The defendant contends that his prior conviction does not comply with Boykin because the Massachusetts court never informed him of his rights to remain silent and to confront adverse witnesses. Based upon our recent decision in State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 681 A.2d 86 (1996), we find this argument to be without merit. In Weeks, the defendant sought to collaterally challenge a prior misdemeanor stalking conviction by arguing that the stalking statute, RSA 633:3-a (Supp. 1995), was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
In a footnote, the Johnson court noted that at least eleven jurisdictions had adopted the Custis framework. See id. at 1275 n. 7 (citing Camp v. State, 364 Ark. 459, 221 S.W.3d 365, 369–70 (2006); People v. Padilla, 907 P.2d 601, 606 (Colo.1995) (en banc); State v. Veikoso, 102 Hawai'i 219, 74 P.3d 575, 580, 582 (2003); State v. Weber, 140 Idaho 89, 90 P.3d 314, 318–20 (2004); State v. Delacruz, 258 Kan. 129, 899 P.2d 1042, 1049 (1995); McGuire v. Commonwealth, 885 S.W.2d 931, 937 (Ky.1994); People v. Carpentier, 446 Mich. 19, 521 N.W.2d 195, 199–200 (1994); State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 681 A.2d 86, 89–90 (1996); State v. Mund, 593 N.W.2d 760, 761 (N.D.1999); State v. Boskind, 174 Vt. 184, 807 A.2d 358, 360, 362–64 (2002); State v. Hahn, 238 Wis.2d 889, 618 N.W.2d 528, 532, 535 (2000)). Some state cases go somewhat beyond the Custis approach in their application of state law.
A suspended sentence may be revoked “upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence of a violation of the condition upon which the sentence was suspended.” State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 251, 681 A.2d 86 (1996). When, as here, the condition was to be of good behavior, the State's burden of proof is satisfied “either by establishing the fact of a criminal conviction for the acts which constitute the violation or by proof of the commission of the underlying acts.”
Thus, no separate analysis is necessary under the United States Constitution, and we consider cases from the federal courts only as an analytical aid. State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 249, 681 A.2d 86, 88 (1996). In Stone v. Shea, 113 N.H. 174, 176-77, 304 A.2d 647, 648-49 (1973), we held that the due process requirements set forth in Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471 (1972), for the revocation of parole are applicable to revocations of probation and suspended sentences.
The parties do not dispute that the right to counsel on the OAS charge, for which the State sought Class A misdemeanor penalties, attached when the OAS complaint was originally filed. See State v. Jeleniewski, 147 N.H. 462, 468 (2002); see also State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 250 (1996); RSA 651:2, I (2016). They disagree, however, as to whether the October 2018 hearing on the State's motion to reinstate the OAS complaint was a "critical stage" of the proceedings.
Thus, even though incarceration was not imposed as part of the sentence for most defendants charged with unclassified misdemeanors, all defendants so charged faced the potential of incarceration upon conviction, and were therefore entitled to court-appointed counsel if indigent. See Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 373–74, 99 S.Ct. 1158, 59 L.Ed.2d 383 (1979) ; Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 344–45, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963) ; State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 250, 681 A.2d 86 (1996). Because a class B misdemeanor does not carry the possibility of incarceration, the legislature determined, based upon testimony from representatives of the judiciary and the Public Defender, that the State could achieve significant savings in counsel expenses by establishing a system in which the "default" position treats unclassified misdemeanors as class B misdemeanors, and requiring the prosecutor to take the affirmative step of providing notice of his or her intent to seek class A misdemeanor penalties at or before the time when counsel would normally be appointed—the date of the arraignment.
Many states have recognized that constitutional considerations do not require courts to entertain collateral attacks on prior convictions used for enhancement purposes unless the defendant claims the predicate conviction was uncounseled. See State v. Johnson, 38 A.3d 1270, 1278 (Me.2012); Camp v. State, 364 Ark. 459, 221 S.W.3d 365, 369–70 (2006); State v. Weber, 140 Idaho 89, 90 P.3d 314, 319–20 (2004); State v. Veikoso, 102 Hawai‘i 219, 74 P.3d 575, 582–83 (2003); State v. Hahn, 238 Wis.2d 889, 618 N.W.2d 528, 535 (2000); State v. Louthan, 257 Neb. 174, 595 N.W.2d 917, 926–27 (1999); State v. Mund, 593 N.W.2d 760, 761–62 (N.D.1999); State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 681 A.2d 86, 89–90 (1996); State v. Delacruz, 258 Kan. 129, 899 P.2d 1042, 1049 (1995); McGuire v. Commonwealth, 885 S.W.2d 931, 937 (Ky.1994), People v. Carpentier, 446 Mich. 19, 521 N.W.2d 195, 199–200 (1994). In contrast, a smaller number of states have examined Custis and explicitly declined to adopt the reasoning based on an interpretation that the state's constitution offers greater protection than that afforded by the United States Constitution.
Moreover, a suspended sentence may be imposed upon proof by a preponderance of evidence of a violation of the condition upon which the sentence was imposed. See State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 251, 681 A.2d 86 (1996). "When, as here, the condition was to be of good behavior, the State's burden of proof is satisfied either by establishing the fact of a criminal conviction for the acts which constitute the violation or by proof of the commission of the underlying acts."
At least eleven states have adopted, expressly or implicitly, the Custis framework. See Camp v. State, 364 Ark. 459, 221 S.W.3d 365, 369–70 (2006); State v. Veikoso, 102 Hawai‘i 219, 74 P.3d 575, 582 (2003); State v. Weber, 140 Idaho 89, 90 P.3d 314, 319–20 (2004); State v. Delacruz, 258 Kan. 129, 899 P.2d 1042, 1049 (1995); McGuire v. Commonwealth, 885 S.W.2d 931, 937 (Ky.1994); People v. Carpentier, 446 Mich. 19, 521 N.W.2d 195, 199–200 (1994); State v. Weeks, 141 N.H. 248, 681 A.2d 86, 89–90 (1996); State v. Mund, 1999 ND 90, ¶¶ 8–10, 593 N.W.2d 760; State v. Hahn, 2000 WI 118, ¶ 28, 238 Wis.2d 889, 618 N.W.2d 528; see also People v. Padilla, 907 P.2d 601, 606 (Colo.1995) (applying the Custis restriction as a matter of federal constitutional law in the discretionary sentencing context, as opposed to in the context of mandatory sentencing enhancements); State v. Boskind, 174 Vt. 184, 807 A.2d 358, 360, 362–64 (2002) (discussing Custis and holding that, when not based on a violation of the right to counsel, collateral challenges to a prior conviction used to enhance a sentence may not be brought during sentencing proceedings, but may be brought in a post-conviction proceeding based on the enhanced sentence).
" Carpentier, 521 N.W.2d at 199-200 (internal citations omitted). ¶ 55 In State v. Weeks, 681 A.2d 86 (N.H. 1996), the Supreme Court of New Hampshire considered the defendant's challenge to a prior misdemeanor stalking conviction on the ground that the stalking statute was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Weeks, 681 A.2d at 89.