Drizzt
July 16, 2001, 12:02 PM
Gun lobby moves to block judge
Rappa nominated by Shaheen for district court position
Friday, July 13, 2001
By AMY McCONNELL
Monitor staff
Usually, members of the Executive Council fight over the state's bread and butter. This time, they're arguing over guns.
And this time, their argument, over the appointment of a part-time judge to two North Country district courts, is being shaped by big guns - a national gun rights group working to re-elect U.S. Senator Bob Smith.
In a rare display of ideology, Executive Councilor David Wheeler of Milford is holding up the confirmation of Judge Thomas Rappa of Bath to a once-a-week stint at Gorham District Court because he opposes Rappa's views on guns. Most judges, like Rappa, seize firearms from people accused of domestic violence and bound by temporary restraining orders, Wheeler acknowledged.
But that doesn't make the judges right or the law constitutional, he said.
"I don't care what police are doing," said Wheeler, a board member of Gun Owners of New Hampshire and member of Virginia-based Gun Owners of America, when told police officers say most judges order guns seized in such cases. "Some departments have a protocol, but their protocol is illegal."
Rappa, presently in California receiving an award for Grafton County's handling of domestic violence cases, could not be reached for comment. But after his June 6 hearing, he sent a letter to Executive Councilor Raymond Burton of Bath explaining that his comments had been misinterpreted. He has owned firearms since he was 12 years old, Rappa wrote, and his entire family enjoys target shooting.
Although no law requires a judge to seize the weapons of someone under a preliminary or emergency restraining order because of domestic violence, he said, statistics show that is the time of greatest risk for victims.
"Therefore it makes sense and serves the prevailing public policy, to protect all of our citizens, to reduce the risk by removing firearms from a known volatile situation," Rappa wrote. "By exercising that judicial discretion, I am in no way attempting to undermine an individual's right to bear arms."
Burton, along with Executive Councilor Ruth Griffin of Portsmouth, has praised Rappa's talents. Wheeler, however, says he believes Executive Councilors Tom Colantuono of Derry and Peter Spaulding of Bow are holding firm against Rappa, which would defeat his confirmation. Colantuono did not return a call seeking comment, and Spaulding is out of town until next week.
The appointment, one of Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's six judicial nominations this year, is the second to founder - at least for now - on the council's opposition. The confirmation of Superior Court nominee Stephanie Nute of Lee has also faltered and was not put on the agenda at the most recent council meeting.
Shaheen nominated Rappa, who has worked as a part-time judge at Plymouth District Court for 10 years, to take over part-time positions at the Gorham and Berlin district courts. Rappa was originally appointed to the bench by then-governor John H. Sununu, the father of John E. Sununu, who is now considering a run against Smith.
During Rappa's recent confirmation hearings, Wheeler said he asked Rappa whether a judge should order seizure of firearms when issuing a temporary restraining order against someone accused of domestic violence.
Rappa, he said, answered that guns should be seized in such cases.
(State law allows judges to order guns and ammunition seized in temporary or emergency restraining orders but does not require it. Federal law, however, does require judges to order firearms seized when issuing a final domestic violence restraining order, which is granted only after the defendant's court hearing.)
Judges need not seize guns when issuing a temporary restraining order, Shaheen Legal Counsel Judy Reardon acknowledged. But it's standard practice for nearly every judge in district courts, where domestic violence cases are usually heard, to remove firearms in such situations, she said.
"If that is the wrong policy, then the remedy is to pass legislation changing the law, not to punish an exemplary district court judge like Tom Rappa."
Executive Council meetings are not recorded and no official minutes are kept. But Wheeler took detailed notes on the June hearing, he said, and sent his version of the minutes to Gun Owners of America, which had already weighed in on New Hampshire politics once that month.
Sununu had sponsored anti-gun legislation, Executive Director Larry Pratt said in an "alert" to members, while "Senator Bob Smith has been a consistent friend of the Second Amendment."
A few weeks after Rappa's hearing, the group mailed another notice to its New Hampshire members.
Rappa, the postcard reads, is an "anti-gun zealot" backed by Shaheen and Sununu - although the card does not point out that Sununu the Elder, not his son the congressman, originally appointed Rappa. Members should call councilors and urge them to vote against Rappa's confirmation, the card states.
Why should a national group like Gun Owners of America take an interest in a part-time district court judgeship in Gorham?
The issue "sort of speaks, in a way, to what may become a battle between Smith and Sununu," said Michael Hammond, a Dunbarton lawyer and a consultant for the group.
It's the "establishment attitude" of people like Sununu that has stuck New Hampshire with judges like Rappa and U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, he said.
"If you don't care about principles, it's the sort of person you'll end up with on the bench," Hammond said.
Over time, he said, councilors have failed to pick proper judicial candidates, and their approval has become little more than a formality. All that may be about to change, Hammond said.
"Now we've got people like David Wheeler and possibly Tom Colantuono who are willing to make the Executive Council more than a rubber stamp."
Since Gun Owners of America mailed its postcard, Griffin says she has received about 30 phone calls from people asking her to vote against Rappa's confirmation. But ideology rarely, if ever, fouls the nomination process, she said, and the other recently confirmed judges weren't even asked about their views on guns.
True enough, Burton said. He couldn't think of a single time in his 23 years on the Executive Council that a judicial nominee was rejected because of his or her political views, he said.
"The governor and council seemed to be able to lift themselves above extreme political points of view - either the far right or the far left," Burton said. "We tried to strike a balance."
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/front0400/rappa.shtml
Rappa nominated by Shaheen for district court position
Friday, July 13, 2001
By AMY McCONNELL
Monitor staff
Usually, members of the Executive Council fight over the state's bread and butter. This time, they're arguing over guns.
And this time, their argument, over the appointment of a part-time judge to two North Country district courts, is being shaped by big guns - a national gun rights group working to re-elect U.S. Senator Bob Smith.
In a rare display of ideology, Executive Councilor David Wheeler of Milford is holding up the confirmation of Judge Thomas Rappa of Bath to a once-a-week stint at Gorham District Court because he opposes Rappa's views on guns. Most judges, like Rappa, seize firearms from people accused of domestic violence and bound by temporary restraining orders, Wheeler acknowledged.
But that doesn't make the judges right or the law constitutional, he said.
"I don't care what police are doing," said Wheeler, a board member of Gun Owners of New Hampshire and member of Virginia-based Gun Owners of America, when told police officers say most judges order guns seized in such cases. "Some departments have a protocol, but their protocol is illegal."
Rappa, presently in California receiving an award for Grafton County's handling of domestic violence cases, could not be reached for comment. But after his June 6 hearing, he sent a letter to Executive Councilor Raymond Burton of Bath explaining that his comments had been misinterpreted. He has owned firearms since he was 12 years old, Rappa wrote, and his entire family enjoys target shooting.
Although no law requires a judge to seize the weapons of someone under a preliminary or emergency restraining order because of domestic violence, he said, statistics show that is the time of greatest risk for victims.
"Therefore it makes sense and serves the prevailing public policy, to protect all of our citizens, to reduce the risk by removing firearms from a known volatile situation," Rappa wrote. "By exercising that judicial discretion, I am in no way attempting to undermine an individual's right to bear arms."
Burton, along with Executive Councilor Ruth Griffin of Portsmouth, has praised Rappa's talents. Wheeler, however, says he believes Executive Councilors Tom Colantuono of Derry and Peter Spaulding of Bow are holding firm against Rappa, which would defeat his confirmation. Colantuono did not return a call seeking comment, and Spaulding is out of town until next week.
The appointment, one of Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's six judicial nominations this year, is the second to founder - at least for now - on the council's opposition. The confirmation of Superior Court nominee Stephanie Nute of Lee has also faltered and was not put on the agenda at the most recent council meeting.
Shaheen nominated Rappa, who has worked as a part-time judge at Plymouth District Court for 10 years, to take over part-time positions at the Gorham and Berlin district courts. Rappa was originally appointed to the bench by then-governor John H. Sununu, the father of John E. Sununu, who is now considering a run against Smith.
During Rappa's recent confirmation hearings, Wheeler said he asked Rappa whether a judge should order seizure of firearms when issuing a temporary restraining order against someone accused of domestic violence.
Rappa, he said, answered that guns should be seized in such cases.
(State law allows judges to order guns and ammunition seized in temporary or emergency restraining orders but does not require it. Federal law, however, does require judges to order firearms seized when issuing a final domestic violence restraining order, which is granted only after the defendant's court hearing.)
Judges need not seize guns when issuing a temporary restraining order, Shaheen Legal Counsel Judy Reardon acknowledged. But it's standard practice for nearly every judge in district courts, where domestic violence cases are usually heard, to remove firearms in such situations, she said.
"If that is the wrong policy, then the remedy is to pass legislation changing the law, not to punish an exemplary district court judge like Tom Rappa."
Executive Council meetings are not recorded and no official minutes are kept. But Wheeler took detailed notes on the June hearing, he said, and sent his version of the minutes to Gun Owners of America, which had already weighed in on New Hampshire politics once that month.
Sununu had sponsored anti-gun legislation, Executive Director Larry Pratt said in an "alert" to members, while "Senator Bob Smith has been a consistent friend of the Second Amendment."
A few weeks after Rappa's hearing, the group mailed another notice to its New Hampshire members.
Rappa, the postcard reads, is an "anti-gun zealot" backed by Shaheen and Sununu - although the card does not point out that Sununu the Elder, not his son the congressman, originally appointed Rappa. Members should call councilors and urge them to vote against Rappa's confirmation, the card states.
Why should a national group like Gun Owners of America take an interest in a part-time district court judgeship in Gorham?
The issue "sort of speaks, in a way, to what may become a battle between Smith and Sununu," said Michael Hammond, a Dunbarton lawyer and a consultant for the group.
It's the "establishment attitude" of people like Sununu that has stuck New Hampshire with judges like Rappa and U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, he said.
"If you don't care about principles, it's the sort of person you'll end up with on the bench," Hammond said.
Over time, he said, councilors have failed to pick proper judicial candidates, and their approval has become little more than a formality. All that may be about to change, Hammond said.
"Now we've got people like David Wheeler and possibly Tom Colantuono who are willing to make the Executive Council more than a rubber stamp."
Since Gun Owners of America mailed its postcard, Griffin says she has received about 30 phone calls from people asking her to vote against Rappa's confirmation. But ideology rarely, if ever, fouls the nomination process, she said, and the other recently confirmed judges weren't even asked about their views on guns.
True enough, Burton said. He couldn't think of a single time in his 23 years on the Executive Council that a judicial nominee was rejected because of his or her political views, he said.
"The governor and council seemed to be able to lift themselves above extreme political points of view - either the far right or the far left," Burton said. "We tried to strike a balance."
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/front0400/rappa.shtml