New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Judicial Council is composed of 24 members. Eleven of the members are automatically made a member by virtue of holding another position, including the chief justice of the supreme court (or designee), the chief justice of the superior court, the administrative judge of the circuit court, the deputy administrative judge of the circuit court, the director of the administrative office of the courts, the attorney general (or designee), a clerk or administrator of the superior court (selected by the chief justice of the superior court), a clerk or administrator of the circuit court (selected by the administrative judge of the circuit court), the president-elect of the New Hampshire Bar Association, the chairperson of the senate judiciary committee (or designee from such committee), and the chairperson of the house judiciary committee (or designee from such committee). The governor and council appoint eight members, three of whom must be lawyers of wide experience and at least two of the three must be members of the New Hampshire Bar Association who have been admitted to practice for more than five years, and five of whom must be non-lawyer members of the public. The chief justice of the supreme court appoints the remaining five members, three of whom must be lawyers of wide experience and at least two of the three must be members of the New Hampshire Bar Association who have been admitted to practice for more than five years, and two of whom must be non-lawyer members of the public.

The New Hampshire Judicial Council (NHJC) has an indigent defense subcommittee (IDS), which is responsible for making decisions related to the delivery of indigent defense services across the state. Specifically, the IDS makes recommendations to the full NHJC regarding the budget and award of the contract for the public defender program; awards contracts to private attorneys serving as contract counsel; and selects the private attorneys appointed as assigned counsel. No statute, rule, or other written criteria establishes the IDS, its member, its duties, nor its procedures. The IDS is composed of four members and, traditionally, these members have current or recent experience in criminal defense law.

For the primary system, the New Hampshire Judicial Council (NHJC) contracts with the New Hampshire Public Defender based on appropriated amounts. For the secondary system, the NHJC contracts with private attorneys based on appropriated amounts, but the NHJC determines the flat fee paid to these attorneys. Finally, for the tertiary system, the supreme court determines the compensation for assigned counsel.

Yes, effective August 2, 2024 through January 1, 2026, the court may appoint a contract attorney or other qualified attorney in the first instance “when it is in the interest of justice to do so.”

The New Hampshire Judicial Council is in the executive branch of New Hampshire’s state government.