See InDepthNH.org’s archives on the controversial Laurie List here: https://indepthnh.org/category/dishonest-police/
See full January compliance report, with the most recent Laurie List, by the Attorney General here: https://indepthnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220114-ees-compliance-report.pdf
By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Attorney General John Formella sent out a news release Monday reminding officers on the Laurie List of dishonest police of the deadline to file a lawsuit seeking removal from the list or have their name made public.
Formella said on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, his office will release the names of officers who were added to the Laurie List, now known as the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule (EES), prior to April 30, 2018, unless the officer has timely notified the Department of Justice that he or she has a pending legal action regarding his or her placement on the EES.
The release of the names and corresponding information is required by RSA 105:13-d, which became law last Sept. 24. Prosecutors use the unredacted list to flag when they should alert criminal defendants that officers involved in their case had been disciplined for dishonesty, excessive force or mental illness.
In order for an officer to keep his or her name from becoming public, state law requires that, on or before Monday, March 28, 2022, the officer must provide the Department of Justice with actual notice that his or her lawsuit has been filed, Formella said. Such notices should include a copy of the summons, complaint, and any other court orders issued in the matter.
The law provides the officers with the opportunity to argue in Superior Court why their names should be removed.
Formella said the notices must be sent to the following address:
New Hampshire Department of Justice
Civil Bureau – Civil Litigation Unit
Attn: Exculpatory Evidence Schedule Matters
33 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301
In addition, officers providing notice may also wish to send them by email to Sam Garland (Samuel.RV.Garland@doj.nh.gov) and the Civil Bureau’s general electronic mailbox (Civil.Bureau@doj.nh.gov).
“Please do not send notices to the Department of Justice in any other way as doing so may result in the Department of Justice not timely seeing or processing your notice before the March 29, 2022 release date,” Formella said. “If you have provided notice and would like to confirm that the Department of Justice has received it, please contact us at 603-271-3650.”
Formella posted the first compliance report required by the new law for the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule in January showing 38 officers had filed confidential lawsuits in Superior Court arguing to get off the list. The compliance reports are due quarterly.
The report, which was required to be filed by Jan. 1 but was dated two weeks later, says there were 265 names on the list, that 254 had been sent notices, and 75 had been made public so far with more expected soon in late March.
The names already released had only 90 days to file suit because of when they were placed on the list.
The report showed that 10 people had yet to be contacted because they are dead, serving in the military overseas or there is no known address for them.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey W. Ward said Monday the office is notifying the next of kin or estate executors to see if they want to file suit to protect the confidentiality of the names of deceased officers on the list.
This compliance report didn’t include any of the 30 confidential names the attorney general has removed from the list since 2018 using internal protocols, half of them since the new law became effective. Ward said a handful of officers have applied more recently to get off the list through that protocol.
The attorney general at first released 90 names in January, but then redacted 15 of them again because the office wasn’t aware they had filed in Superior Court.
The first release caused a stir because well-known police officers, former police officers and police chiefs are now known to be on the list.
Although the new law says an updated version of the EES shall be posted on the attorney general’s website monthly, there has been no update since the one dated Dec. 31, 2021. Ward said that is because it is a new process and the updated version will be released next week.