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 Hello/Intro |
Web Promo |
| Court Cuts |
Key: Community Politics/Government |
| Conversation |
Key: Economy |
| Thanks/Goodbye |
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| Hello/Intro |
Web Promo |
| Court Cuts |
Key: Community Politics/Government |
| Conversation |
Key: Economy |
| Thanks/Goodbye |
| Hello/Intro Return to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Richard Ager. Welcome to NH Outlook. It is not often you hear a Supreme Court justice warn that justice won't be available for every citizen- and that the court system is dying. But those are the words Cheif Justice John Broderick has been using in response to Governor Lynch's proposal to cut $4 million from the court budget, It is an open battle at the highest levels of state government. |
| Court Cuts Return to index of stories... |
Soundup: Concord District court Track: Another case in Concord District Court. Those awaiting their time with the judge are usually in some kind of trouble, but these days, even those running the courts have troubles. Budget troubles. BITE: LEAVE THIS SPACE FOR GOVERNOR BITE ON JUDICIAL BRANCH GIVING BACK $4 MILLION. Track: When Governor Lynch asked the judicial branch to detail how it would cut that $4 million, Chief Justice John Broderick produced a plan but would not endorse it. Graphic: Among other cuts, the plan would eliminate the use of 14 "per diem" judges in Family and District Courts who are not on salary, It would reduce the budget for jury trials by half, leaving no money for civil jury trials. And it would cut courtroom security expenses by 20 percent. Bite: Broderick Disk SOT: 9:10:40 There isn't $4 million left in that budget that we can cut, and look each other in the eye and say we have a well-functioning court system in NH. We don't. 9:10;49 Track: Broderick is fighting the planned cuts every way he can, looking for support from the public he is trying to protect. Bite: Broderick Disk 9:11:55 I took a field trip a few weeks ago and visited some of the courts and I went to the Strafford County family division where they handle divorces and domestic violence. And there were two metal carts with three shelves on them. I said to the clerk - what are those files? She said those are files we haven't been able to get the orders out on. She said we're so backlogged here. And I said each of those files is a life - somebody's life. And they need an answer. Track: The proposed cuts come on top of a previous $3 million reduction that has resulted in furlough days in all the courts. Bite: Broderick Disk 10:42:52 If additional cuts happen, you're going to see the court system really slow down. We're already too slow, and so orders that get out in 60 days now will take 90 days. The waiting list for a hearing is going to go up. The process will just get more cumbersome and slower. Track: The entire court system in New Hampshire handles about 230,000 cases a year. Of those, the vast majority - 84% - are heard in district and family courts. Ed Kelly runs both systems. He says one of the fastest growing categories is child support cases in which providers have lost their jobs and their ability to provide support. Bite: Broderick Disk 11:07;09 The cuts that are proposed would cause us to cut the judge time in our district courts by 30%. Put another way, if you were to have a full time court with a judge in it, we would be shutting down that court sessions up to 3 months a year. HOW CAN IT BE THAT THE JUDGES TIMES IN THE BUSIEST COURTS IN THE STATE WOULD BE AMONG THE FIRST THINGS TO BE CUT? We're really at the point where we don't have any other choice. Could we have proposed cutting staff - the answer is yes - and that would have involved laying off up to 71 staff people statewide - and it would have the same crippling effect that the elimination of per diem judges would have. There's virtually nowhere else when you're talking about $4million that that money could have been saved. Track: Critics of the court have pointed out that all state agencies are taking a hit in this recession, not just the courts. Bite: Broderick Disk 11:12:30 I would turn the table and say whose case shall we cut? Shall we cut the case of the person who is coming to court because they feel they have been abused at the hands of a family member? Shall we cut the child abuse case and not hear that case as quickly? Should we not hear the case of a child who has been charged with a serious crime as quickly? We're dealing with the same class of people. Bite: Broderick Disk 11:14:02 I think people have the sense that we're talking about oak-panelled courtrooms where people are arguing multi-million dollar cases and those people can wait forever. That's not the face of justice in NH. The face of justice is the 190,000 people who are coming to our courts every day looking for relief from some serious problem. Bite: Broderick Disk 10:50:24 HERE YOU ARE ENGAGED IN A FIGHT WITH THE GOVERNOR AND THE LEGISLATURE - AND I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE YOU ENJOY THAT PART OF IT. It's a lot of work but I don't do anything more important than this. I'm not advocating for myself so it's very easy to do that. I'm advocating for a lot of people who don't have much money, who don't have much power, who need an impartial tribunal to go to. END OF SCRIPT |
| Conversation Return to index of stories... |
And joining me at the state library in Concord, John Broderick, Chief Justice of the NH Supreme Court; Jim Tenn, Attorney with Tenn & Tenn, and president of the NH Bar Association, and Cathy Green, Criminal Defense Attornye with Green & Utter Welcome All. 1: CHIEF - YOU'VE OBJECTED TO PREVIOUS CUTS BUT GONE ALONG - THE LAST ROUND LED TO FURLOUGHS AND SHUTTERED COURTS. BUT THIS TIME, YOU'RE MAKING A PUBLIC FIGHT OF THIS. WHAT'S DIFFERENT/? YOU'VE SAID THERE'S NO BAD PEOPLE - BUT POOR DECISIONS. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE POOR DECISIONS? 2: JIM TENN - THE BAR ASSOCIATION IS ENCOURAGING ITS MEMBERS TO FIGHT THESE CUTS. WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN? 3: CATHY GREEN - YOU'VE BEEN A CRIMINAL DFENSE ATTORNEY LONG ENOUGH TO REMEMBER A TIME WHEN 2 EVEN 3 YEARS COULD PASS BETWEEN AN ARREST AND A TRIAL. WHAT DO YOU FEAR WITH THESE PROPOSED CUTS? WERE SOME DISMISSED? A LOT OF PEOPLE WALKING AROUND WITH THEIR FUTURE UP IN THE AIR…. 4: JIM - WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE IMPACT ON FAMILY COURTS - WHERE I UNDERSTAND A LOT OF YOUR CASES ARE? THE BAR ASSOCIATION ASKED ITS MEMBERS TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF HOW COURT OPERATIONS AT CURRENT FUNDING LEVELS ARE AFFECTING CLIENTS. WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD? 5: ROCKINGHAM COUNTY ATTORNEY JIM REAMS HAS OBJECTED TO THE CUTS BECAUSE THEY WILL FURTHER SLOW THE SYSTEM. HE POINTED TO A CASE WHERE A MAN WAS KEPT IN JAIL AFTER BEING FOUND NOT GUILTY - JUST BECAUSE THE PAPERWORK COULDN'T GET FILED. 6:: $4 MILLION - THAT'S ABOUT 6% OF YOUR BUDGET. AS WE SAW IN THE SETUP PIECE, I ASKED JUDGE ED KELLY WHY YOU WOULD CUT JUDGES WHO CARRY SUCH A LARGE PART OF THEWORKLOAD IN THE BUSIEST COURTS? 7: THE GOVERNOR ACKNOWLEDGED THAT SOME PEOPLE WOULD BE HURT BY THIS BUDGET. BUT HE SAID THAT GIVEN THE LACK OF MONEY - AND THE OTHER NEEDS - FOR DISABLED, FOR EDUCATION - WHAT BETTER SUGGESTION DO YOU HAVE? CHIEF - WHAT IF IT IS A CHOICE BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENTAL WAITLIST - OR A CLERK IN THE FAMILY COURT DIVISION? YOU HAVE POINTED OUT THATWHILE COURTS CLOSED, FISH AND GAME OFFICES STAYED OPEN. 8: JIM - ARE THERE CHOICES NOT BEING TALKED ABOUT? HOW TO FUND THE COURTS - OR STATE GOVT? I'M SURE IF YOUR ASSOCIATION CAME OUT IN FAVOR OF A NEW STEADY FUNDING SOURCE, IT WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE SOME NEWS? 9: MUCH OF THIS REMINDS ME OF THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE - WITH IDEALS OF UNIVERSAL ACCESS CLASHING WITH BUDGETARY LIMITS AND THE R-WORD - RATIONING. IS JUSTICE BEING RATIONED NOW? SOME HAVE TO GO MUCH FURTHER TO GET TO A COURT. HOURS ARE MORE LIMITED. PROCESSING IS TAKING LONGER. 10; HAS THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE COURTS PASSED US? 11: IF THE CUTS WERE TO GO THROUGH AS THE GOVERNOR WANTS, DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD ADMINISTER THEM - OR WOULD YOU RESIGN? |
| Thanks/Goodbye Return to index of stories... |
That's all we have time for. Our thanks to: John Broderick, Chief Justice of the NH Supreme Court; Jim Tenn, attorney with Tenn & Tenn, and President of the NH Bar Association and Cathy Green, Criminal Defense attorney with Green& Utter. |
| Web Promo Return to index of stories... |
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| Key: Community Politics/Government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 4/16/2010 HOST: Richard Ager Length: 25:30 Hello. I'm Richard Ager. Welcome to NH Outlook. It is not often you hear a Supreme Court justice warn that justice won't be available for every citizen- and that the court system is dying. But those are the words Cheif Justice John Broderick has been using in response to Governor Lynch's proposal to cut $4 million from the court budget. It is an open battle at the highest levels of state government. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: John Lynch\ NH Governor, John Broderick\Chief Justice of NH Supreme Court, Ed Kelly\Administrative Judge Family Division District Court, John Broderick\Chief Justice of NH Supreme Court, James Tenn\President of NH Bar Association, Cathy Green\Criminal Defense Attorney |
| Key: Economy Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 4/16/2010 HOST: Richard Ager Length: 25:30 Hello. I'm Richard Ager. Welcome to NH Outlook. It is not often you hear a Supreme Court justice warn that justice won't be available for every citizen- and that the court system is dying. But those are the words Cheif Justice John Broderick has been using in response to Governor Lynch's proposal to cut $4 million from the court budget. It is an open battle at the highest levels of state government. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: John Lynch\ NH Governor, John Broderick\Chief Justice of NH Supreme Court, Ed Kelly\Administrative Judge Family Division District Court, John Broderick\Chief Justice of NH Supreme Court, James Tenn\President of NH Bar Association, Cathy Green\Criminal Defense Attorney |