Legal Question in Traffic Law in New Hampshire

traffic stop

a driver is stopped for a suspended registration, unknown to her the check wriiten to the town had bounced. she was pulled over for speeding. The officer asked her to step out of the car after running her info. she was cuffed and brought to the station, she was not told why she was being arrested until she was at the stattion. she was held in a cell for an hour and a half. today all issues have been worked out , new payment,payment for reinstatement. the state has informed us that the registration is valid and the plates can be put on and taken from the impound lot. Here is the kicker , the local PD has locked up the plates in the evidence room and there are only 2 officers with a key. Those officers are off duty for 2 days. the vehicle will incure storage fees and we are without a vehicle, and will be paying for a rental. the officer says he has the right to impound the vehicle and plates until a court hearing 6 weeks out..is this for real?


Asked on 2/23/09, 3:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Winters Cohen & Winters, PLLC

Re: traffic stop

I have to say I haven't encountered this exact situation before but it strikes me as strange. The police might be technically right that the plates are evidence and the police are allowed to hold evidence until trial. Still, it seems like overkill in this case.

There is a statute that allows any owner of property held by the police, including a defendant, to request return of property. If allowed, photographs of the evidence can be substituted at trial.

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Answered on 2/24/09, 9:08 pm


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