NH Lawmakers Mull Bills To Expand Judicial Powers

Print More

New Hampshire lawmakers are mulling whether to override Gov. John Lynch’s veto of bills meant to speed up the legal process for divorcing couples and to ease the backlog of jury trials by letting retired judges hear them.

Supporters of both measures say they likely don’t have the votes to override the vetoes at Wednesday’s legislative session, but say they aren’t giving up.

One bill would expand the powers of judges past the constitution’s mandatory retirement age of 70. The judges would be allowed to hear jury trials and sign orders without an active judge approving them.

The other bill would allow marital masters to sign final orders in divorce cases without a judge’s approval.

The state Supreme Court requested both bills.

Comments are closed.