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Bar News - February 21, 2003 News Digest Gretchen Witt Named to AG's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys Gretchen Witt, civil chief of the NH Attorney General's Office, was one of nine new members appointed by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to serve on his 2003 Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys. The committee provides advice and counsel to the attorney general on law enforcement issues and provides a voice for the United States Attorneys in making department policy. Witt has been appointed to serve a two-year term, expiring on Dec. 31, 2004. Witt has served as the civil chief for the AG's Office since 1986. She currently serves as chair of the Advisory Committee's Civil Chief's Working Group. Witt has made major contributions in the area of civil litigation with regard to tort defense, environmental enforcement, and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act during her tenure with the AG's Office. She was previously a trial attorney for the Torts Branch, U.S. Department of Justice (1982-1986). Newport District Court Construction Progressing Construction on the new Newport District Court is ahead of schedule, according to town manager Dan O'Neill, and the facility should be completed by April. The new district court, which will be located on Main Street, will replace a building that has been deemed inadequate for court facilities according to state standards. At 2,700 square feet, the old courthouse is well below the state guideline of 6,000-7,000 square feet; the clerk's office, judge's chambers and other facilities are all cramped and considered inappropriate. The new $575,000 courthouse will have conference space, a separate entrance for defendants, public restrooms and enough space to separate juveniles from older offenders. About $350,000 in donations from local residents has helped to fund the project. There is ongoing discussion that could determine whether the new court ends up being a temporary facility. State law calls for the consolidation of the Newport and Claremont district courts into one court facility, but Claremont State Rep. John Cloutier has introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Newport Rep. Beverly Rodeschin, that would keep the courts separate. If the bill succeeds, Newport District Court would serve Claremont, Cornish, Unity, Charlestown, Langdon, Acworth and Plainfield; and Newport District Court would serve Croydon, Newport, Springfield, Goshen, Lempster, Washington, Sunapee and Grantham.
Alternative Sentencing Praised The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies recently gave high marks to the Dept. of Correction's Academy program, which utilizes drug treatment, counseling and job training to rehabilitate nonviolent criminals . In its report, the Center said that the program not only helps to rehabilitate participants and protect the public, but also saves counties and the state money - about $10 million over the last six years. The Academy program uses an intensive, community-based model in which participants hold jobs and live at home, under close supervision, in addition to participating in drug treatment, counseling, vocational and educational programs. Failure to comply with any part of the program results in the participant going back to jail. The report recommended that the Academy program be extended to include a broader range of offenders, but also suggested improvements to the program's management and data collection, including analyzing and publishing information about its recidivism rates. The Academy program began in Sullivan County in 1994 and is now in place in every county. In recent years, there have been about 260 offenders, or about 10 percent of the prison population, enrolled in the program. IOLTA Case Before U.S. Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December in the case of Washington Legal Foundation v. Legal Foundation of Washington, a case in which the petitioners are seeking to enjoin Washington's Interest On Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program on the grounds that it violates the 5th Amendment Takings Clause. The Washington Legal Foundation is appealing a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that there were no 5th Amendment Takings. A decision in the case isn't expected until later this year. In the meantime, IOLTA programs in New Hampshire and across the nation continue to operate as usual and provide funding for civil legal services. Push to Preserve Historic Carroll County Courthouse The Ossipee Historical Society is behind an effort to preserve the 1915 Carroll County Superior Court building when the court moves to a new facility in October. Once the court moves into its new $6.2 million courthouse facility, the historic building now housing the superior court will revert to the county. The Historical Society is proposing that the county preserve the building and make it available for use as a meeting hall for regional historic societies and other community groups. The vintage brick building features marble staircases, hand-carved woodwork and 50-foot ceilings. The 170-member Ossipee Historical Society has stated that it currently has funds available to maintain the building. At press time, the Carroll County commissioners were considering the proposal. NH Attorneys Help Expose Bankruptcy Fraud Manchester Attorney Timothy Smith, a chapter 7 trustee, and his counsel, Nashua attorney Michael Askenaizer, recently played a role in discovering and investigating bankruptcy fraud by a Massachusetts lawyer. Attorney Dennis Monahan of Medway, Mass., pled guilty to a charge of bankruptcy fraud in U.S. District Court in May based on his concealment of assets in a case involving the bankruptcy of Advanced Precision Technologies, Inc., of Seabrook, NH. Smith's office, the Office of the United States Trustee in Manchester, and the FBI discovered and reported the fraud. The Trustee's Office and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mark W. Vaughn referred the case to the U.S. attorney for prosecution. Monahan was sentenced by Judge Steven McAuliffe on Aug. 28, 2002.
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