Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 592-A:14

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • justice: when applied to a magistrate, shall mean a justice of a municipal court, or a justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the subject-matter. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:12
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
Upon complaint for an offense of which a district or municipal court has final jurisdiction, the justice to whom the complaint is made, if he shall deem an arrest unnecessary, may issue a summons requiring the party to appear at a certain time and place to answer to the complaint.