Vol 2: Issue 1
Spring 2006

One of the most important goals I have as Chief Justice is to have all of us in the Judicial Branch think of the court system as a single, unified organization. Even though we work in five different divisions, in 67 different courts, and at 42 different buildings all around our state, every one of us, judges, marital masters, clerks, registers and staff have the same mission—to provide for the fair and efficient administration of justice.

In the past two years, I have visited every court site in New Hampshire and have met hundreds of you. During our discussions, I often talked about the need for us to see ourselves as a team. I have been encouraged by the positive response that I have received from so many people and I plan to continue to build on that momentum. I welcome your continued support.

On June 1 and 2, the Supreme Court will hold two days of meetings to gather information and ideas to help craft our budget priorities for fiscal years 2008 – 2009 and in doing so develop a uniform vision for the Judicial Branch for the next five years or longer. We will be using the Felmly Committee report, “A Vision of Justice”, the Citizens Commission report due in June and other sources of input as the foundation of our work. We have invited judges, marital masters, clerks of court, registers of probate and administrators to join us, as well as the chairman of the year-old Staff Advisory Committee, and the general counsel and the communications director for the Judicial Branch. Our discussions will be facilitated by Eric Herr, a member of the Citizens Commission, whose insights as a CEO in private industry are highly valuable to those of us in the “business” of running the court system.

As pressing as the day-to-day work of running the court system may be, I think it is tremendously important that we step back and take time to think about the future. We need to broaden our perspective as an organization and try hard to find new ways to address old problems. Nowhere is this new attitude more important than in the budget process, which begins in earnest this summer. After a recent meeting about budget priorities and how to attain them, Superior Court Judge Carol Ann Conboy urged us to think “outside the box” in our search for solutions. I couldn’t agree with her more.

I will keep all of you informed about budget developments and new ideas. I know some of you have conveyed your thoughts on the budget and the vision to your respective administrative judges or to Sherri Kluesener, who is Chair of the Staff Advisory Committee. I am confident all will be shared with us at our retreat. In the meantime, I look forward to spending the afternoon with your, your family and friends at the Fisher Cats baseball stadium on June 11 in Manchester. As always, I appreciate your incredible dedication to the important work of the Judicial Branch.

John T. Broderick, Jr.
Chief Justice