State v. Richards

In this case, we reverse the defendant’s conviction of dispensing a narcotic drug in violation of RSA 318-B:2. The trial court’s failure to investigate the validity of the fifth amendment claim of privilege asserted by the defendant’s sole witness violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial under the New Hampshire Constitution.

On January 18, 1985, James Brackett, Stephen Doyle, and Robert Grondin entered an apartment at 281 Central Street in Manchester occupied by Donna Dearborn and the defendant, Steven Richards. At the time, Brackett was a Nashua police detective sergeant working as an…