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Bar News - December 16, 2005 News Digest
Sobriety checkpoints conducted last summer by Portsmouth police were unconstitutional, a Portsmouth District Court judge found, resulting in the dismissal of charges against five defendants. District Court Judge Sharon DeVries said the checkpoints conducted July 8 and 9 were illegal because they weren’t publicized in advance. According to a Dec. 1 Portsmouth Herald article, the judge’s decision cited a 1986 Supreme Court opinion on a legislative proposal never enacted into law. The opinion of the justices said the checkpoint law would be constitutional, in part, because of a required seven-day warning. The article said: “DeVries also cited state attorney general’s operative guidelines” that note that advance publicity “is of critical importance” to ensure the checkpoints “withstand judicial scrutiny.” Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said he will ask the NH Attorney General’s Office to appeal the ruling. He told the newspaper: “I think [the judge] is flat wrong. I think she’s got a predetermined outcome and is reading the law to [achieve] that outcome.”
Reams’ office had asked Judge DeVries to recuse herself from hearing the first case resulting from the checkpoint arrests, citing comments by DeVries at an earlier hearing where she expressed disapproval of police checkpoints. ABA Award Nominations Sought Environmental Law and Policy Award The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources is now accepting nominations for its 2006 Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy. The awards recognize people or organizations that have contributed to improving the substance, process, or understanding of environmental law or policy. For a nomination packet, visit www.abanet.org/publicserv/environmental/ or call (202) 662-1694. Michael Franck Award The ABA Center for Professional Responsibility is now accepting nominations for the 2006 Michael Franck Award. The award, named in honor of the late executive director of the State Bar of Michigan, is presented to an individual who has displayed the highest level of dedication to legal professionalism. The nomination deadline is January 6, 2006. Visit www.abanet.org/cpr/franck.html for a nomination form and additional information or call (312) 988-5300. Disability Rights Award The ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law is now accepting nominations for the sixth annual Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights. The award is presented annually to a person or organization that has performed exemplary service in furthering the rights, dignity, and access to justice of people with disabilities. Nominations must be postmarked by March 1, 2006. Contact Jamie Herz at herzj@staff.abanet.org or (312) 988-5682.
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