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Bar News - August 16, 2002 Carroll, Strafford Superior Courts LImit Telephone Access By: Lisa Sandford Making Time for Paperwork IF YOU’RE CALLING Carroll or Strafford County Superior Court between the hours of 1 and 3 p.m., expect to get an answering machine. In an attempt to address the backlog of work that has resulted from dwindling staff numbers caused by judicial budget constraints, NH Superior Court Chief Justice Walter L. Murphy authorized the Carroll and Strafford superior courts to close their phones to incoming calls from 1 to 3 p.m. each day. The courts will continue to remain open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and calls will be taken between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 3 and 4 p.m. The new protocol will be in place indefinitely. Hillsborough County Superior Court – South is also following this protocol on an informal basis, but Murphy said he plans to make it a formal procedure in that court "very soon." "The courts in some locations – particularly Carroll, Hillsborough South and Strafford – are overwhelmed with paperwork to the extent that it’s become a crisis," said Murphy. "This is resulting in unacceptable delays in scheduling cases, forwarding orders – including orders of notice – and doing the necessary work the staff does on a daily basis." "This (break in incoming phone calls) gives the staff the opportunity to address the backlog without interruption. It gives them some time when they can concentrate on getting orders out, et cetera," Murphy said. As an example of this backlog, Murphy pointed to Strafford Superior’s domestic relations department, where as of Aug. 1, there were 272 items of mail to be docketed and filed, dating back as far as June 28; there were 184 hearing or trial notices to be scheduled and sent out, dating back to June 7; and 407 orders to be docketed and mailed, dating back as far as June 10. In Strafford Superior in 2001, there were 1,118 new entries and 1,844 re-entries in the domestic area alone, according to Murphy. "In domestic relations, any motion to modify is entitled to have a hearing within 30 days. To accommodate this provision, everything else comes to a screeching halt – particularly paperwork. Cases without the same time constraints are put on the back burner." The increasing amount of work is coupled with dropping staff numbers to add to the ever-growing backlog in the courts. Staff members leaving for various reasons – because of retirement, illness, low staff morale or other reasons – can’t be replaced because of inadequate funding. "We currently don’t have sufficient funds to pay for vacancies to be filled – and these are vacancies caused by attrition, not additional positions that continue to go unfilled. We’re relying on attrition in order to meet our financial obligations," said Murphy. He said that as of about July 22, there were 52 vacancies in the superior courts and he had just been notified of two more in Hillsborough South. "The work becomes oppressive because of the lack of help," Murphy said. "We have employees working Saturdays and Sundays without being paid overtime; we have employees working until 8 p.m. It’s unfair." "And it’s unfair to the public. A delay in people getting their cases resolved is unacceptable. They’re also not being notified of the resolution of their matters in a timely fashion," Murphy added. In a notice informing Bar and public members of the new phone protocol, Strafford County Superior Court Clerk Julie W. Howard said that her court, like others across the state, "is unable to process critical pieces of work in a timely way." "Increasing numbers of people are looking to the court system, either with a lawyer or by themselves, seeking a resolution of their differences. Accordingly, demands for service on the court system are ever-increasing. Unfortunately, at this time in our state, the court system is experiencing an unprecedented shortfall in the funding needed to ensure the system is able to operate," said Howard. Closing the phones for two hours a day will hopefully financial obligations," said Murphy. He said that as of about give staff time to address the backlog "and ensure that you are receiving the service you need from your court system," said Howard. "We hope that by taking this step, we can improve our service to you, our constituents." Those calling Strafford Superior while the phones are closed can leave a detailed message with case name and docket number and a staff member will make every effort to return the call between 3 and 4 p.m. Also, anyone wanting to drop mail off for the Clerk’s Office after the office closes at 4 p.m. can use a mail drop box in the lobby of the Grimes Justice and Administration Building. In Carroll County, judicial budget woes have resulted in over a third of the staff positions in the Superior Court Clerk’s Office remaining vacant since October 2001. The phone shut-down hours are be ing instituted "to ensure that clerk staff members are able to adequately address matters that are pending before the court," said Murphy in a notice regarding the policy. As of June 7, Carroll Superior had closed its criminal department in the mornings to dedicate that staff time to addressing the backlog. With the institution of the new phone protocol, that closure will be discontinued, according to Carroll County Clerk Samuel C. Farrington. "We anticipate that the…changes will allow the court to adequately address family as well as other matters in Carroll County, and enable staff to schedule hearings and issue decisions in a timely manner," Farrington said. Murphy expects the cutback in phone hours will be implemented in other courts, as well, and the cutback hours may even have to be extended. He said there have been other proposed ways of addressing backlog, like closing the courts to the public completely during certain hours, but he is "dead set against" that option unless it becomes absolutely necessary. He believes the new phone protocol will help address the court backlog while causing the least inconvenience to the public. "It’s not a happy solution, but it’s the best solution, the least disruptive thing we can do without interrupting the court’s operations," he said.
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