In 1993, the New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned a murder conviction for a man named Carl Laurie, because prosecutors had not disclosed that one of the police detectives on the case had an issue in his personnel file that might have raised questions about his credibility.
Today the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, and each New Hampshire county attorney, keeps what is called a “Laurie List," a record of law enforcement officers whose credibility could be called into question were they to testify in criminal trials.
To sort out what we know and don't know about Laurie Lists, we turn to reporter Elizabeth Dinan of the Portsmouth Herald. She and the Seacoast Media Group obtained a partially redacted copy of the list through a right to know request.
She had previously sought to see the Laurie List in Rockingham County, but says County Attorney Jim Reams denied the request because the state had told him to protect the identities of the officers on the list.
