The Rudman Courthouse in Concord on April 16 was the site of a Federal Criminal Practice Roundtable discussion, during which the five USDC-NH judges answered questions from 50 attorneys intent on getting a better understanding on the workings of the federal criminal court.

Chief Justice Steven McAuliffe, Senior Judge Justice Joseph DiClerico, Judge Paul Barbadoro, Judge Joseph LaPlante and Magistrate Judge James Muirhead sat before attorneys and answered questions on a range of topics, from general procedure to the variety of ways in which the court’s efficiency could be increased.

"This discussion grew out of a Federal Practice Institute held by the NH Bar Association last year where we had an informal Q&A with the judges," said Chief Deputy Clerk Dan Lynch as he opened the roundtable. "Judge Barbadoro suggested that we host future roundtable sessions with the bar to facilitate an open dialog between the bench and bar and the Federal Practice Section requested we follow up on that suggestion with a criminal practice forum followed by a civil practice forum later in the year."

The event, co-sponsored by the NHBA Federal Practice Section, gave attorneys the opportunity to hear candid responses from federal judges regarding questions they had about the criminal practice in this district. Attorneys raised questions about interacting with juries, giving a proper opening statement and even suggested new ways in which the sentencing process could be completed; all of which the judges answered candidly, providing an invaluable service to the lawyers that regularly practice in the federal court system.

The court, with the cooperation of the NHBA Federal Practice Section, will hold another roundtable on civil practice issues on Friday, June 13, 2008, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Rudman Courthouse in Concord. Attendance is free and the NHMCLE Board has been requested to approve a 1.0 live CLE credit for this program. All you need to do is show up with your questions ready.