History of the New Hampshire Supreme Court

New Hampshire Supreme Court

Members of the Court

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire consists of the Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Members of the Supreme Court are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Executive Council for lifetime terms. The Supreme Court building, located at One Charles Doe Drive in Concord, was dedicated in September 1970 at a ceremony attended by the late Chief Justice of the United States, Earl Warren. Modeled in the colonial Williamsburg style, the building houses the chambers of the members of the Supreme Court, staff offices, the clerk’s office, the state law library and the courtroom where the justices hear oral arguments. Portraits of the Chief Justices hang in the courtroom, which has a working fireplace. The red brick building, faced with New Hampshire granite, was named for Frank Rowe Kenison, who served as Chief Justice for 25 years.

Chief Justice John T. Broderick Jr.

Senior Associate Justice Linda S. Dalianis

Associate Justice James E. Duggan

Associate Justice Gary E. Hicks

History of the Court

The history of the courts in New Hampshire begins in 1776 shortly after the colony of New Hampshire adopted a temporary constitution, the first such constitution adopted by any of the states. The newly formed legislature abolished the court of appeals, which was made up of the governor and council, and established the "Superior Court of Judicature" as the appellate court, with four justices. One hundred years later, in 1876, an act was passed creating the "Supreme Court" as New Hampshire’s highest court. What is now the modern trial and appellate court system in New Hampshire took shape in 1901 when the legislature established two courts to take the place of the existing Supreme Court. Jurisdiction over "law terms" during which court decisions were appealed, was given to the Supreme Court, made up of a chief justice and four associate justices. Matters formerly handled at "trial terms" were given to what was called the "Superior Court." The advantage was a separate appeals court, of which the trial judge was not a member. In 1966, the state constitution was amended to establish the Supreme Court and the Superior Court as constitutional courts, which means that they could only be changed or abolished by a constitutional amendment, not by the legislature.