ACCORDING TO COURT officials, an implementation date for the new process of the NH Supreme Court's automatically accepting all direct appeals from the state's trial courts had still not been determined at press time.

The new process was scheduled to be in place Sept. 1, but judicial branch budget cuts forced the Supreme Court to postpone its start. Although the process is not expected to immediately require additional funding, the expansion of appellate review will require staff realignment and procedural and technical changes in court rules. According to Supreme Court Clerk Eileen Fox, the budget woes made reallocation of staff resources to implement the new process nearly impossible. "We had planned to convert some positions here to assist in the new process - it wouldn't have required new money - but the Court decided not to fill some of those positions during the budget crisis. It wasn't clear what was going to happen in terms of staffing, so the new process had to be postponed," Fox said.

Under the current system, in place since 1979, the justices screen all requests for ap peals filed by litigants and, based upon established criteria, decide which ones the Court will accept or decline. In January, the Supreme Court announced that that system of discretionary review, seen 24 years ago as a way to manage the Supreme Court's burgeoning caseload, would be set aside to allow for broader access to New Hampshire's only appeals court.

Because the goal of the new appeals process is to make the state's only appeals court more accessible to citizens, its delay is another example of budget cuts harming the public, not just the courts. "The goal of the new process is to allow broader access to the Court, and at best that's been delayed," said Fox. "If we had implemented the system on September 1, it was our hope that litigants in all cases would have had the right to appeal. At this point, appeals are still discretionary."

Postponement of the new appellate process is not the only effect the Supreme Court has felt as a result of budget cuts. Although the Court has not had to lay off any staff members, 11 staff positions remain vacant at the Court. Despite this shortage, the Court has managed to keep up with its caseload, according to Fox.

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