Supreme Court Rules Table of Contents
(1) There is hereby established as follows the position of
administrative judge and an administrative council for the judicial branch.
(2) The chief justice of the superior court, appointed as
provided by law, shall be the administrative judge of the superior court.
There shall be an administrative judge and a deputy administrative judge for the
circuit court, both of whom shall be appointed by the chief justice of the
supreme court, with the concurrence of a majority of the supreme court, for a
term to be stated in the order of appointment, but subject to the pleasure of
the appointing authority.
(3) An administrative council is established to facilitate
communications among the various courts and the administrative office of the
courts. Membership on the council shall consist of the chief justice of the
superior court, the administrative judge and deputy administrative judge of the
circuit court, and the director of the administrative office of the courts. The
chief justice of the supreme court may designate a justice to serve as liaison
between the supreme court and the administrative council. The
administrative council shall meet regularly maintaining a flexible agenda,
providing the opportunity to exchange views, measure progress, resolve
conflicts, work toward uniformity of procedure among courts to the extent
possible and make recommendations to the supreme court. The administrative
council shall keep the supreme court apprised of matters being considered by the
council and shall meet periodically with the supreme court to enhance the
effective and efficient administration of the judicial branch.
(4) Role and Responsibilities of the Administrative Judge.
The administrative judge (or, upon the unavailability of the administrative
judge of the circuit court, the deputy administrative judge) has general
supervisory responsibility for the administration, operation and improvement of
the court in order to provide for the expeditious disposition of all cases over
which the court has jurisdiction, subject to the policies, rules, orders and
guidelines established by the supreme court. The administrative judge (or,
upon the unavailability of the administrative judge of the circuit court, the
deputy administrative judge), in addition to the foregoing, shall, when not in
conflict with part II, article 73-a of the New Hampshire Constitution, have such
duties and responsibilities as may be conferred by statute.
Without limiting the foregoing, the responsibilities of the
administrative judge (or, upon the unavailability of the administrative judge of
the circuit court, the deputy administrative judge) include the following:
(a) Exercising supervisory powers
over judges, clerks, registers and court personnel;
(b) The employment and discharge of
all personnel in accordance with budgetary and personnel rules and regulations,
collective bargaining agreements and such policies as have been established by
the supreme court;
(c) Issuing superior court or circuit
court administrative orders as may be required from time to time to carry out
the responsibilities of the office;
(d) Effectuating compliance by judges
and court personnel with all applicable court rules, provisions of law and
administrative orders;
(e) Counseling, assisting and
supervising judges in their conduct and in the performance of their
administrative responsibilities;
(f) Appointing court personnel to
committees of the court;
(g) Implementing established
policies, orders and regulations concerning the court's internal management and
operation, including but not limited to business hours, the timely disposition
of the court's business, judicial vacations and leaves of absence, attendance at
meetings, and education and training conferences;
(h) Supervising caseflow management;
(i) Appointing a presiding judge for
each court location, assigning judges and court
personnel to court locations when workload and other factors so require, and
allocating equipment and other internal court resources where needed;
(j) Preparing the court budget
requests and supervising the financial affairs of the court;
(k) Representing the court in its
relations with other courts, other branches of government, the bar, the general
public, the news media, and in ceremonial functions;
(l) In the event of unavailability of
the administrative judge (or, in the circuit court, the unavailability of both
the administrative judge and the deputy administrative judge), designating an
acting administrative judge, subject to the approval of the supreme court.