OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM has faced unprecedented scrutiny in the past year. After the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Brock concluded, the Legislature began sifting through a mountain of proposals aimed at making changes to the judicial system, and touching on many aspects of practice.

In order to increase awareness and foster discussion of these issues, the Bar’s Member Outreach program (the folks who last year brought you "Can the legal profession survive the ‘dot-comet?’") will take this discussion from the confines of Concord out to Bar members on their home turf.

Coming up at local bar association meetings on September 20 in Nashua and October 16 in Manchester, the Member Outreach Task Force will present a fast-paced, interactive program aimed at stimulating discussion and soliciting Bar member input on several proposed constitutional amendments and other pressing issues regarding our legal system. The program will utilize the latest in presentation technology, including videotaped presentations offering differing viewpoints on several topics, including:

• Article 73-a – The proposed amendment to change Part 2, Article 73-a of the NH Constitution that would affect whether the ultimate authority for rule making in the courts rests with the judicial branch or with the Legislature.
• Judicial Accountability – Should the state judiciary’s lifetime tenure be limited? Should there be a reappointment and review process? Will a review process subject the judiciary to political pressures?
• JCC/PCC – Who should have oversight over disciplinary committees that deal with the conduct of lawyers and judges? Would changes in the composition of these committees to include more non-lawyers be desirable? Are changes necessary in the PCC’s procedures to create more due process? Is the all-volunteer nature of the PCC feasible given its workload?
• Court resource issues – The judicial branch’s biennial budget was cut by a significant amount. The Legislature specifically reduced appropriations for security in the district courts. At the same time, the court’s plan to modernize its computer technology received a major capital appropriation. How will the court’s struggle to meet the bottom line affect its operations and, ultimately, your practice?

The first Outreach program will be held in conjunction with the Nashua Bar Association meeting at Martha’s Exchange Restaurant & Brewing Co., 185 Main Street, Nashua, starting at 5:30 on Sept. 20. Make reservations ($20 for dinner, check payable to Nashua Bar Association) by contacting Gary Braun, Nashua Bar Association secretary, at 882-5157, (fax: 882-2694, e-mail gab@winerbennett.com) or by mail to Braun, c/o Winer & Bennett, P.O. Box 488, Nashua, 03061. Please make reservations by Friday, September 14.

The Manchester Bar Association will host the program on Oct. 16 at Fratello’s Ristorante in Manchester.

The Bar Outreach Committee is interested in holding this important program at other gatherings around the state. If your local Bar group would like to schedule one of these sessions, please contact Richard Uchida, chair of the Local Bar Outreach Committee, at 224-5004 immediately. The program takes slightly more than one hour, including discussion, and can be conducted in conjunction with a regularly scheduled meeting at a mutually convenient time.

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