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Overdue decisions rising in N.H. Courts

By Associated Press
September 28, 2008 5:39 PM

KEENE -- More people are being left in legal limbo due to increased caseloads, more complex cases and
shortages of judges and clerical staff at New Hampshire's Superior Courts. Cheshire County has one
full-time judge, Brian Tucker, and one part-time judge John Arnold, who spends six months of the year in
Sullivan County, where he is the only active judge.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that every day there are at least two stacks at least a foot tall of routine
matters on Judge Tucker's desk," said Cheshire County Superior Court Clerk Barbara Hogan. "Some days
there are four or five stacks, and he gets them done every day. He's working them before and after the
court opens."

Judges have 60 days to render a decision in any type of case after its final hearing. In Cheshire County,
three were overdue this month.

"It's not getting better, but we're holding our own," Hogan said.

When decisions are overdue, the case files end up on the desk of Superior Court Chief Justice Robert
Lynn, who talks with the judges and works out a solution.
"There is no real penalty," Lynn said. "We could make the judge work on the decisions on his vacation
time, but that's never been necessary. They usually have a very good excuse for the delay."

Most of the time, judges are simply overworked, buried in paperwork, he said. Lynn said three years ago,
he would see one or two overdue decisions statewide in a given month, now it's an average of five to 10.

In Hillsborough County Superior Court South in Nashua, decisions in at least four cases were overdue this
month, said Clerk Marshall Buttrick. The court has four full-time judges, and one vacancy. In Hillsborough
County Superior Court North in Manchester, there were no overdue decisions this month, but clerical staff
shortages have bogged down the processing of the decisions.

"After the judge enters the decision into the record and gives it to our office, it may take two to four weeks
for us to actually mail that decision because of a processing backlog," said Clerk John Safford. Lynn said
the judicial system has plenty of company in being saddled with a tight budget and great demands.
"The Legislature is not singling out the court system. They have treated us very well over the last several
years," he said. "There is a statewide budget problem, and I don't think we're any worse off than any other
state agency."

In Keene, one of the overdue decisions involves Jessie Carpenter, 27, who is in a heated custody dispute.
While she waits for a decision, she sees her 5-year-old daughter for less than two hours once a week at a
supervised visitation center. The case dates back to 2004; the last hearing was June 6. "It's been long and
drawn out, but I'm practicing my patience," she said. "I just have no idea what's going to happen. It's really
hard times right now."

Information from: The Keene Sentinel, http://www.keenesentinel.com