The Judicial Conduct Commission was created by Senate Bill 219 of the 2001 legislative session to provide an independent forum

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The Judicial Conduct Commission was created by Senate Bill 219 of the 2001 legislative session to provide an independent forum

Page 1

TATE OF

AMPSHIRE

UDICIAL

ONDUCT

OMMISSION

Report of the Judicial Conduct Commission for Fiscal Year 2002

Pursuant to RSA 494-A:3, II (b) the Judicial Conduct Commission respectfully submits this

report “detailing the performance of the Commission for the preceding fiscal year.”

The Judicial Conduct Commission was created by Chapter 267 (Senate Bill 197) of the 2001

legislative session to provide an independent forum for evaluation of complaints about conduct

of judges. The Commission may discipline judges by censure or reprimand, or may recommend

suspension by the Supreme Court or impeachment by the Legislature.

Membership

The Judicial Conduct Commission consists of members from a variety of backgrounds, with a

majority of lay people as well as three judges and two lawyers.

Chairman: Donna Sytek of Salem, former Speaker of the House, appointed by the Speaker;

Vice Chairman: Joseph M. McDonough of Manchester, attorney, appointed by the president of

the NH Bar Association and approved by the Governor;

Judge Arthur Bean of Bedford, retired from Superior Court, appointed by the Supreme Court;

Mary Brown of Chichester, writer, accountant and former legislator, appointed by the Senate

President;

John Grimes of Dover, retired engineering manager, appointed by the Governor;

Judge Richard Hampe of Concord, Judge of the Merrimack County Probate Court, appointed

by the Supreme Court;

George Hurt of Gilford, insurance agency owner and former legislator, appointed by the

Speaker;

Judge John Korbey of Salem, Judge of Salem District Court, appointed by the Supreme Court;

Margaret Lynch of Keene, former legislator and former Registrar of Keene State College;

appointed by the Governor;

Thomas Moses of Keene, auto center general manager, appointed by the Senate President; and

Kimon Zachos of Manchester, attorney, appointed by the president of the NH Bar Association

with the approval of the Speaker and the President of the Senate.

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Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report

Rules

As prescribed by the enabling statute, the Commission developed and adopted a Code of Judicial

Conduct as well as Procedural Rules. Both were the subject of public hearings and are posted on

the state website at www.state.nh.us/jcc.

Staff

The Commission hired an office administrator to handle clerical and administrative tasks. To

conserve funds, the Chairman has been performing the duties of the Executive Director during

the start-up phase. There are plans to transfer this responsibility to an appointed position in the

near future.

Administrative Support

While the Commission is required by law to be independent of any branch of state government,

it is too small to maintain its own accounting, personnel, budgeting, website maintenance and

computer support services. Commissioner Donald Hill of Administrative Services and his staff

were extremely helpful in guiding us through the maze of state government offices. Likewise,

Teresa Pare from the State Library was most accommodating in providing assistance with design

and maintenance of the JCC website. At the Commission’s request, the legislature amended the

law this year in SB 442 to expressly allow this type of support from state agencies without

compromising our independence.

Website

With the assistance of the State Library, the Commission maintains a homepage on Webster, the

official state website. Our Internet address is www.state.nh.us/jcc. This site provides links to our

rules, grievance forms, and minutes of our meetings, as well as contact information. We have no

way to determine how many “hits” we get, but without any publicity at all, we receive 2 to 3

inquiries a month through this avenue, so it appears to be worth the effort.

Budget

Our enabling legislation appropriated lump sums of $125,000 for FY 2002 and $250,000 for FY

2003. At our request, an amendment to SB 442 earlier this year made the first year’s funding

non-lapsing, and the unspent balance will be carried over to the second year of the biennium. The

Commission will submit a line item budget for the FY 2004-2005 cycle.

Duplication of Effort

The Judicial Conduct Commission was created with the expectation that the Supreme Court

Commission on Judicial Conduct, which has the same duties, would be disbanded. That has not

happened. Thus, two similarly named panels are operating in parallel, costing taxpayers money,

and causing much confusion for the public. Both bodies have adopted rules or policies that

require a grievant to choose only one forum for his or her complaint.

Additional Legislation

In the course of evaluating grievances, the Commission encountered a situation which seems to

require remedial legislation. When a complaint against a judge involves a confidential

proceeding such as a juvenile case or a guardianship of a minor, the judge is reluctant to respond

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Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report

to inquiries from the Commission because of statutory confidentiality requirements. The

Commission is working with members of the House Judiciary Committee to draft a bill to create

an exception to allow a judge to disclose confidential information as part of an investigation by

the Judicial Conduct Commission. Members and staff of the Judicial Conduct Commission

would of course be bound to keep any such information confidential.

Caseload analysis

The Commission began accepting complaints January 1, 2002 and meets regularly on the second

Friday of the month at our office in Bow. By the end of the fiscal year in June, we had

considered and dismissed complaints against 14 judges and 3 masters filed by 13 grievants.

Some cases involve multiple grievants or more than one judge, and some grievants file more than

one complaint.

The most common reason for dismissing a complaint is that the grievance is based on the

findings, rulings, or decision of a judge or master. Frequently the grievant is a party to case who

is unhappy with the outcome and complains about the judge’s decision. Accusations of bias are

common, and the Commission carefully reviews all the documentation provided before making a

determination. With rare exception, it is not a violation of the code of judicial conduct for a

judge to make a decision, even if it is in error. The remedy in such a situation is not with the

Commission, but through an appeal.

When there is a complaint about the judge’s temperament or tone of voice, the Commission may

review the transcript or audiotape recording of the proceeding giving rise to the grievance to

confirm or disprove the allegations of misconduct.

While our standard grievance cover sheet (attached as Appendix B) informs the grievant that we

will not consider complaints that have also been filed with the Supreme Court Committee on

Judicial Conduct, people still file them with the Commission and we dismiss them. Likewise,

when we receive a complaint about someone not subject to our jurisdiction, such as a lawyer, we

return the complaint to the grievant.

Data on cases for our first 6 months are in Appendix A.

Under the Commission’s Procedural Rules files of dismissed cases are available for public

inspection after redaction of identifying information about the person complained against. If,

after preliminary investigation, the Commission finds probable cause to believe a judge has

violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, the file and proceedings will be public. We have not yet

had a case meeting this criterion.

Conclusion

The Commission has spent most its first 9 months of existence developing a Code of Conduct,

Procedural Rules, and a personnel manual, as well as setting up and staffing its office. The

volume of complaints has been light, but that may be attributable to our status as a newly created

entity as well as some confusion about the role of the Commission vis à vis the Supreme Court

Committee.

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Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report

There may be mixed reaction to the fact that all the complaints we received were eventually

dismissed for one reason or another. It could be that all our judges behave in an exemplary

manner, or that too few people are aware of our existence, or that such a small number of cases

does not constitute a sample of sufficient size to draw any conclusion.

I can assure you, however, that the Commission takes its responsibility seriously and carefully

evaluates each complaint on its merits, sometimes asking the grievant for more information and

frequently asking judges to respond to our inquiries. We have been gratified at the courtesy and

timeliness of such responses from judges.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna Sytek, Chairman

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Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report

Appendix A

Statistical Breakdown of Judicial Conduct Commission Caseload

January 1 – June 30, 2002

Number of cases

Number of grievants

Number of grievants filing

multiple complaints

Subject of the grievance

Judges

District

Probate

Superior

Supreme

Masters

Other*

Total

*Complaint against a person not subject to JCC jurisdiction.

Reason for dismissal

Complaint was based on findings, rulings,

or decisions of a judge or master

8 cases involving 4 judges and 3 masters

Commission found no violation of the

Code of Judicial Conduct

4 cases involving 3 judges

and 1 master

Complaint previously filed with Supreme

Court Committee on Judicial Conduct

2 cases involving 4 judges

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Judicial Conduct Commission Annual Report

Appendix B

State of New Hampshire

Judicial Conduct Commission

Grievance Cover Sheet

Your Name________________________________________________________________________________

Street_____________________________________City/State/Zip____________________________________

Telephone_____________________________E-mail_______________________________________________

Please note that the Commission has no authority to change a judge’s decisions or rulings. Our jurisdiction

extends only to conduct that violates the Code of Judicial Conduct, which may be found at www.state.nh.us/jcc.

Additionally, our rules prohibit us from considering conduct that occurred more than three years ago or

grievances that have been filed with the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Conduct.

In order to help the Commission understand the circumstances and specific conduct that you are complaining

about please furnish the following information:

Name of Person(s) you are complaining about (Judge, Master, Clerk, Register, or other person):

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Court where conduct occurred _________________________________________________________________

Name of the case____________________________________________________________________________

Docket Number____________________________________________________________________________

What is the status of this case? ________________________________________________________________

Date(s) of Conduct __________________________________________________________________________

Did you witness the conduct in question? Yes No

If not, how were you affected by the conduct?____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you filed a complaint about this conduct with the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Conduct? Yes

Describe the conduct you are complaining about and summarize the supporting evidence:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I hereby represent that I have not filed this complaint with any other disciplinary group and upon receipt of a

decision in this case, I agree not to refile the complaint with any other similar agency or Commission.

I swear or affirm under pains and penalties of perjury that the information contained in this grievance is true to

the best of my knowledge.

Signature_____________________________________

Date_______________________________

Commission rules require that you keep confidential the fact that you have filed a grievance until the Commission brings

formal charges against the judge or otherwise disposes of the grievance.

Mail to: Judicial Conduct Commission, 501 South Street, Bow, NH 03304