One Legislator Wants to Usurp Court's Traditional Role

One legislator has sponsored a proposed Constitutional Amendment this year (2006) to give the legislature the power to override the rules that govern court procedures.  CACR 0036 was introduced this session by Rep. J. Wheeler, and it is introduced as a Consitutional Amendment instead of a bill because any bill trying to change the checks and balances of our government so radically would violate our state constitution. 

Currently, the state Judicial Branch has the constitutional authority to make the rules that control how the courts actually work.  The rules have developed over a very long period of NH history, and they are based on the practical realities faces by pro se litigants, lawyers, judges and others involved with the courts over many years.  The notion of Separation of Powers between the three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial) requires that the courts not be under the thumb of the very body whose laws the courts must review and rule upon.

If the legislature has the authority to control the rules that govern the state courts, there will, practically speaking, be almost no judicial independence.  In essence, the courts will be controlled by the whim of the individual legislators who may happen to have a case pending or a grudge against a particular judge.  Furthermore, allowing a body of over 400 legislators to create the rules governing court procedure, when most of those legislators are unfamiliar with court procedures, would throw the court system into chaos, making an already crowded and slow-moving court system even slower and more difficult to access. 

The control over the rules governing the courts belongs with the courts and should remain with the courts.  This American tradition should not be overturned as a result of the personal views of a few disgruntled individuals.