Judge Gary Hicks speaking at his swearing-in to the NH Supreme Court

Last month, Superior Court Associate Justice Gary E. Hicks took office as the 104th member of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, following his swearing-in on Jan. 30, 2006.

Nominated by Gov. Lynch to succeed Joseph P. Nadeau, Hicks was unanimously confirmed by the NH Executive Council. Lynch selected Hicks, a trial court judge since 2001, from a list of candidates screened by the Judicial Selection Commission.

Hicks, 52, a native of Colebrook, obtained an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and his law degree from Boston University Law School. He practiced for 23 years at the law firm of Wiggin & Nourie before his appointment to the Superior Court.

At the ceremony, Hicks thanked his family for their support, the governor and his staff and the Judicial Selection Commission and the Executive Council for their diligence in the judicial selection process, and he closed his remarks with two promises:

 “Part I, Article 35 of the New Hampshire Constitution provides, among other things, that judges of the Supreme Judicial Court should hold their office so long as they behave well. 

I promise to behave.

Part I, Article 8 provides in part that ‘All power residing originally in, and being derived from the people, all magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents and at all times accountable to them.’

I promise never, ever, to forget that.”

At his confirmation hearing, Judge Hicks remarked that as a trial court judge, he had “never once had to use a gavel” to control activity in his courtroom. Hicks acknowledged that such an admission did seem unusual, and he went on to say that he saw his not having to use his gavel for control as an accomplishment. Explaining how he had succeeded without using it, he said: “You have to stay ahead of the lawyers and the parties and try to anticipate what’s going to happen next. I thought that if I couldn’t control my courtroom through my personality, that it would have been something of a defeat. I don’t think I could have gone on forever without using it [the gavel], but I did get through four years.”

Justice Hicks said he would miss the interaction with lawyers and staff of the trial court, but he looks forward to the challenge of service on the Supreme Court; he acknowledged that sitting on the Supreme Court had been a long-time ambition.