Ted Lothstein has litigated over eighty appeals in the New Hampshire Supreme Court, including at least twenty oral arguments, a level of experience matched by very few New Hampshire lawyers. In criminal appeals, Ted has won 13 published victories in the last four years. Latest victory: June 9, 2009.
In cases Ted Lothstein argued on appeal, the Court has overturned convictions for:
Vehicular Manslaughter and Vehicular Negligent Homicide
On April 8, 2009, in a landmark decision, the NH Supreme Court reversed
convictions arising out of a tragic automobile accident, because the evidence
failed to establish
that the victim was born alive.
Right Vindicated: Although a very close case, here the prosecution failed
toProve
Guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read Coverage of this Victory in the Concord Monitor
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...overturned convictions for Misdemeanor Sexual Assault - Ted's most recent victory!
On November 3, 2009, the Court summarily reversed a jury verdict from the Hillsborough Superior Court North in Manchester for sexual assault. The Court held that the assistant county attorney's prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument violated the accused's right to a fair trial. Specifically, she argued that "only two people" (the accuser and accused) knew what happened, but the jury "only heard from one of them."... thus improperly commenting on the defendant's exercise of his right to remain silent. Read State v. Martin, 2008-0701
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the
Conviction.State v. Martin ,
(2009).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assaultalleged sexual assault
of an adult
Last year, I won a reversal on appeal where the accused was charged with Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault, and the trial judge in Merrimack County
Superior Court refused to allow cross-examination of the complainant regarding
her prior false accusation of rape against another man.
The reversal in State v. Kornbrekke was the first time that the Court had ever
reversed a rape conviction based on this type of limitation of the right to confront
one's accuser at trial. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read Coverage of this Victory in the Boston Globe
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Manslaughteraccused allegedly shot the unarmed victim five times
The accused faced homicide charges for shooting his brother after his brother
had gone on a rampage in the family home, destroying property, bullying their
mother and threatening to kill not only his family, but any police officers that might
try to intervene. The trial judge in Sullivan County Superior Court refused to allow
the defendant to claim he acted in self-defense, however, because when he shot
his brother five times, his brother was unarmed. The Court reversed, vindicating
the right to defend oneself and one's family with deadly force when terrorized in
one's own home. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Ethan Vassar,
154 N.H. 370 (2006). ......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Simple Assaultalleged Domestic Assault
Right Vindicated: The Double Jeopardy Right – the principle that the government cannot try and re-try the accused in forum after forum until it gets the verdict it wants. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Ernest Solomon,
156 N.H. _, 943 A.2d 819 (2008).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Narcotics Distributionsale of Cocaine
Multiple drug sale convictions overturned on appeal
Right Vindicated: Fair Trial – Requiring Severance (separate trials) of 4 drug sales --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Sean Brown, 156 N.H.
440, 938 A.2d 909 (2007).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Possession of Child Pornographycourt holds prosecution of accused for “collaged” images violated First Amendment
In this landmark First Amendment decision, the first of its kind in the United States, the
Court held that the government could not prosecute a man for the "thought crime" of
collaging together images where no child was actually exploited or harmed.
Right Vindicated: First Amendment — Freedom of Speech and Freedom
of Thought --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Marshall Zidel,
156 N.H. 684, 940 A.2d 255 (2008).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Robbery and First Degree Assault
On June 9, 2009, in an appeal briefed by Ted Lothstein, the Court reversed these
serious felony convictions because the Manchester Police went into the accused's
home without getting a warrant from a judge.
"The search of a home is subject to a particularly stringent warrant requirement
because the occupant has a high expectation of privacy. To have it otherwise
would be to obliterate one of the most fundamental distinctions between our
form
of government, where officers are under the law, and the police-state
where
they are the law." --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision. State v. Scott Robison (2009).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Aggravated felonious sexual assaultalleged sexual
assault of a child
Right Vindicated: Court reverses convictions based on Attorney Lothstein's
argument that erroneous decision to admit prejudicial prosecution evidence
deprived accused of a fair trial. --------------------------------------------------------------------
...overturned convictions for Operating with a Suspended or Revoked License
Right Vindicated: To be Free of Unreasonable Searches and Seizures.
(Court held a local police chief broke the law when he stopped driver). --------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Craveiro, 155 N.H.
423, 924 A.2d 361 (2007).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for Felony Fraudcommitted against a nursing home
Read the Court’s Decision Overturning the Conviction. State v. Huffman, 154 N.H.
678, 918 A.2d 1279 (2007).
......................................................................................................................................
...overturned convictions for White Collar Crime
The Court agreed with Ted Lothstein that it would be unfair and prejudicial to combine into one jury trial, 15 separate instances of alleged fraud perpetrated by a substance abuse center. Ted’s victory on appeal made the national White Collar Crime Reporter. --------------------------------------------------------------------
But that’s not all.
Ted Lothstein’s cases have set a number of other important precedents, cases that will be
cited by New Hampshire lawyers for decades to come. His appeals have been reported in national legal reporters including the Bureau of National Affair's Criminal Law Reporter, and
the Bureau of National Affair's White Collar Crime Reporter.
Ted's Cases have Established Important, Groundbreaking Law, in the Areas of:
Prosecutor may not cross-examine the accused in an unfair and misleading manner
by asking if prosecution witnesses lied to the jury. State v. Lopez, 156 N.H. 416, 937 A.2d 905 (2007).
......................................................................................................................................
In State v. Morrill, 154 N.H. 547, 914 A.2d 1206 (2006), the Court reformed the
"opening-the-door" doctrine, which had been much abused by trial courts. The
purpose of this doctrine is to ensure that both sides get a fair trial and neither
exploits
the rules to mislead the jury. However, in this case as in many others, the
trial judge used the doctrine to inject prejudice into the trial rather than alleviating prejudice. Based on
Ted’s arguments on appeal, the Court took what had little more
than a label
or mantra — “opening the door” — and transformed it into a carefully
defined and limited doctrine. As a result, the Court reversed Mr. Morrill’s conviction
for aggravated felonious sexual assault, and granted him a new trial.
......................................................................................................................................
First Amendment Law
In State v. Marshall Zidel, 156 N.H. 684, 940 A.2d 255 (2008), the NH Supreme
Court became the first in the nation to hold that a prosecution for child pornography
for "collaged" images violated the accused's free speech and privacy rights.
......................................................................................................................................
The Right Against Double Jeopardy
In State v. Ernest Solomon, 156 N.H. _, 943 A.2d 819 (2008), for the first time
in
any American court, the NH Supreme Court held that the accused’s right to be
free
of
double jeopardy was violated when, in the middle of his trial, his trial judge
departed
for military duty overseas and another judge declared a mistrial with
intention to begin
the trial anew.
......................................................................................................................................
In State v. Ethan Vassar, 154 N.H. 370 (2006), for the first time, Court held that
defendant accused of assault may introduce the 'victim's' prior violent acts to
bolster accused's self-defense claim.
......................................................................................................................................
Sentencing Law
The prosecutor wanted to use the trial court’s Contempt power to put probationer
in jail even after he finished the maximum sentence under law.
It’s important to lawyers to be honest with the public about the reality of the criminal process. For every case that I have won on appeal, I have lost at least six. New Hampshire’s Superior Court has a great roster of judges who generally provide both sides a fair trial, leaving few errors to be corrected on appeal — and because no trial is error-free, the mere existence of error does not mean you get a new trial.
But would you rather have a lawyer who says he or she can win your case, or a lawyer with a proven track record of actually winning high-profile cases?
