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Bar News - August 15, 2008 50-Year Members Honored Hon. Sherman D. Horton "I wish it was five years in rather than 50," said former NH Supreme Court Associate Justice Sherman D. Horton of reaching his 50-year honorary member status, "but I’m thankful that I made it this far." Judge Horton, born in Kansas City and raised in Minneapolis, didn’t originally plan to be a lawyer. Rather, he’d planned on going into banking. But, after graduating from Dartmouth College, he joined the Navy and decided that he’d better make use of the three years of education offered to him by Uncle Sam. In the Navy from 1953 to 1955, Judge Horton was stationed first off the coast of Korea during the end of the Korean War. "The Chinese heard I joined up and decided that they’d better call a truce," he joked of his service. "I loved the Navy. There were good people and good times and two years of service paid for law school." After his Navy deployment he returned to the states to pursue a law degree at Harvard Law School. "I figured a law degree would be useful in a lot of different ways and Harvard was a good school." When he graduated, Horton took a position in Nashua with the Sullivan & Gregg law firm. "I spent my entire career as an attorney, 40 years, at Sullivan & Gregg. I really enjoyed private practice. When you represent people you have a defined task and a target that you’re trying to reach. It was exciting." In 1990, Horton, upon the nomination of then Gov. Judd Gregg, a former partner of Sullivan & Gregg, joined the NH Supreme Court. "I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it," he said. "It’s so different; deciding on whether something is right is a lot different from arguing a point-of-view as an attorney. It ended up being very rewarding and a good way to phase into retirement, since they kick you out at 70." Since retiring, Judge Horton has traveled extensively, visiting much of Europe, Central America and Asia. He said that given the right trip, he may go abroad again, but for now, he is enjoying his peace and quiet by the lake where he lives.
Justice Phillip Howorth to the Defense After 19 years as a justice of the Nashua District Court, Judge H. Phillip Howorth reluctantly retired in 2003 at the mandatory age of 70. He’s back in court these days – as an attorney in the immigration court in Boston. In a After a couple of years, Judge Howorth eventually became actively involved in the law practice started by his wife, Anne Marie (admitted to the NHBA in 1960), and his daughter, 2003 admittee Joanna Howorth, in immigration/criminal defense. Judge Howorth says he is focusing on bail hearings for detained immigrants in the immigration court in Boston. The more complex area of representing immigrants in the later stages of the process, change of status proceedings, is beyond his expertise. It is a totally different legal environment, and not just because he’s in federal court, Howorth says. "Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle, coming back to practice after 19 years," he says. But he is proud of the difficult work that his family’s firm is doing. Judge Howorth’s tenure in the Nashua District Court, particularly his interest in juvenile matters, did not go unrecognized. Nashua District Court’s juvenile courtroom was named in his honor. During his last day on the bench, Nashua attorney Kent Barker, of Barker & Goldsmith, speaking on behalf of a group of area attorneys, thanked Judge Howorth for his service. He praised Howorth as a judge who always listened and paid attention, no matter what the case. "You never turned your mind off," Barker said. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Haverford College and Harvard Law School, Howorth was in private practice in Massachusetts and New Hampshire before being named Nashua’s assessor in 1972 and city solicitor and corporation counsel in 1973. He was appointed associate justice of Nashua District Court in 1984. Howorth has a son, Paul, and two daughters, Joanna and Claire; his daughters are both members of the NH and Mass. Bars.
The brand-new lawyer returned to appear before the Supreme Court that afternoon, arguing a case on behalf of Dartmouth College, as an associate for the Lebanon law firm of Cotton, Tesreau & Stebbins. "Haven’t I seen you somewhere else today?" asked Chief Justice Frank Rowe Kenison. Justice Johnson, who retired from the Supreme Court in 1999 after 14 years on the appellate court and 16 years on the superior court bench, today lives in Hanover with Nancy, his wife of 54 years. He recently returned to Concord for the conference room dedication ceremony in honor of US Supreme Court Associate Justice David H. Souter, with whom Johnson served on both the superior court and the NH Supreme Court. From the start, Johnson’s career included participation in politics and government. He joined the law firm of Norris Cotton, who later was elected a US Senator. Johnson himself entered politics in 1963 when he was elected to the NH House of Representatives, and then the NH State Senate, where he was elected Majority Leader. He worked on the successful gubernatorial campaign of Walter Peterson and then became the governor’s legal counsel. Johnson, in an interview with Bar News upon his retirement, said that he felt he made an impact in both his legislative and judicial careers. "You can do more for the people of the state in politics than as a judge," he said. "You can create something good for the community."In that same interview, he also said: "It’s a nice feeling to know that 50 years from now people are going to cite something I’ve written. You feel like you have left some legacy." In addition, Johnson is proud of his personal legacy. He cites his two daughters: Catherine, who lives in Hanover and owns a clothing store; and Susan, a successful golf coach and now assistant athletic director at Tulane University.
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