THE NH HOUSE of Representatives recently voted down a bill that would have limited judges to renewable 10-year term limits, meaning NH will remain one of just three states in the nation with lifetime tenure for its judges.

The House voted 196-162 against CACR 16, an amendment to the state’s constitution that would have set the term limit for new judges. The measure passed the Senate last spring.

The bill’s defeat keeps in place lifetime appointments for judges. In NH, judges are required to retire at age 70, but can then continue to serve on a part-time basis. Massachusetts has the same rule. In Rhode Island, the other state with life tenure, judges can serve as long as they wish; there is no mandatory retirement age.

CACR 16 would have also required all new judges to be nominated and selected by an independent commission instead of by the governor, and to be reviewed every 10 years. Gov. Jeanne Shaheen supported renewable term limits for judges, and put in place last year a Judicial Selection Commission to review candidates for judicial positions, similar to the commission proposed in CACR 16.

Proponents of the measure, like Rep. Tony Soltani (R-Epsom), said it was key to reforming a judicial system lacking in accountability and fraught with "judicial arrogance."

Rep. Jack Pratt (D-Walpole) was among those voicing opposition to judicial term limits, saying that NH’s judges are, on the whole, excellent. "One can argue there are bad apples in the judicial barrel. The overwhelming testimony at our committee was that we have one of the best judiciaries in the United States," Pratt said.

The measure was one of dozens of judicial reform bills proposed last year in the wake of the Senate impeachment trial of NH Supreme Court Chief Justice David A. Brock. The Senate voted to acquit Brock on all four charges of ethics violations he faced.

Many of the proposed judicial reform bills were said to be aimed at restoring public confidence in the state’s judiciary. Although most have been voted down, measures to set up an independent Judicial Conduct Commission and to set a five-year term limit on the Supreme Court’s chief justice post after Brock’s tenure ends were approved.

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