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Bar News - January 17, 2003 New Leadership in Concord Need Not Revisit Old Conflicts By: Marty Van Oot President's Perspective BY THE TIME you read this, the holiday trimmings and decorations will have long been cleared away, and most of us will either have forgotten or broken the New Year's resolutions that, as I am writing this, you are probably in the process of conceiving. But at the State House, the newness of 2003 has not yet worn off. Over one-third of the 424 members of the New Hampshire Legislature are newly elected, and consistent with national trends, the clear majority is Republican. Craig Benson has taken office as governor after prevailing in a well-financed and effective race against a member of our Bar, Democrat Mark Fernald. For the first time in six years, one party controls both the Legislature and the corner office. With the same party in control of the legislative and the executive branches, there is the possibility for progress rather than deadlock on important issues facing the state. With that power comes true responsibility. It is our hope that our elected officials remain focused on the worthy goals of making government more responsive and efficient for the people - goals that Governor-elect Benson had espoused on the campaign trail and in the transition period. In particular, we hope that this new Legislature and new governor take an untainted view of the many proposals loosely labeled "judicial reform" that cropped up in the last session, and which may be resurrected in this one. Neither Governor-elect Benson nor the newly elected members of the House and Senate participated in the many legislative efforts to restructure the New Hampshire judiciary and the practice of law - efforts that in certain cases were punitive, misguided or poorly conceived. Although certain measures are worthy of further consideration, we urge the new legislators not to allow themselves to be caught up in fomenting unnecessary conflicts between the branches. A new governor, a new Legislature, and a Supreme Court with three new members appointed since the impeachment proceedings began have a clean slate upon which to write. The legislative session that began this month offers a genuine opportunity for the three branches of government in New Hampshire to work on mending relationships that became strained over the past several years. As a step in that direction, the New Hampshire Judicial Council, which provides, by statute, information and support to the Legislature on judicial matters, conducted a program on "Separation of Powers: Checks and Balances in State Government," on Dec. 12, 2002, at the Institute for Politics. The Judicial Council, chaired by Manchester attorney Mike McDonough, is a diverse and bipartisan group of lawyers, legislators and laypersons established by the Legislature in 1945 to, among other statutory duties, "[s]erve as an institutional forum for the on-going and disinterested consideration of issues affecting the administration of justice." Under the indomitable leadership of its executive director, Nina Gardner, and in conjunction with the Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College and the Center for Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, the Judicial Council invited participants from all three branches of government to hear several national experts on state constitutions put separation of powers in a comparative context. The program included both historical perspectives on the separation of powers and an examination of the current tension among the branches of government. Governor-elect Craig Benson was among more than 150 people - including many members of the Legislature and justices from the New Hampshire Supreme Court, New Hampshire Superior Court and New Hampshire District Court - who braved the snowy weather to participate. The program offered a timely and much-needed opportunity to begin - and continue - an open and thoughtful dialogue among the three branches of government about their respective constitutional responsibilities. During small-group break-outs in the afternoon, lawmakers, members of the executive branch and members of the judiciary engaged in candid but respectful debate about issues essential to democracy. As a new session of the Legislature begins, the many strengths of each of the branches of our state government should be dedicated to solving the difficult problems of education financing, a slower economy, and lack of access to the justice system faced by many of our constituents. This state cannot afford to waste its limited resources and energy on a continuing power struggle among the branches of government. Bar members individually can offer problem-solving skills, as well as our legal training, to help in the constructive business of government and in improving communications between the branches. The Bar Association, an organization whose constituencies include the justice system and the public as well as our dues-paying members, is also ready to help. In this new era for our government, the Bar stands ready to foster dialogue on how the three branches of government, each in their separate and sometimes overlapping spheres of responsibility, can communicate better and work together more effectively to serve the people of New Hampshire. Marty Van Oot is the 2002-2003 president of the New Hampshire Bar Association. She practices with the Concord law firm of Orr & Reno.
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