Rule 512 - Comment Upon or Inference From Claim of Privilege: Instruction(a)Comment or Inference Not Permitted. The claim of a privilege, whether in the present proceeding or upon a prior occasion, is not a proper subject of comment by judge or counsel. No inference may be drawn therefrom. (b)Claiming Privilege Without Knowledge of Jury. In jury cases, proceedings shall be conducted, to the extent practicable, so as to facilitate the making of claims of privilege without the knowledge of the jury. (c)Jury Instruction. Upon request, any party against whom the jury might draw an adverse inference from a claim of privilege is entitled to an instruction that no inference may be drawn therefrom.(d)Application -- Self-Incrimination. Subsections (a) to (c) do not apply in a non-criminal case with respect to the privilege against self-incrimination. 2016 NHRE Update Committee Note
No change was made to New Hampshire Rule of Evidence 512 by supreme court order dated April 20, 2017, effective July 1, 2017. None of the privilege rules were adopted from the Federal Rules of Evidence so they were not part of the Update Committee's targeted review. Some of the rules of privilege are adopted from the Uniform Rules of Evidence and some of them summarize New Hampshire statutes on privilege that were in existence at the time the New Hampshire Rules of Evidence were adopted. The Uniform Rules of Evidence were modified in 2005. The Update Committee did not make recommendations to amend these rules based upon Uniform Rule modifications.