Editor's note: The following is the second part of a two-part interview with NH Superior Court Chief Justice Walter L. Murphy, who recently announced he will retire Dec. 31. Part one appeared in the Nov. 7 issue of Bar News, which is available under Publications/Archives.

IN ADDITION TO the obvious growth of the Bar itself from 550 lawyers when he entered NH law practice in 1962 to about 5,000 NH Bar members today, retiring Superior Court Chief Justice Walter L. Murphy has also witnessed a great many changes in how the courts operate.

Most of those changes are due to the ever-growing number of court rules - which are also ever-growing in complexity, Murphy said. He points to the 1945 Rules of the Superior Court, which took up about 40 pages, as opposed to today's Rules book, which is about 160 pages long. Nine volumes comprised the state statutes when he began practicing; now the statutes take up two shelves on his bookshelf.

Something like taking a plea, which used to take five or 10 minutes, now takes closer to 45, Murphy said, because of increasingly complex rules. There are a lot more motions that require long evidentiary hearings, particularly in criminal cases. And there are time-consuming discovery issues to deal with in civil cases. "I believe the practice of law has lost something in becoming so complicated and technical," he said.

Murphy's Future

Murphy said that upon retirement, in addition to missing his colleagues and staff, he will also miss the "judicial function of deciding cases" - something he hopes to continue to do part-time on senior status.

After he retires, in addition to traveling and spending time with his family, Murphy hopes to do some teaching at Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he has served as an adjunct faculty member in the past.

Murphy said his favorite part of being a judge has been "being in a position to make a difference in people's lives," and of being a chief justice it has been "being of aid to judges when they make inquiries, and being able to react to situations 'on the fly.'"

"Law practice is a high calling. You hear jokes about lawyers, but when someone gets in trouble, what does he do? He calls a lawyer. I am very proud to be a part of this profession and to have been give the opportunity to be a judge in this state."

Murphy as Law Professor

Dawn Touzin, a graduate of Franklin Pierce Law Center who now practices in Boston, was a student in Murphy's trial advocacy class at FPLC in 1996 and recalls his "booming, deep voice and serious scowl that I'm sure can intimidate the most experienced of attorneys, let alone a 3L."

Over time, though, Murphy's sense of humor started to surface, and Touzin and her classmates came to appreciate his stern but caring demeanor. "With time, I realized there was a smile hidden not very far beneath the scowl that spoke of the fun he had in giving us the benefit of his experience," she said.

"There was a wealth of stuff to learn from this guy, and it wasn't remote information, it was first-hand information full of great insight."

Touzin said Murphy "steered his students sternly with humor."

"He didn't hesitate to critique, but he didn't do so to wound. He was very considerate in his guidance," she said.

By the end of Murphy's class, Touzin said, "You could see his enthusiasm for his students. He delighted as we developed."

Touzin said she appreciated Murphy's first-hand views on what it was like to be an attorney and what to expect in a law career.

"I appreciated his realism. He brought to the classroom his experience of being a judge and an attorney. And as a professor, he recognized effort and was demanding, but was respectful about it," she said.

Murphy as Lawyer, Judge

Retired Supreme Court Justice Bill Batchelder first met Murphy over 40 years ago, when Murphy was a college student. Batchelder gave Murphy his first job practicing law, in Batchelder's small Plymouth law firm. He described Murphy as "a great human being who is dedicated to the law and what the profession is substantially about."

"He respects that people are entitled to fair representation and should be treated with respect and dignity, whether they are clients or people appearing before him in court. He has a great respect for the system of justice in our country," Batchelder said.

Superior Court Judge Harold W. Perkins, who has known Murphy since both were practicing attorneys, said his first impression of Murphy was "as a competent, dedicated attorney and neat guy." Through their relationships as attorneys, members of the Professional Conduct Committee and fellow judges, Perkins has had "nothing but the highest regard for him in all of those capacities," he said.

As a judge, Murphy was "compassionate and controlled the courtroom extremely well," said Perkins. "He got the job done fairly and with dispatch."

Perkins recalled one incident that illustrated Murphy's courtroom control. During a serious criminal case years ago, when the jury announced its guilty verdict, the defendant overturned the counsel table. Judge Murphy calmly recited for the record what the defendant was doing.

Manchester attorney David Nixon, of Nixon, Raiche, Manning, Casinghino & Leach, has also known Murphy since Murphy practiced law in Plymouth. As an attorney appearing before Murphy, Nixon found the judge to be "decisive and knowledgeable, but with a sense of humor." He recalls one case in which a $1.3 million award was on the line, a case in which Murphy was dissatisfied with Nixon's closing argument, so the judge came down off the bench to give his own.

His colleagues considered Murphy tough but fair. "Ingrained in him is a sense of fairness and an appreciation for justice," said Nixon.

As chief justice, Perkins said, Murphy was "a moderating, calming influence on the courts through some difficult times." Perkins said that upon Murphy's retirement, the state and judicial system will be losing "someone who values first and foremost the integrity of the court as an institution, in terms of its ability to function and to serve those it's supposed to serve."

"The judicial system is losing a good judge. He is a person who is very dedicated to making the justice system work in the way that those who wrote the constitution meant it to work; who believes in the system's ability to resolve disputes and level the playing field in our society," said Batchelder.

Nixon said he feels sorry for Murphy's successor. "Those are some awfully big shoes to fill," he said.

Amusing Anecdotes

In 1990 and 1991, I had the great privilege of clerking for the New Hampshire Superior Court. I recall with great fondness my one-year clerkship and Judge Murphy's guidance.

Judge Murphy made my first experience with him rather memorable. He had assigned to me a case, and asked me to research and prepare for him a memorandum outlining the law applicable to that case for his review. I did. I was right out of law school and overly eager to please, so I put my heart and soul into the project, my effort resulting in what I believed to be a document worthy of a law review article.

Later that day, I received word from another clerk, John Curran, that Judge Murphy had asked to see me. I should have known from John's smirk that something was up. I went to his chambers (escorted by John), expecting the judge to extol my great work. As I entered, the judge saw the two of us, stood up, and yelled, louder than I had ever heard any judge speak, saying something like: "Robinson, sit down!" (I did.) "What the hell is this?" (holding the rolled-up memorandum in one of his gesticulating hands). I, of course, turned white and my jaw dropped. John snickered behind me. I asked Judge Murphy what he meant, and he asked, "Are you still in law school?"

"No," I meekly replied.

"No! You're not! I didn't need a damn dissertation on this case, I wanted a one-page summary of the damn law!"

At that point, John couldn't hold back and broke out in laughter, and the judge started laughing, too. "I'm just busting you, Bill." he said. "It's great. Just cut in half and it'll be fine."

I knew from then on how much fun the rest of my clerkship was going to be (and it was).

Judge Murphy has always been held in very high esteem by the trial bar and he has always had a reputation for being fair, even-tempered and intellectually honest in his well-reasoned opinions.

  Unfortunately, his candor came back to bite an alleged drug dealer from Massachusetts whom I was representing in the mid-'80s. Following an evidentiary hearing on a dispositive motion to suppress, (a motion hearing that Judge Murphy had granted to me after I had convinced him I would be unable to specify the grounds for my motion until after the hearing), Judge Murphy wrote an opinion indicating that he was probably wrong in originally granting that evidentiary hearing rather than requiring the defendant to conduct further discovery. Referring to "eating crow," Judge Murphy wrote (in my favorite Superior Court order that was unfavorable to my client - and which eventually resulted in a plea agreement) that: "Inasmuch as I am solely responsible for the preparation of that particular bird, I will dine alone." Shortly after that, a stuffed crow (wearing a sombrero) appeared in the Belknap County judge's chambers. Judge Murphy referred to the crow as "Jose" in memory of that opinion and the defendant in the case.

  Judge Murphy's honesty, experience, ability and sense of humor will be missed.