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Bar News - June 6, 2003 Judges Active in 'Academy' Program, Fred Upton to be Honored President's Awards at Annual Meeting FOUR SUPERIOR COURT judges who have played key roles in promoting the Academy alternative sentencing programs in their courts will share the 2003 Justice William A. Grimes Award for Judicial Professionalism to be presented June 27 at the NHBA Annual Meeting by NH Bar President Marty Van Oot. Van Oot also announced that Frederic K. Upton, of Concord, has been named the recipient of the Donald E. Dufresne Professionalism Award. Upton, a Concord lawyer and a former NHBA president, is being recognized for his outstanding career as an attorney and as an advocate for a strong and independent judiciary. Recipients of the Grimes Award will be presiding justices Patricia C. Coffey, of Rockingham County; Kathleen A. McGuire, Merrimack County; Robert E. K. Morrill, of Sullivan County; and Hon. Carol Ann Conboy, of the Hillsborough Northern District. The Academy is a community-based rehabilitation program that has been used as an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent felons, and in some instances, as a pre-trial bail release program. According to a recent analysis of the program by the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy, an independent think tank, the Academy has saved the state approximately $10 million in avoided incarceration costs in the past six years while "successfully protect[ing] the public's safety through aggressive monitoring of the programs' participants and the prompt incarceration of participants who violate the program's rules or threaten public safety." (See page 20 for more details on this research.) The Academy, a statewide program under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, depends on the cooperation of all elements of the justice system in each county - law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, defense attorneys and superior court judges - to make it work. Participation rates vary widely by county, and the enthusiasm, interest and dedication of the judges is critical, Van Oot said. Van Oot said the four judges have worked hard and devoted much time to ensuring that the Academy option is considered for nonviolent felony suspects in their courts and to implementing the supervision needed to make it work. The language of the award being presented to them cites their " extraordinary contribution to the 'Academy' program...a program that has truly made a difference in the lives of many young men and women in this state." Although not named in the award, Van Oot said another strong supporter of the Academy before her appointment to the Supreme Court bench was the Hon. Linda S. Dalianis, who had been presiding justice of Hillsborough Superior Court-South. In Sullivan County, where the Academy program began, Judge Morrill relies heavily on the program, and the county has the highest rates of referral, as a percentage of population, of any superior court in the state. In Merrimack County, Judge McGuire has used the program not only for sentenced individuals, but also as part of a supervised release program that keeps pre-trial defendants out of the county jail. Most of the judges heavily involved in the Academy program hold regular sessions in which they review the progress of individuals participating in the Academy - making sure, for example, that individuals are following through on mandated substance abuse treatment or counseling, or are showing up for work, under the conditions of their customized program. If they are not, they can face immediate sanctions, including confinement. And every year, many of these judges personally preside over Academy graduation ceremonies, which signify completion of the most intensive phase of supervision under the Academy model. The Grimes Award is named in honor of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William A. Grimes, of Dover. Grimes, who served as a trial judge for almost 20 years before his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1966, was nationally known as an instructor for the National Judicial College and as the author of a highly regarded annual survey of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on criminal cases. NHBA President Randall F. Cooper first presented the Grimes Award in 1999. The following year, NHBA President George R. Moore renamed the Attorney Professionalism Award in honor of Devine Millimet attorney Donald E. Dufresne, a well-regarded litigator and mentor to many. Upton, 84, is being recognized for a long career of service to the public and the profession, including many years serving as a member and chair of the Judicial Conduct Committee. Upton was president of the NH Bar in 1970-71. He is an of counsel member of the Upton & Hatfield law firm. "Throughout his career as an attorney in New Hampshire, Fred has - by his quiet example, his unwavering defense of judicial independence, his loyalty to his partners, and his commitment to his family and his community - exemplified professionalism," said Van Oot. Also to be honored at the Annual Meeting will be Robert Varney, a Wolfeboro attorney and district court judge, the recipient of the NHBA President's Award for Distinguished Service to the Public. Varney, whose award was announced in the May 23 issue of Bar News, was honored for his longtime service on the Professional Conduct Committee, and his championing of reforms aimed at reducing the backlogs and delays that plague the all-volunteer system. The Friday evening banquet also is the occasion for the recognition of the outgoing and incoming members of the judiciary and this year's group of honorary bar members - those who have reached the milestone of 50 years in the practice of law (based on the anniversary of the Bar member's first admission to the bar in any jurisdiction). Profiles of the 50-year Bar members will appear in subsequent issues of Bar News. The Saturday evening banquet traditionally is focused on the transition of the Bar presidency. This year, Van Oot will hand over the president's gavel to Russell Hilliard, of Upton & Hatfield.
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