HB 245-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
09/10
HOUSE BILL 245-FN
AN ACT establishing a common law court.
SPONSORS: Rep. L. Christiansen, Hills 27; Rep. Itse, Rock 9
This bill establishes a common law court.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0112
09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT establishing a common law court.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Findings.
I. The general court finds that article 90, part II, of the constitution for the Republic of New Hampshire, clearly enumerates that:
[Art.] 90. [Existing Laws Continued if Not Repugnant.] All the laws which have heretofore been adopted, used, and approved, in the province, colony, or state of New Hampshire, and usually practiced on in the courts of law, shall remain and be in full force, until altered and repealed by the legislature; such parts thereof only excepted, as are repugnant to the rights and liberties contained in this constitution: Provided that nothing herein contained, when compared with the twenty-third article in the bill of rights, shall be construed to affect the laws already made respecting the persons, or estates of absentees.
II. Therefore, the general court finds that compliance with part 1, article 14, bill of rights, requires the state’s responsibility and obligation to establish a common law court.
2 New Chapter; Common Law Court. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 491-A the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 491-B
491-B:1 Common Law Court.
I. Pursuant to the authority delegated to the general court by the people and expressed in article 4, part II, of the constitution for the Republic of New Hampshire, the general court shall reconstitute a superior court of common law having general jurisdiction to provide justice for all and immunity for none. The common law court shall hear all actions arising out of the common law as usually practiced on in the courts of law prior to 1784, with strict adherence to all guaranteed rights reserved by the people and enumerated in the New Hampshire bill of rights and pursuant to part II, article 87 of the constitution for the Republic of New Hampshire.
II. In no way shall the common law court be compelled to submit or conform to any corporate jurisdiction or contractual “private law” or “public policy” which has been established by corporate government for the enrichment of the subordinate corporate state.
III. The practice known as “plea bargaining” or “negotiated settlement” shall not be permitted in a common law court and the decision of the jury shall be final, subject only to the provisions of Amendment 7 to the United States Constitution.
IV. Each judge appointed to the common law court shall be deemed to have common sense and shall not be an attorney, a lawyer, a law school graduate, a member of a bar association, or a former member of a bar association, or of any calling where assumptions, presumptions, or legal fictions are the custom and standard for review.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0112
1/12/07
HB 245-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing a common law court.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch has determined this bill may have an indeterminable impact on state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Branch states this bill would establish a common law court. This bill also bans plea bargaining and negotiated settlements in the common law court, requiring a full trial of every case. Cases that go to trial are significantly more costly than those cases that result in plea bargains or settlements. The Branch states it cannot determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not know how many judges are to be on the court, where or how often judges are to sit, and how judges are to be paid. Also, the Branch cannot determine whether the establishment of a common law court will result in a decreased caseload for the Supreme Court, Superior Court, Probate Court, District Court, or Family Division.