New Hampshire Supreme Court

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The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. Associate Justice David Souter of the Supreme Court of the United States served on the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1983 to 1990.

Jurisdiction

The court hears a variety of cases, most of which are either mandatory or discretionary appeals from the lower courts.

Mandatory appeals

The Nevada Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review appeals from the lower courts. When the court only accepted 40 percent of the appeals in 2003, the Supreme Court instituted "mandatory appeals on the final decisions on the merits from the Family Division and the District, Probate and Superior Courts," under Supreme Court Rule 7 in January 2004.

Discretionary appeals and original jurisdiction

Conditions that make appeals discretionary are: "a post-conviction review proceeding; a proceeding involving the collateral challenge to a conviction or sentence; a sentence modification or suspension proceeding; an imposition of sentence proceeding; a parole revocation proceeding; or a probation revocation proceeding...Administrative appeals, interlocutory appeals and interlocutory transfers, and certain limited appeals from the decisions of the trial courts are also discretionary appeals. The court also has original jurisdiction to issue writs of certiorari, prohibition, habeas corpus and other writs, which the court has discretion to decide which cases to hear."

Three Judges Expedited (3JX)

In December 2000, the Supreme Court created the "Three Judges Expedited" (3JX) to reduce the number of cases that must be heard.

Case load

In fiscal year 2004, there were 1,244 cases. In January 2004, the court began accepting all appeals from the trial court for the first time in 25 years. Below, fiscal year caseload statistics are shown for the Family Divisions, District Courts, Probate Courts and the Superior Courts in the 2003 and 2004 fiscal years show this change.

The court's justices

Selection of justices

The Court is comprised of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices appointed by the Governor and Executive Council to serve during "good behavior" until retirement or the age of seventy. Part II, Article 46 of the state constitution, states that justices are nominated and appointed by the Governor and Executive Council. Nominations must be made at least three days before the appointment, and must be approved by the majority of the Executive Council. In the case of a vacancy of the court, the Chief Justice or a senior associate justice can assign a former justice of the court.^[1]

Qualifications

Part II, Article 73 of the state constitution states all judicial officers shall hold their offices during good behavior, unless the constitution states otherwise. Part II, Article 78 limits judges of any court from holding court once that judge has reached the age of seventy years old. Additionally, justices on the New Hampshire Supreme Court hold tenure until the age of mandatory retirement.

Current justices

On October 6, 2005, Senior Associate Justice Nadeau hand delivered his resignation letter to Governor John Lynch, announcing his retirement from the court effective December 31, 2005, which the governor and council accepted. Governor Lynch nominated State Superior Court Judge Gary Hicks to fill the vacancy and was confirmed January 26, 2006. The court is made up of a chief justice and four associate justices. Currently the members of the court, in order of seniority, are:

Chief justice

John T. Broderick Jr. is the Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He has been a member of the court since 1995. Justice Broderick was appointed by Republican Governor Stephen Merrill.

Notable decisions

Attorney General

• Bokowsky v. State & a., 111 N.H. 57 (1971) - The New Hampshire Attorney General has authority to enter a nolle prosequi in prosecutions initiated by public officials or by private persons.

Educational Funding

• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 138 N.H. 183 (1993) (Claremont I) - state has a constitutional obligation to provide and pay for an adequate education for all New Hampshire children.
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 142 N.H. 462 (1997) (Claremont II) adequate education is a fundamental right, then-current system of funding education unconstitutional, state's definition of an adequate education unconstitutional).
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 142 N.H. 737 (1998) (Claremont III) - motion to vacate the Claremont II decision because of Justice Batchelder's age.
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 143 N.H. 154 (1998) (Claremont IV) - court denies state's request for a two year extension to comply with Claremont II's order to develop a constitutional method of funding education.
• Opinion of the Justices, 142 N.H. 892 (1998) tax abatement provisions of Governor Shaheen's ABC plan unconstitutional
• Opinion of the Justices, 143 N.H. 429 (1999) tax plan referendum unconstitutional
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 144 N.H. 210 (1999) (Claremont V) - phase-in of statewide property tax unconstitutional
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 144 N.H. 590 (1999) (Claremont VI) - award of attorney's fees
• Opinion of the Justices, 145 N.H. 474 (2000) Fred King plan to fund part of educational adequacy unconstitutional
• Claremont School Dist. v. Governor, 147 N.H. 499 (2002) (Claremont VII) - state's constitutional obligation includes standards of accountability and current state standards unconstitutional

Judicial Review

• Merrill v. Sherburne, 1 N.H. 204 (1819) - the Supreme Court of Judicature ruled the General Court's practice of passing bills to give people new trials in certain cases unconstitutional; the practice was common during the American Revolution, but was only done on a case-by-case basis post-Revolution.

Reasonable Doubt

• State v. Wentworth, 118 N.H. 832 (1978) - prescribed a model charge for trial judges to instruct a jury on the issue of reasonable doubt, which was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Tsoumas v. State of New Hampshire, 611 F.2d 412 (1980).
• State v. Aubert, 120 N.H. 634 (1980) - the court reversed a conviction which used an alternate reasonable doubt instruction, the court indicated that trial judges should not depart from the Wentworth instruction.

U.S. Supreme Court cases

• Sweezy v. New Hampshire, citing the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the affirmation of a contempt finding against a "subversive person" who refused to answer questions about his activities to the Attorney General and subsequently refused in the State Superior Court.

• Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire, the U.S. Supreme Court created the "fighting words" exception to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

History of the court

As a colony, New Hampshire adopted a temporary 1776 Constitution, which established the "Superior Court of Judicature" consisting of four justices. By 1876, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire was created with an act by the legislature, and in 1901, the legislature changed the judiciary again by replacing the Supreme Court with two other courts. Sixty-five years later, the state constitution was amended to established the Supreme Court and the Superior Court in the constitution. From 1965 and on, only a constitutional amendment could alter the appellate courts. In the 1970s and 1980s, changes were made to the role of the Chief Justice, giving that position the authority and for the operation and administration of all courts in the state.^[2] In 2000, the Judicial Conduct Commission was announced by the Supreme Court, which had the role that the Judicial Conduct Committee had had.^[3]

Impeachment of justices

The state constitution provides two methods for removing judicial officers, based on whom is bringing such action. Part II, Article 73 states that "the Governor with consent of the Executive Council may remove any commissioned officer for reasonable cause upon the address of both houses of the legislature; that the cause for removal shall be stated fully and substantially in the address and shall not be a cause which is a sufficient ground for impeachment; and provided further that no officer shall be so removed unless he shall have had an opportunity to be heard in his defense by a joint committee of both houses of the legislature." Part II, Article 17 also states, "The house of representatives shall be the grand inquest of the state; and all impeachments made by them, shall be heard and tried by the senate."

• The first impeachment trial of a Supreme Court justice occurred in 1790 with Justice Woodbury Langdon. The House of Representatives of New Hampshire voted to impeach him, but as the trial in the Senate was postponed, Justice Woodbury resigned.

• In April 2000, Justice David Brock was impeached by the House of Representatives, but when the matter went to the Senate, Justice Brock was not convicted.

Committees of the Court

The court has four advisory committees regarding the administration of the judicial branch: The Advisory Committee on Rules, Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, Judicial Conduct Committee and Attorney Discipline System. For more information, click here.

External links

• New Hampshire Supreme Court Official Site
• New Hampshire Courts Press Page

References

• Brown, Mary E. The Impeachment Trial of the New Hampshire Supreme Court chief justice Lynxfield Publishing 2001 ISBN 0-9707172-1-0
• Foster’s Daily Democrat - Passing Fare: The Does don’t live here anymore
• 2000 Impeachment Resolutions: HR 50, HR 51, HR 52, HR 53, HR 54
• New Hampshire Supreme Court: About the Court
• New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 38: Code of Judicial Conduct

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