New Hampshire lawmakers are finally going to investigate its corrupt family court system, at least sort of.
Through a House resolution, a special committee has been formed to hold four hearings in May on the subject.
The hearings are being held to take testimony about the court’s handling of cases, but as the committee head is already warning, they don’t want to hear about specific stories of being wronged by a judge in divorce and private custody cases. Instead, they want private citizens to essentially come – act like lawyers, and cite the state and constitutional laws family court judges are breaking. And — they will only have 5 minutes to “state their case.”
Apparently, the 30 or so bills that a handful of Republican lawmakers have introduced over the last couple of years aimed at reforming the courts is not sign enough to existing lawmakers that there is a major problem with the state’s family courts. Not to mention the transparent lobbying court bureaucrats including judges themselves and the endless sea of those who make money off its lawless ways continue to desperately wage against any reform efforts.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” – Hamlet, William Shakespeare.
The committee is also not exactly advertising the hearings either. Finding the dates of them at the risk of sounding trite, is like looking for a needle in the haystack.
Add to that, the many citizens who have written letters, testified about their private lives at televised hearings — and practically hit lawmakers over their heads with the reality that NH’s family court system is, in using the oft-used politically-correct sugar-coated word to describe the lawless system — “broken.”
Interestingly enough and perhaps especially telling is that most of the problematic family court judges are Democrats appointed by none other than former Gov. Maggie Hassan, now U.S. Senator Hassan, with a few others appointed by former Gov. Steven Lynch, another liberal who clearly also didn’t vet judges who are pro child trafficking to abusers. Lest not forget he was against parental notification for minors seeking abortions.
The same holds true with the NH family court’s gang of thieves, being so-called guardian ad litems, junk science therapists, and other shameless profiteers.
Some are even former Democrat state reps or contemporaneous Republican haters who proudly post their anti-Trump sentiment and pro-ultra left wing views on their social media accounts for everyone to see. Many of them even have naked conflicts of interests with the cast of rubber stampers who cycle children out the door to abusive parents and strip good ones of everything they own.
To be fair, the newly appointed special committee is bipartisan and appears to be made up of some new blood instead of the group of gatekeepers who were constantly running interference against bills that openly begged judges to follow due process laws, child abuse laws, and rules of evidence laws — although apparently the last one is officially optional in New Hampshire since the court decided to adopt itself a court rule or two allowing itself to wave fundamental rules of evidence. Yep — you read that right.
Here’s one of them. Rule 1.2 Waiver of Rules. “As good cause appears and as justice may require, the family division may waive the application of any rule, except where prohibited by law.”
And here’s the other one. Rule 2.2 Application of New Hampshire Rules of Evidence. “The New Hampshire Rules of Evidence do not apply to the actions listed above” — being basically everything New Hampshire’s family division does.
Can anyone say — unconstitutional.
Clearly, Manhattan DA Alvin Braggs would be a great fit for a NH Family Court judge.
The good news and news lawmakers will hopefully grasp is that rules can’t be used to override statutory law and those things called — civil rights. Since New Hampshire loves to use old, outdated case law to keep abuses running in the family court system, let us remind this newly appointed committee of the Supremacy Clause enshrined in the mother of all case laws.
It was first used in the 1796 case Ware v. Hylton, which established that constitutional rights supersede conflicting state law. It has since been carried over to countless court rulings across the nation including yes — in New Hampshire.
There have been published reports about New Hampshire judges promoting some 2011 court ruling that excuses them for not making rulings that are in the best interest of the child.
How convenient.
If all courts adopted such a precedent, courts across the land could clear the docket in a day. Rapists, child molesters, traffickers, could all go free on account that the higher court says so.
Who needs trials and evidence any way.
Clearly not the NH family courts.
Of course, there are so many pesty inconveniences.
There’s this, not so-difficult to find codified right in the very Live Free or Die’s own Constitution
that says judges will not serve as legal counsel in cases and yet — in New Hampshire, apparently they exclusively pick the witnesses in divorce and custody disputes — what many have complained is a preselected pool that wouldn’t dare bite the hand that feeds them.
A bank robber in New Hampshire should ask for a family court judge to preside over his or her case.
Judge: I deem the bank guilty of alienation for accusing you of robbing the bank. You get to keep the money.
The hearings on what appears to be the untouchable family court system are slated for May 2, 9, 16, and 23, from 9:30 to noon in LOB Room 206-208.
This is hysterical. . . . I’ve shared it – via your link with sympathetic NH lawmakers and others. A reporter from another organization told me to fetch this. I’m a retired NH attorney in NH – I have close to encyclopedic knowledge of court corruption in NH family courts and asked the committee for more than five minutes of testimony since I’m pretty much an expert. The answer from the chair – “NO. You get five minutes like everyone else.” You folks are spot on.
I’m planning on introducing it as evidence next week appended to my testimony – at the very least, it will live on forever in the legislative record. Since you invite sharing on social media, (which I DID – on my FB account) I assume you would agree to sharing in the legislative record. Let me know.
One thing I said in Tuesday’s hearing had the committee pale – that the Family Courts had ZERO broad equity powers that the constitutionally enacted Superior Court had in divorce proceedings and family law matters because NH Supreme Court opinion switched the Family Courts from a constitutional court to a statutorily created court – which stripped them of the broad equitable powers of the Superior Court – constitutionally created to a STATUTORILY created court – and that the NH legislature had zero power to declare otherwise. You would have thought I set off a firecracker in the hearing. They about visibly paled. It is going to cost NH MILLIONS to fix that legislative mistake. . And it renders orders from even fair minded judges ILLEGAL, because they don’t have the constitutional authority to make equitable orders that extend beyond the court room doors in the back of their court- and they have done so – for a generation or more. The statute that gave these statutorily created court broad “equitable” powers is just unconstitutional under NH constitution. The legislators had zero constitutional authority to state that. RSA 490 – I think Roman I? Perhaps not.
Shout out to the UNH – Franklin School Pierce School of Law — who helped me refind the case where I well knew the holding, but forgot the name of the case to submit as part of my written testimony. She found the proper digest lead to an older NH Supreme Court opinion within about 15 minutes of looking. It only took me another ten minutes or so to re-find the exact case. I wandered back in to the library just to thank her.
I’m retired. I haven’t worked 40 hours per week at law for many years. This committee has forced me to work MORE than 40 hours per just to prepare testimony and find the back up in court records to submit to them. . . . I think I can hang in there.
Omg thank you for your wisdom and commitment I would love to learn as much as I can I live in a nearby state yet purchased property in n h so have interest in making the courts work again! If they ever did ! On f b igloos Connie Reguli she’s awesome and a great teacher/ warrior for families you may like to join her team
I need your help
Hello Paula W., I helped Randall Collier prepare his Lawsuit/Appeal/Writ against New Hampshire Family Court System (Filed in NH Supreme Ct) and Judges in his case for violating “fundamental principles” of “the supreme Law of the Land” I have put together, and I am glad you made that point about the Family Courts not being Constitutional, created by statute unlike NH.Supr.Ct.. I planned to check on that, and figured that might be the case!
Randall and I would love if you wish to join our Case in NH Supreme Court as a Co-Plaintiff, Class Action, against the whole State Family Court system for every violation of basic principles of due process and parental rights etc. we can show “probable” evidence of. It seems there is only until Monday 5.15.2023 to join the case so I hope we get a hold of you by then to offer this to you. I think if we combine our work we can set precedents that will dramatically improve this countries Court and Legal systems. I am working on improving my websites like http://www.NRDL.org/howtosuegovt/ for these purposes and trying to give all this info to everyone for free (as the cause of corruption in Govt is lack of this knowledge among avg people I realized back in 2010 when I started this, when govt ruined my life!).
Hi I need your assistance if possible regarding a very spider woven corrupt situation I have been woven into. Involves a former deputy sheriff now current private investigator, unscrupulous attorney who maliciously prosecuted me on behalf of his client, the PI with false allegations to discredit me and cover up many criminal acts towards me. The judge is a local
District judge who was a former associate of his law firm. Her findings against me are atrocious. Too much to explain. I have suffered incredibly with panic and anxiety attacks to point of cardiac and other physical and emotional damage as well as financial, defamation of character through slander and false claims. The PI has commuted perjury’. I have tried to seek help from local PD which has a corrupt police department as well. A reputation well known. I am a nobody who does not have the financial means to fight it. My life has been severally affected. I live in constant fear. The PI lives few minutes walking distance from
My house and has been stalking and surveillance of me to cover up his acts against me and whatever else he is involved in. I believe the judge is part of it. There needs to be an investigation. I am being victimized in so many ways. I am not sure I can sustain much more.
Oh – and the committee RULE states that written testimony must be limited to about what one could say in five minutes oral testimony. . . complete legislative BS. It is a STUDY committee.
Do you know if this is still an ongoing investigation? I just recently went through the divorce process with children involved and am absolutely sickened on how the judge made his rulings. Not to mention the security officer at the same court I had my hearing is close friends with the other parties family.
I am currently fighting in Franklin court for two years I have not even been able to talk to my children. She has committed illegal and immoral acts, been in contempt twice, refuses to comply… and nothing ever gets done. I get 30 minutes every 2-3 months…. nh family courts are a joke. I need more help.
My fiancee has provided Dover family court judges with STACKS of evidence to prove his daughter’s mother unfit, including the fact that she enrolled her in the wrong grade – causing her to stay back for the second time in her care, numerous DCYF cases against her mother with statements from his daughter’s own mouth of her mother abusing her and her brother (including cases filed by the school guidance counselor and others – all closed “unfounded” of course), doubling the strength of her ADHD medication (which if we wanted to, could be a malpractice lawsuit as the dr didn’t follow proper protocol on a controlled medication and took her mother’s word for it and just DOUBLED the strength from 20mg to 40mg on a child that weighed no more than 95-100lbs at the time), numerous doctor’s appointments missed or just a no show, hasn’t seen a dentist in over several years (she finally let us take her last month and she had 3 cavities – no surprise), the GAL stating that my fiancee is the more responsible parent and that the school system where we live is much better than where she’s going now (the school willingly enrolled her in the wrong grade, blamed it entirely on her mother and didn’t take any accountability and currently have no idea what’s going on with her in 6th grade or that she’s missed about a week total already in the first few weeks of school). and also the fact that his daughter told everyone she thought could help that she wanted to live back with her father for the last almost 3 years… She was only taken from him because he didn’t fill out a motion to relocate when he found a better job and moved closer to it – but his attorney had said he didn’t need to fill it out because he had an emergency order granted to him giving him full custody and sole decision making rights (her mother’s boyfriend overdosed on heroin on her kitchen floor and was brought back to life with narcan – his daughter happened to not be there because we had asked to keep her an extra night or two to go camping) … with all of this – they sided with her mother and pulled her from a thriving, healthy environment and threw her back to her mother’s. She has repeatedly told me how she wishes she was living with her father because it’s calm and chaos free here and she feels dumb because she has no help with schoolwork and has no idea what she’s doing in school – we can only do so much with the little time we have her. I will never understand how, with all of that information, a judge can sleep at night knowing he is doing this to a child. We’ve tried reaching out to WMUR for help, local communities and programs as suggested by police officers (who have profusely apologized to us when his daughter refused to go back with her mother and wanted to stay here – but her mother filed an emergency order and came to our house with police who were forced to send her back. Those officers even told us that judges in NH are biased towards mothers for some reason and – in one of the officer’s own words – “DCYF is a joke in NH”). Something has got to change, because while these children are left to suffer – the judges who didn’t take the necessary time to look over FACTS, are sleeping comfortable in their beds not caring at all about the unjust decisions they’re making that affects so many lives.
My Child Custody case is from the 80’s. An absolute disaster. My father was a police officer abusing me. The divorce ate up years of the courts time. As the courts lawyers cashed in I was moved in with my grandfather a known pedophile. The courts have shared custody to my father who moved to Tenn. In Tenn he almost killed me. I was abused by 5 men over 16+ years.
New Hampshire family and criminal courts are both up to their necks in corruption. So corrupt that they have to put people from the AGs office in place on NH Supreme Court, NH US Atty Office, As Federal prosecutors to prevent outside scrutiny. The entire state and its Bar and Judiciary and state agencies need a massive audit from US OIG. The secret deals, lies, cover ups, kick backs, child trafficking, sex trafficking, police misconduct, prosecutor and public officials self dealing is horrific.