer to see how they may be able to help you avoid that being the case.