We have become aware of a scam in our area where the scammer is phoning potential victims, telling them that they missed a court date, and directing them to report to an address to post a bond as their fine payment. This is not how the court communicates with litigants. While you may contact the court at (603) 225-1423 to find out whether you in fact missed a court date, please do not send the scammer any money or provide them with any bank account information. If you receive such a call, you should report it to the U.S.
Tomorrow, November 1, 2018, the Honorable Landya B. McCafferty will become chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. She has served as a district judge for almost five years and will be the first woman to serve as chief judge in the District of New Hampshire.
Her predecessor, Joseph N. Laplante, will complete his seven-year term as chief judge on October 31, 2018, and will remain in active service on the court.
Click here for the official press release.
Pamela E. Phelan, Esq., who has served as the Chief Deputy Clerk since 2013, has decided to take a new position as the Litigation Director for the Disability Rights Center. The court has been privileged to benefit from Pamela’s legal expertise and professionalism over the past five years and her considerable administrative skills and legal acumen will be greatly missed. The judges and court staff thank Pamela for her exemplary public service and wish her well in her new endeavor at the Disability Rights Center.
Please note that the amendment to LR 9.1 goes into effect today. The amendment applies to all cases commenced today and thereafter.
Jury Administrator 2018-02D posting
The local rules have been updated and amended effective December 1, 2017. A summary of the changes can be found here.
We have become aware of another jury scam that has been recently occurring in NH. The scammer is phoning potential victims, telling them that a warrant has been issued for their arrest for failing to report for jury duty or for other reasons. They then tell victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine. This is not how this court communicates with jurors.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire will officially move to its new location at the Warren B. Rudman Courthouse in Concord on November 20, 2017. Click here for the official press release.
The court, together with the UNH School of Law and the N.H. Judicial Branch-Office of Mediation and Arbitration, will be hosting a free mediation CLE on Thursday, November 2, 2017, at the Rudman Courthouse. The featured presenters are John Lande and Susan Yates. The morning session will focus on techniques for mediators and the afternoon session will work on skills for advocates representing clients in mediation. Everyone is welcome to attend both sessions.
The court has issued a procedural order in the Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation approving the Master Complaint and addressing other issues related to the litigation, including the use of the Short Form Complaint. For infomation about the Atrium MDL, including frequently requested pleadings and guidelines for litigation in this district, please visit the court's Multi-District Litigation pages at /atrium-medical-corp-c-qur-mesh-products-liability-litigation
The court and the National Constitution Center will be hosting a free, day-long teacher workshop on August 4, 2017.
For our CJA panel attorneys, eVoucher will be unavailable from 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 19, to 7:00 a.m. on Monday, May 22, during which time the application will be upgraded. Information about the upgrade will be provided by email to the panel and on the court's CJA Panel webpage.
Miriam Conrad has been reappointed to a fourth term as Federal Public Defender for the Districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The full announcement from the Circuit is available here.
The Circuit has approved the court's updates to its CJA Plan and the plan is now available on the court's website. Defense attorneys should note that defendants seeking the appointment of counsel will now need to complete the CJA23 form (a national form replacing the court's local financial declaration form) and the court's Request for Appointment of Counsel form. Both forms are available on the court's Forms page.
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is accepting applications to serve on the court's Criminal Justice Act ("CJA") Panel including: (1) applications from attorneys not currently on the panel; and (2) reapplications from panel members whose terms expire on September 30, 2017.