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10 New Hampshire Bar News (n.s.) 1 (1999-2000)

handle is hein.barjournals/nhbn0010 and id is 1 raw text is: NEW HAMPSHIRE Bar News .A,, O~ffical Publication of she Ne'w Jlw.shirc liar Associations McLaughlin Reflects on Youth Violence NEW iAMPSIIIRE Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin recently mit down with Blar Neus Managig Elitor Suzanne Khunk todiscuss violence, the tnedia, atd today's youth. A portion of the Interview appears as follows: On responding to the recent school shootings,,, I see tragic events like Columline and Pearl, Missis- sippi, as events emerg- ing from a culture which enables them- and by culture I mean that wide trray of fac- tors that exist in every- day American life which give rise to out- buriasofviolence inone form or another. Over the last two years, we have madeex- traordinary efforts to improve the effective. nes of the way our state deals with its young- I'Iip T. McLaztghi, sters--andwedidn'tdo that to avert a Pearl, Mississippi or to avert a Columbine High School in Littleton, Colortdo- we did It to discharge the state's responsibility to address the factors that predicate those kind of events. There are Just a multitude of factors tsat reasonable MCLAUGHLIN continued on page 8 4 Judicial Indsepndence Our Only Quarantee of Juatice. NHBA President Randall F. Cooper's remarks that he made concerning judicial independence and accountability at a recent American Judicature Society forum held at Franklin Pierce Law Center. 1 is Talk Cheap? Attorneys William C. 12Saturey and Gordon J. MacDonald exanine an ABA Ethics and Professional Liability Formal Opinion on the cost of casual consultations. Although the nunifications of the Opinion have yet to be seen, the Opinion may have a significant impact on your clients, caution the attorneys. 2 2) Judge Morrill to Receive ABA Judicial •Excelience Award. Superior Court Assoclate Justice Robert E. K. Morrill was one of only four judges nationwide to be selected to receive an Award of Judicial Excellence from the National Conference of State Trial Judges. 2 4 National Survey Describes Qap Between Courts and the Public. The results of a national public opinion survey - discussed at the National Conference on Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System - indicate that courts are just OK on average. VOL 10, NO. 1 * JUNE 2, 1999 Chief Justice Brock's Record On Trial in the Legislature NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEGAL system appeared to be on trial during a daylong legislative hearing convened to hear the case for the removal of N.H. Supreme Court Chief Justice David A. Brock from office. During the all-day hearingon May 14 in Cncop1, a joint House-Senate committee heard a parade of wit. nessesalternately lambaste and Laud Brock's performance and the system chef jstice. The Bill of Address Theproceeding contained in the N.H. was convened to consder a Constitution was last Bill of Ad used in the 1930s to dress brought u by Rep. Paul remove a municipal Mirski (R. Enfield) and court judge. Sen. Mary t; Brown (R.Chichester). The Bill of Address is a rarely used procedure contained in the N.H, Constitution last invoked in the 1930s to remove a municipal court judge, according to the the Concord Monitor, Critics such as Mirski and legal activist Theodore' Kamasinskl said Brock presides over a judicial system that stifles criticism ofthe judiciary through intimidation and secrecy, and usurps legislative authority. During a three-hour session open to the public for testimony, other witnesses praised Brock's integrity and perfor- mance as a Judge and administrator, and criticized the proponents of the Bill of Address. Mr. Mirski appears to have missed or misunder- stood the Independence of the three branches ofgovern. ment, said former N.H. Governor Walter Peterson. The judicial branch is under attack and needs the support of thoughtful citizens. These are baseless charges, and I hope you give the bill the burial it deserves. Among those testifying was Superior Court Assocl. ate Justice Linda S. Dallanis, who mid the nature of the judicial branch is to make decislons, many times ones that are unpopular. The judiciary is a separate and equal branch of government. IThat] may displease the legisla. lure or the executive branch, but they should not cry foul, she said. In the Bill of Address, Mirski listed five general charges stating that Brock: Suppressed free speech and criticism of the courts through administrative rules; Attempted to conceal records of judicial misbehavior and complaints against the judiciary; * Usurped legislative and executive authority; Engaged In attempts to intimidate a legislator who proposed measures contrary to the interests of the court; Allowed the court to engage In policy.making that should be off-limits to the courts. The New Hampshire Constitution, Mirski con- tended, created a weak judiciary that Is a creature of the legislature. While serving on a committee examining tie investiga.tion offorizner Newport District Court judge and lawyer John Fairbanks, MirskI said he came to be- lieve that Brock was stonewailing a legitimate inquiry by the legislature into other instances of judicial iniscon. duct. And In communications tegarding a bill to transfer jurisdiction for security in the district courts lst year, Brock improperly lobbied legislators on a policy matter that exceeded the judge's authority, Mirski contended. Mirski denied that filing the Bill of Address was retaliation against Brock for the Claremont II schotol- fundingdecision, which Mirski opposes. Nothing could be further from tile truth, he mid. Karmsnsk, a self-employed legal researcher and persistent critic of court practices, argued that the court denies the public acces to Information, and enforces confidentiality rules designed to hide the misconduct of lawyers and judges. [What isl the connection to the judge [Brockir' Kamasinski mild, Easy-he nakes the rules. After the testinony was completed, lhe hearing was adjourned. Once the tmnscript isipresented,Justice Brock was given two weeks to review the transcript of the hearing before a hearitng will be held to hear his side. Concord attorney Charles Leahy, who is represent. Ing Brock, said the chief justice would not testify before the committee. Leahy, of the Concord law firm of Orr & Reno, said he heard nothing new at all from the testimony of those seeking Brock's removal. N.H. Forum Debates Judicial Independence By Dan Wise BALANCING INI)EPENDE.NCE AND accountability for the state's judiciary was a topic of discusslon atuong law- yers, judges, legislators and audience members at a May 18 forum sponsored by the American Judicature Society (ASS). NHBA President Randall F. Csper, who moderated the first oftwo panels confronting these Issues, emphasized the Importance ojststice in s.ciety. One thing we all need and cry out for is justice; men and women will die for jlst ice, and almst every revolution has been raised for the sake ofjustice. (See page 4 for an article bused on Cooper's remarks.) Judicial independence, Cooper and other speakers Insisted, is necessary to safeguard the Impart hilty of Judges in dispensing justice and In protecting against tyranny. NH. Supreme Court Associate Justice John T. Broderick, Jr., mid: The courts are Independent, not for me, but for you. Broderick and SuperiorCourtChiefJusticetuepli P. Nadeau decried subtle threats to Judicial indepetidence that they see posed In New Hamplsilre When a chief justice can be required to defend himself against general charges, when removal is threat- ened for the kind of cotduct that Is expected of a Judge, judicial independence is compromised, mid Nudeau. FORUM continued on page 22 An Official Publicialun of lite New flunipshlre Bar Aijaclullon