 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Bar News - January 5, 2001 James E. Duggan Confirmed as New Supreme Court Justice By: Lisa Sandford JAMES E. DUGGAN, Franklin Pierce Law Center professor and a "founding father" of the state's Appellate Defender Program, was confirmed Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000, as the newest associate justice of NH's highest court. He succeeds Justice Sherman D. Horton Jr., who retired in November. Duggan opted not to be interviewed by the press during the confirmation process. An interview with him will appear in a future issue of Bar News. Duggan was the first Supreme Court justice appointed by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen since she created the Judicial Selection Commission by an executive order last summer. His selection was hailed by many in the legal community who said that Duggan's lack of political connections showed the value of the merit-based approach of the JSC in the judicial appointment process. (See page 21 for an update on the Judicial Selection Commission's busy first months of existence.) The governor's five-member Executive Council unanimously approved Duggan's nomination following a review process and a public hearing at which about 20 of Duggan's supporters spoke ardently in favor of his nomination. Only one man, Daniel Fletcher - a former indigent criminal defendant once represented by Duggan in the late 70s - spoke against his nomination, saying that Duggan had acted slowly in his case and, as a result, allowed him to be "warehoused" in NH and NJ state prisons. But those who have worked with Duggan through his years of defense and appellate work and teaching praise him as a man of integrity, honesty, intelligence, objectivity and experience - all of which, they say, make him the ideal choice for Supreme Court justice. A career in public service Duggan, 58, of Amherst, earned both his undergraduate degree in political science and his law degree from Georgetown University. He began his legal career as a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service in Washington, D.C., in the early 70s. He also worked as a civil lawyer on environmental damage cases in Micronesia before coming to NH in 1973. Duggan was admitted to the NH Bar in 1974. That year he joined the staff of the fledgling Hillsborough County Public Defender Office, becoming one of the state's first public defenders and handling mostly felony cases in the Manchester and Nashua District Courts. He became director of the Public Defender programs for Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties during his three-year tenure. He also served as acting director of NH Public Defender later in his career, from 1991 to 1992, when it had grown to a then 55-attorney statewide program. In 1977, Duggan began teaching criminal procedure, appellate defender and other courses at Franklin Pierce Law Center. There he began the NH Appellate Defender program - of which he most recently served as chief appellate defender - in 1980 to help indigent criminal defendants appeal their cases. Through the program, Duggan represented some 300 such defendants before the Supreme Court, appealing on issues of federal or state constitutional law, statutory law, rules of evidence and common law. He is believed to have appeared before the court more times than any other lawyer in the state's history. A legacy of public defense work Throughout his career, Duggan has earned the respect and acclaim of fellow Bar members. Duggan has so far left his mark on the NH legal system, colleagues say, through his work with the Public Defender and Appellate Defender programs. Kenneth J. Barnes, litigation director for New Hampshire Legal Assistance, worked at the Public Defender Office while Duggan was acting executive director. He said that Duggan's "leadership and vision" helped build the Public Defender program into "one of the largest and highest-quality law firms in the state." "In other states, people often speak disparagingly about public defenders. Here in NH, they do an outstanding job representing indigent criminal defendants, in large measure because of Jim," said Barnes. Barnes said that it is the consistently high-quality work of Public Defender, not just the growth of the program, that Duggan was instrumental in achieving. "He insisted on top-notch lawyering, on people taking their time to do the best work possible for their clients. It helps the entire criminal justice system to have good lawyers on both sides," Barnes said. As for his criminal appellate work, Barnes praised Duggan as the "consummate appellate lawyer." He said he has often found himself suggesting to new lawyers that if they want to see the "epitome of effective appellate advocacy, go see Jim Duggan." "Through Appellate Defender, he has established the credibility of the Public Defender program before the Supreme Court. He's done an excellent job," said Paul C. Semple, of McSwiney, Stemple, Bowers & Wise. Semple worked with Duggan at Public Defender in the early 70s. These colleagues of Duggan's didn't cite specific cases he was involved in that had an impact on NH law, but rather his many years of criminal defense work. Good lawyer, good choice Duggan has demonstrated qualities as a lawyer that many of his colleagues believe will make him an excellent Supreme Court justice. In addition to his extensive knowledge of the law, he also has the ability to analyze those laws and their impact, said Barnes. "He is able to express arguments clearly, articulate them as a legal matter, and at the same time he is able to show the court the human impact of a case - how it will affect the litigants. I think that's the most important criterion for being a good judge - the ability to see how your rulings will affect real human beings," Barnes said. "He is a top-notch lawyer and legal mind and the best choice the governor could have made," he said. Dick Hesse has been a fellow professor of Duggan's at FPLC since 1977. He echoed Barnes's words, saying that as a lawyer, Duggan demonstrated the "enormous capacity" for not just looking at the law, but "looking behind it - its purpose, values and the needs and interests of his clients." Hesse added that Duggan has been an "outstanding teacher, respected legal scholar and has tremendous analytical skills" - all of which he believes will be of great value on the bench of the state's highest court. "He has extraordinary experience as an advocate before the appellate court and therefore has a strong sense of its function; he has a demonstrated ability to be an advocate for positive, careful, thoughtful examination of the law; he has a marvelous temperament; and he is a marvelous teacher. He'll be able to explain why the law is the way it is," said Hesse. "He's a superb choice. His intelligence, experience and temperament will make him an excellent justice," agreed Semple. A welcome addition Many of his colleagues believe Duggan will be a welcome addition to the Supreme Court at a time when it is trying to rebuild the faith lost in it and in the state judicial system overall. A self-professed political pragmatist, Duggan said at his confirmation hearing that he brings neither a conservative nor liberal approach to the bench. "My political philosophy is pragmatic. The court has to be very concerned with the impact its decisions have on the system, people, institutions and the state," he said. "Taking into account the problems of the court as of late, an appointee like Jim Duggan at this time is an excellent situation for the New Hampshire Supreme Court," said Hesse.
|