The legislation, effective September 21, 2025, abolishes the bail magistrate system, directing first-appearance bail decisions to judges. It enforces hold-until-arraignment for serious offenses, lowers bail denial criteria to probable cause, and has garnered bipartisan support for addressing reoffending, while facing opposition regarding pretrial detention concerns.
New Hampshire advocates are pushing for “Marisol’s Law” to address failures in the domestic violence system after the murder of Marisol Fuentes-Huaracha. Proposed legislation aims to enhance victim protections and improve judicial practices. Concurrently, a new bail law will take effect, altering pretrial detention standards, raising concerns among civil liberties groups.