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News
Site lists disciplined lawyers
By Annmarie Timmins
Information on cases now available online
Thanks to a new website, it's become considerably easier to check the disciplinary record of New
Hampshire lawyers. Visit nhattyreg.org and you can search a lawyer's name or the penalties given, from
disbarments to warnings.
This year alone, nearly 30 lawyers have come under scrutiny by the state Professional Conduct
Committee. Twenty-six attorneys have been disbarred since 2004, the oldest date available online. Click
on the attorney's name and you can find out why in any case.
"We just felt making the information available online is a great deal of help to people," said Jim DeHart,
administrator for the Attorney Discipline Office. "To some extent, (we hear) from people who are looking to
hire an attorney. But I think there are also people (who use this information) who are considering filing a
grievance and get a great deal of benefit from it."
Similar information for judges accused of misconduct, however, is harder to find.
That's true even though New Hampshire makes public more information about accused judges than any
other state, according to the American Judicature Society. Elsewhere, details of a judge's misconduct may
be released, but the judges' names are redacted, said Cynthia Gray of Iowa-based American Judicature
Society.
The state's Judicial Conduct Committee recently unveiled its own improved website explaining how and
when to file a grievance against a judge - courts.state.nh.us/committees/judconductcomm. But the site is
not searchable, nor does it have details of the many cases the committee reviews each year.
To read the details of a judge's alleged misconduct and see how the committee responded to and
investigated the allegation requires a drive to Newmarket to the former law office of Robert Mittelholzer, the
committee's executive secretary since 2008.
The committee rents space from Mittelholzer because it's cheaper than establishing an office in Concord
or Manchester, said Hopkinton's Robert Wilson, chairman of the Judicial Conduct Committee. As the
committee's secretary, Mittelholzer makes the files available by appointment to anyone who calls, and he
sits with visitors as they review the material so nothing goes missing and sealed material remains sealed.
Visitors can review cases where misconduct was found as well as cases where judges were cleared.
The purpose of making all files open, Wilson said, is to show the public that allegations of misconduct are
taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
But few people make the trip to Newmarket. Earlier this year, Mittelholzer said only three or four people
came to look at files since he took the job in 2008.
"Yes, I do hear we are protecting judges," Wilson said. "But there are 11 of us on this committee, and we
take this responsibility very seriously. Our concern is for the judicial system. Our real responsibility, as one
of our members said, is to make sure the judiciary doesn't self-destruct."
The Professional Conduct Committee, meanwhile, has long made its files on attorneys accused of
misconduct available weekdays, during business hours at its Chenell Drive office in Concord. Visitors can
search from a list of attorneys' names and, on their own, pull the corresponding misconduct file for review.
The files contain the original allegation of misconduct and the attorney's response if the discipline office
felt the allegation was credible enough to warrant a response. Visitors can also track the investigation and
read the conclusion, whether or not attorney misconduct was found.
The new online site provides the discipline or warning given an attorney and some background but not the
same level of detail. An office visit is still required for that sort of inquiry. The Judicial Conduct Committee
makes much of that information available in Mittelholzer's office but almost none of it on its website.
Instead, the Judicial Conduct Committee has for several years reported a summary of its work in annual
reports.
According to the 2009 report, the committee received 62 grievances about judges, marital masters or court
clerks and considered only one serious enough to ask the accused judge to respond.
After investigating further, that complaint as well as the 61 other grievances filed were dismissed. The first
was dismissed after the committee concluded the judge had not shown misconduct, according to the report.
The others were dismissed for the same reason or because the grievances failed to allege sufficient facts,
were beyond the committee's two-year statute of limitations, or because the grievances related to an
interpretation of law. The committee leaves legal questions to the appellate court.
The annual report indicates how many of the judges accused were from the superior court versus the
district court, but it identifies none of the judges by name. That information is available at Mittelholzer's
office if someone knows which judge's file to request. Wilson said that's appropriate.
"You can find out if a lawyer or a doctor has any lawsuits or complaints against them, but they are people
who are working for a client or a patient," Wilson said. "A judge is not doing that. A judge is working for the
public." And very often, Wilson said, complaints against judges are frivolous or dismissed because they
relate to a legal decision, not judicial conduct. If someone wants to review those files and see how the
Judicial Conduct Committee investigated the complaint they can do so by making an appointment with
Mittelholzer, Wilson said.
By Annmarie Timmins
Information on cases now available online
Thanks to a new website, it's become considerably easier to check the disciplinary record of New
Hampshire lawyers. Visit nhattyreg.org and you can search a lawyer's name or the penalties given, from
disbarments to warnings.
This year alone, nearly 30 lawyers have come under scrutiny by the state Professional Conduct
Committee. Twenty-six attorneys have been disbarred since 2004, the oldest date available online. Click
on the attorney's name and you can find out why in any case.
"We just felt making the information available online is a great deal of help to people," said Jim DeHart,
administrator for the Attorney Discipline Office. "To some extent, (we hear) from people who are looking to
hire an attorney. But I think there are also people (who use this information) who are considering filing a
grievance and get a great deal of benefit from it."
Similar information for judges accused of misconduct, however, is harder to find.
That's true even though New Hampshire makes public more information about accused judges than any
other state, according to the American Judicature Society. Elsewhere, details of a judge's misconduct may
be released, but the judges' names are redacted, said Cynthia Gray of Iowa-based American Judicature
Society.
The state's Judicial Conduct Committee recently unveiled its own improved website explaining how and
when to file a grievance against a judge - courts.state.nh.us/committees/judconductcomm. But the site is
not searchable, nor does it have details of the many cases the committee reviews each year.
To read the details of a judge's alleged misconduct and see how the committee responded to and
investigated the allegation requires a drive to Newmarket to the former law office of Robert Mittelholzer, the
committee's executive secretary since 2008.
The committee rents space from Mittelholzer because it's cheaper than establishing an office in Concord
or Manchester, said Hopkinton's Robert Wilson, chairman of the Judicial Conduct Committee. As the
committee's secretary, Mittelholzer makes the files available by appointment to anyone who calls, and he
sits with visitors as they review the material so nothing goes missing and sealed material remains sealed.
Visitors can review cases where misconduct was found as well as cases where judges were cleared.
The purpose of making all files open, Wilson said, is to show the public that allegations of misconduct are
taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
But few people make the trip to Newmarket. Earlier this year, Mittelholzer said only three or four people
came to look at files since he took the job in 2008.
"Yes, I do hear we are protecting judges," Wilson said. "But there are 11 of us on this committee, and we
take this responsibility very seriously. Our concern is for the judicial system. Our real responsibility, as one
of our members said, is to make sure the judiciary doesn't self-destruct."
The Professional Conduct Committee, meanwhile, has long made its files on attorneys accused of
misconduct available weekdays, during business hours at its Chenell Drive office in Concord. Visitors can
search from a list of attorneys' names and, on their own, pull the corresponding misconduct file for review.
The files contain the original allegation of misconduct and the attorney's response if the discipline office
felt the allegation was credible enough to warrant a response. Visitors can also track the investigation and
read the conclusion, whether or not attorney misconduct was found.
The new online site provides the discipline or warning given an attorney and some background but not the
same level of detail. An office visit is still required for that sort of inquiry. The Judicial Conduct Committee
makes much of that information available in Mittelholzer's office but almost none of it on its website.
Instead, the Judicial Conduct Committee has for several years reported a summary of its work in annual
reports.
According to the 2009 report, the committee received 62 grievances about judges, marital masters or court
clerks and considered only one serious enough to ask the accused judge to respond.
After investigating further, that complaint as well as the 61 other grievances filed were dismissed. The first
was dismissed after the committee concluded the judge had not shown misconduct, according to the report.
The others were dismissed for the same reason or because the grievances failed to allege sufficient facts,
were beyond the committee's two-year statute of limitations, or because the grievances related to an
interpretation of law. The committee leaves legal questions to the appellate court.
The annual report indicates how many of the judges accused were from the superior court versus the
district court, but it identifies none of the judges by name. That information is available at Mittelholzer's
office if someone knows which judge's file to request. Wilson said that's appropriate.
"You can find out if a lawyer or a doctor has any lawsuits or complaints against them, but they are people
who are working for a client or a patient," Wilson said. "A judge is not doing that. A judge is working for the
public." And very often, Wilson said, complaints against judges are frivolous or dismissed because they
relate to a legal decision, not judicial conduct. If someone wants to review those files and see how the
Judicial Conduct Committee investigated the complaint they can do so by making an appointment with
Mittelholzer, Wilson said.
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