§ 491-A:3 — District Court Justices; Salaries

New Hampshire § 491-A:3

• Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
• Title LI: COURTS
• Ch. 491-A: JUDICIAL SALARIES

Text

I. For purposes of calculating the annual salaries of part-time district court justices appointed after July 1, 1987, the supreme court shall establish and revise as needed a weighted case value, relating the judicial time required for each type of case included in the court's jurisdiction, which when multiplied by the caseload of each court will produce the number of weighted case units for that court. Any revisions to the weighted case values shall be approved by the legislature. The number of weighted case units shall be calculated by the administrative office of the courts in July of each year, using caseload statistics for the preceding 12-month period. Said weighted case units shall serve as the basis for determining the salary of part-time justices for the next calendar year.
II. The following compensation schedule shall be used when calculating salaries for part-time district court justices, beginning July 1, 1987:
Weighted
Case Units
Step Increase Per 100 Case Units
1
2
3
4
5
0-499
$2,500
$3,217
$3,928
$4,642
$5,356
500-999
6,070
6,784
7,498
8,212
8,926
1000-1499
9,640
10,354
11,068
11,782
12,496
1500-1999
13,329
14,162
14,995
15,828
16,661
2000-2499
17,494
18,327
19,160
19,993
20,826
2500-2999
21,659
22,492
23,325
24,258
24,991
3000-3499
25,824
26,657
27,490
28,323
29,156
3500-3999
29,989
30,822
31,655
32,488
33,321
4000-4499
34,154
34,987
35,820
36,653
37,486
4500-4999
38,319
39,152
39,985
40,818
41,651
5000-5250
42,484
43,317
43,733
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III. The salary of a part-time justice shall not exceed 70 percent of the taxable salary of a full-time district court justice as provided by RSA 491-A:1. Judicial time shall be measured in weighted case units which shall reflect judicial time required to process a case. The compensation per weighted case unit shall be proportional to the taxable compensation for a full-time judge. A part-time justice, whose weighted caseload equals 3.5 judicial days per week, shall receive the maximum salary as provided by this section. The compensation schedule provided by this section shall be based upon the taxable salary of a full-time district court justice pursuant to RSA 491-A:1.
IV. The supreme court, after reviewing population, caseload, judicial time and efficiency, available judicial resources, the needs of the judicial branch family division, and other relevant criteria may request the governor and council to designate a sitting part-time justice as a full-time justice. The court may recommend certain justices; however, the governor and council shall not be bound by that recommendation. Upon designation, that justice shall become full-time. Prior to making its request, there shall be funds in the court's budget specifically appropriated for the salary and benefits of an additional full-time district court justice.

Legislative History

1987, 272:1. 1992, 284:14. 1995, 308:47. 1998, 75:1. 2003, 311:4. 2005, 177:15, eff. July 1, 2005. 2012, 247:33, 34, eff. Aug. 17, 2012. 2015, 109:1, eff. June 5, 2015.