NEW HAMPSHIRE JUDICIAL BRANCH

SUPREME COURT

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE


The New Hampshire Supreme Court is committed to improving court performance through regular performance evaluations. Your candid responses to this questionnaire will be of assistance. Narrative comments are very helpful. Please use the "Comments" section at the end of this questionnaire to make additional observations about the court's performance. To preserve confidentiality, please do not sign this questionnaire. Please do not reproduce this form as the data will be read electronically.

Date ____________________________

Please fill in the circle O that best reflects your opinion of the court's performance in each area.

Excel-
lent
1

Very
Good
2

Satis-
factory
3

 
Fair
4

Unsatis-
factory
5

Not
Applicable
6

PERFORMANCE AND JUDICIAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS OF THE JUSTICES
1. Ability to identify and analyze issues.

O

O

O

O

O

O

2. Application of laws and rules.

O

O

O

O

O

O

3. Thoroughness of opinions.

O

O

O

O

O

O

4. Clarity of opinions.

O

O

O

O

O

O

5. Timeliness of opinions.

O

O

O

O

O

O

TEMPERAMENT AND DEMEANOR OF THE JUSTICES
1. Fostering a general sense of fairness.

O

O

O

O

O

O

2. Courtesy to participants.

O

O

O

O

O

O

3. Open-mindedness.

O

O

O

O

O

O

4. Patience.

O

O

O

O

O

O

5. Demeanor.

O

O

O

O

O

O

6. Attentiveness.

O

O

O

O

O

O

7. Preparedness.

O

O

O

O

O

O

 

 

Please fill in the circle O that best reflects your opinion of the court's performance in each area.

Excel-
lent
1

Very
Good
2

Satis-
factory
3

 
Fair
4

Unsatis-
factory
5

Not
Applicable
6

BIAS AND OBJECTIVITY OF THE JUSTICES
1. Absence of bias and prejudice based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion, social class, or other factor (if less than satisfactory, please explain in the comments section).

 

O

 

O

 

O

 

O

 

O

 

O

2. Appropriate treatment of attorneys (if less than satisfactory, please explain in the comments section).

O

O

O

O

O

O

WEBSITE

1. Have you used the Supreme Court
website?
O Yes O No
2. Please indicate how many times in
the last month you have used the
Supreme Court website.
O 0-3 O 3-6 O More than 6
3. What would you most like to see on the website?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

CONTACT WITH THE COURT

Please fill in the circle O that best reflects your opinion of the court's performance in each area.

Excel-
lent
1

Very
Good
2

Satis-
factory
3

 
Fair
4

Unsatis-
factory
5

Not
Applicable
6

COURT PERSONNEL
1. Friendly and courteous.

O

O

O

O

O

O

2. Available to answer questions.

O

O

O

O

O

O

3. Knowledge/ability to answer questions.

O

O

O

O

O

O

Please fill in the circle O that best reflects your opinion of the court's performance in each area.

Excel-
lent
1

Very
Good
2

Satis-
factory
3

 
Fair
4

Unsatis-
factory
5

Not
Applicable
6

4. Willingness to take time to explain things.

O

O

O

O

O

O

5. Promptness of responses to inquiries.

O

O

O

O

O

O

6. Sufficient notice of oral argument scheduling.

O

O

O

O

O

O

7. Please indicate approximately how
often you contacted the clerk's office
in the last year.

O 0-3

O 3-6

O more than 6

 

COMMENTS

Narrative comments are very helpful in this evaluation process. Please use the space below, or attach a separate sheet of paper, to provide narrative comments about the court or any individual justice. The narrative comments will be provided to the court or individual justice either verbatim or in summary form; however, to preserve confidentiality, anything that may identify the person making the comment will be removed.

(a) Where do you think the court is doing the best job?                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             

(b) Do you have any comments on aspects of the court's performance which could benefit from change?              
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             

(c) Do you have any suggestions about how this survey might be improved?                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                             

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The background information requested on this page is voluntary and will be kept in strict confidence. The court or any justice will not be supplied with any information which could identify the evaluator.

1. Please indicate approximately how many times you have appeared before or observed the supreme court in the last three years.
O Less than 5

O 5-10

O 10 or more

 

2. If you are a lawyer, how many years have you practiced law? O Less than 5 O 5-10 O 10-25 O More than
25
3. If you are a lawyer, which of the following describes your primary law practice? Please fill in one circle.
  O Solo (including office sharing) O Law firm with 2-15 attorneys
  O Public Defender/Defense Attorney O Law firm with more than 15 attorneys
  O Prosecutor O Other (please specify)
4. Types of cases in which you generally appear before or observe the supreme court.
  O Criminal O Marital
  O Civil O Other

 

Thank you for your assistance.

Please return this form directly to:

New Hampshire Supreme Court Clerk's Office

Judicial Performance Evaluation

One Noble Drive

Concord, NH 03301