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Bar News - May 6, 2005 Citizens' Group to Provide Input on Future of Courts  Gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court building on April 18 were members of the Citizens' Commission on the State Courts. Chief Justice Broderick, center, introduced the members of the Commission, which will be chaired by two non-lawyers. Flanking Broderick are the other members of the Supreme Court. Will Abbott, executive director of the Mount Washington Observatory, and Katharine Eneguess, president of the Community Technical College in Berlin and Laconia, have been named co-chairs of the Citizens Commission on the State Courts. To help focus its mission, said Abbott, the Commission will operate under the subtitle: "Honoring the Past, Preparing for the Future." The Supreme Court formed the 100-member commission, two-thirds of whom are non-lawyers (including both co-chairs) to study the state court system. After gathering input from the public, the group is charged with recommending how to make the state's courts more accessible and understandable, and finding ways to reduce the expense and trauma of legal processes. The group has set an 18-month timetable for its work, which is initially supported by a $25,000 startup grant from the NH Bar Foundation, although additional operating grants will be sought from other sources, Abbott said. "Today is a historic day," said Chief Justice Broderick, with the commission members gathered behind him on the steps of the Supreme Court. "I don't know of a more important thing that the Supreme Court has done." The commission members, individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, were given a reading list on their first day - a folder bulging with the reports of four task forces or commissions that have already made recommendations about the structure and substance of the court system. (These four reports are excerpted in the Winter 2005 issue of the New Hampshire Bar Journal). The leaders of the groups that produced those reports -Associate Justice James E. Duggan (Pro Se Task Force); Associate Justice Linda S. Dalianis (Family Division Implementation Committee); Attorney Bruce Felmly (Task Force on Justice System Needs & Priorities), and Nina Gardner (Family Law Task Force)-each briefed the commission members at the first meeting, which took place inside the Supreme Court's courtroom. Andy Smith, director of the U Survey Center, also discussed some of the planned public outreach efforts the commission will undertake. Co-chair Will Abbott said he envisioned the commission's work proceeding in four phases - information gathering (until December); deliberations on the recommendations of a report; writing the report; and, lastly, discussing and advocating for its findings. Abbott said he wanted to emulate the 9/11 Commission that, after issuing its report late last year, made a concerted effort to explain and advocate for its findings. "A lot of input was received after the release of the commission's report. I want [our]commission members to be committed to the process of advocating for the recommendations that we make." Co-Chair Katharine Eneguess laid out the group's first assignments: reading the materials, and contacting at least five friends or acquaintances to administer a brief survey of their knowledge and perception of the state courts. Eneguess said this information will be a prelude to the commission's efforts at gathering public input through a variety of means, including public hearings, surveys and focus groups. In his introductory remarks, Chief Justice Broderick conveyed his belief that changes in the court system are urgently needed to help the court system better address the needs of today's users, and he asked the commission members to closely examine the reports that have already been prepared. "It is not as if the court does not have a vision," he said, but the recommendations by largely court-led entities must be evaluated by a broader-based group of citizens to ensure that they will be workable and embraced by the state as a whole. Broderick, a former trial lawyer, said familiarity with the courts and legal training wasn't required to conduct this task. He likened their initiation to the commission to "the role of a juror on the first day of a complex medical malpractice case." Broderick also sought to dispel concerns that the efforts to make the courts more accessible are aimed at diminishing the role of lawyers. "I hope we can develop a system where there will be more lawyers in the courts because lawyers will be more affordable," he said, after quoting figures about the high numbers of litigants appearing pro se in the courts. Broderick and the commission's co-chairs emphasized the group's independence. No members of the Supreme Court will serve on the commission, and Eneguess said that much of the work of the commission will be carried out via e-mail which will go directly to the commission's co-chairs, rather than being vetted by court officials. All of the commission's meetings also will be open to the public. The group is next scheduled to meet on June 13 at the Administrative Office of the Courts. Citizens' Commission on the State Courts Will Abbott, co-chair, North Conway, |
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