NH- Jury Trials to Be Halted in One State Feeling Pinch

12-16-2008 New Hampshire:

BOSTON — The Superior Court system in New Hampshire will take the unusual step of halting jury trials for a month early next year because of a widening state budget crisis.

John Broderick, the state’s chief justice, said suspending trials was essential to avoid layoffs in the judicial system, which has already cut $2.7 million from its budget.

The measure will save about $73,000, the monthly amount spent on stipends for jurors. But the head of an association representing civil trial lawyers said it could have a harsh impact on plaintiffs, many of whom have already waited years for a judgment in their case.

“What are they going to rely on in the interim?” said Ellen Shemitz, executive director of the New Hampshire Association for Justice. “Some of these people have been harmed by the wrongdoing of others, are out of work as a result and are looking to the courts to protect their rights and provide some kind of financial remuneration.”

Officials at the National Center for State Courts said that while court systems across the country had made cuts they were not aware of any others suspending trials. In perhaps the closest parallel, Vermont is closing its district and family courthouses a half day per week for the rest of the fiscal year to save $300,000.

Suspending jury trials to save money is not unheard-of. Vermont stopped holding civil trials for five months in 1990, and New Hampshire effected a one-month suspension in 2001. Other state courts have tried to do it but have been overturned.

The clerks of court in New Hampshire’s largest counties, Hillsborough and Rockingham, said they were rescheduling 179 criminal and civil trials planned for February or March.

New Hampshire is facing a $250 million revenue shortfall this year, and every branch of government is weighing cuts. In addition to suspending trials for a month, which was first reported by The Concord Monitor, the court system is not filling seven judicial vacancies until at least June. It will also delay replacing a Supreme Court justice set to retire in February.

“Cutting one month of jury trials won’t stop the wheel from turning,” Chief Justice Broderick said in a phone interview. “We would rather do that and have that inconvenience for a month than lay staff people off, which would be a perpetual inconvenience.”

Two of the state’s 12 counties will not be affected because they hold jury trials only every other month. Merrimack County, where juries sit longer than in the rest of the state, will go for a month and a half without trials.

Jurors in New Hampshire receive $10 for every half day of duty. The court system is under pressure to make even more cuts, and Chief Justice Broderick said suspending trials for a second month was a possibility.

Dan Hall, a vice president of the National Center for State Courts, said that at least 20 state court systems were facing budget deficits and that those in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Minnesota were suffering the most. The Florida system recently reduced its work force by 10 percent, Mr. Hall said.

Ms. Shemitz said the one-month suspension was only the latest in a series of measures that have worsened trial delays in New Hampshire. She heard from one lawyer this week whose four-year-old case was scheduled for trial in August, was postponed until March because of the shortage of judges, and now will not take place until late next year.

She said the state, which does not have an income tax or a sales tax, should reconsider its policy.

“New Hampshire wants to remain competitive,” she said, “but we also need to be real about the fact that we can’t be competitive if we lack essential infrastructure — not just roads and highways, but the courts.”

Asked if taxes were necessary, Chief Justice Broderick said, “I don’t go there.” ..News Source.. by ABBY GOODNOUGH