Restore the Balance of Powers in N.H. Government

Restore the Balance of Powers in N.H. Government

Ever since the people were misled into incorporating Part 2, Article 73-a as part of the N.H. Constitution in 1978 by a description of the measure that basically called it a housekeeping effort, the N.H. Supreme Court has had the power to write court rules that have the "force and effect of law," a power traditionally reserved for the Legislature by the original Constitution. Even more dangerous, Article 73-a made the Chief Justice of the N.H. Supreme Court the "administrative head of all the courts." Because the Legislature is known in the Constitution as the "General Court," some have interpreted Article 73-a as a constitutional change that gives the courts unbridled authority over the Legislature, and by extension, the People. Such an understanding is intolerable in a free Constitutional Republic and it is inconsistent with the rest of the N.H. Constitution. CACR 26 would repeal Article 73-a and essentially give the Legislature full authority to pass statutory law governing how the courts should be administered, which is the way the courts used to be run when the N.H. Constitution was established.

TAKE ACTION:

Please e-mail all Senators at Senators@leg.state.nh.us and ask them to make sure they support CACR 26.
Please attend the public hearing for CACR 26 at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 3, 2012, in LOB Room 101 and testify in favor of the repeal language.
E-mail Senate President Bragdon and Majority Leader Bradley and ask them to support this amendment to the N.H. Constitution.