New Hampshire Family Law Blog : New Hampshire Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Crusco Law Firm : Family Law, Custody, Child Support : Manchester, New Hampshire, Massachusetts

I previously posted about Governor Lynch's plan to close the budget shortfall by closing eight district courts, three of which house family divisions. One of those courts is the Colebrook District Court and Family Division, located in Northern New Hampshire's Coos County. The Union Leader published an article today by Lorna Colquhoun raising concerns about the closure of the Colebrook District Court in particular.

One issue is the greater distances small town police officers will have to travel to court, not only because of the additional cost, but also due to additional time that it will take them away from their duties in the town.

"It presents a big problem," said Pittsburg police Chief Richard Lapoint, who is his town's only full-time officer. "Time is a big factor. If I'm in Colebrook and something happens back here, I can respond just as quick as state police. From the police station to Lancaster is 55 miles and that can take an hour and 20 minutes to get back here."

Additionally, if the Colebrook court closes, parties will need to travel much farther to appear before the judge. Transfering operations from a court such as Hooksett District Court & Family Division to Concord District Court & Family Division where the locations are just thirteen miles apart with a large highway to travel up will not create such a hardship for the litigants. However, closing Colebrook and moving operations to Lancaster District Court creates a distance of at least thirty-seven miles, longer if the party is coming from the North side of Colebrook.

Colebrook police Chief Steve Cass and Lapoint cite

the example of a young mother in either community in need of a protective order. "Take a mother of two, who might be out of work," Cass said. "Dad has the only vehicle and now she has to try to get a ride to Lancaster to get before a judge."

If you have concerns about the court closures, make sure to contact your representative about the budget bills, which are due out of the finance committee on April 2nd and for a full house vote on April 8th.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The Union Leader's Kathryn Marchocki reports that included in Governor Lynch's budget are plans to close eight district courts across New Hampshire. Governor Lynch hopes to save 2 million dollars by closing the courthouses. However, the savings come at the cost of making access to the judicial system more difficult for families. As the Union Leader's article points out, families who would have gone to the Colebrook District Court for relief would have to drive 37 miles to the Lancaster District Court if the plan goes through.

The courts that could close are as follows:

• Colebrook to merge with Lancaster
• New London to merge with Newport
• Claremont transfer operations to the Sullivan County facility in Newport
• Plaistow to merge with Salem
• Milford to merge with Merrimack
• Hooksett to merge with Concord
• Keene to transfer operations to Cheshire County facility in Keene
• Hillsborough to merge with Henniker.

New Hampshire district courts have jurisdiction to hear domestic violence petitions, small claims, landlord tenant matters, minor crimes and violations and civil cases in which the disputed amount does not exceed $25,000. In counties that do not yet have family divisions, the district courts also hear juvenile matters. In addition, in the counties that have formed family divisions, many of the district courts house the family divisions that hear divorces, parenting petitions, child support, guardianships, termination of parental rights, abuse/neglect cases, juvenile matters, and some adoptions.

The family divisions that will be affected under Governor Lynch's plan are located in the Colebrook, Claremont and Hooksett District Courts, who will all transfer operations to other county courthouses. Additionally, families in need of a domestic violence protective order would have to travel to other courthouses to gain access to the judicial system.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks (1)
• Share Link