CONCORD, NH – A new exhibition entitled "Judicial Notice: The World Through the Eyes of Chief Justice Robert Peaslee," is serving as a kick-off to the launch of a new organization, the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society, aimed at advancing civic education in New Hampshire. This display of caricatures from the bench , drawn from 1900-1902 by Robert James Peaslee (1864 - 1936) is a captivating look at our state a century ago.
From 1901 to 1907 Peaslee served as an associate justice of State Superior Court. With his detailed notes from pleadings, he made a series candid, humorous, and telling drawings of the lawyers and people who came before the bench. Preserved in his writings, these drawings take up back to the early days of the modern trial system in New Hampshire. Peaslee would go on to be an associate justice of State Supreme Court in 1907. In September 1924 he was named Chief Justice where he served for a decade until his retirement in 1934.
The exhibition is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the New Hampshire Supreme Court building at 1 Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire and will run from May 15 – October 15, 2008.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court Society is a charitable organization, which supports and honors the work of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and promotes an independent and effective judiciary. The Society also celebrates history and actively learns from it by working on "living history" projects throughout New Hampshire. Membership is open to all citizens with an interest in preserving New Hampshire's judicial history and advancing civic education in our state.
The new Society will work to increase awareness of the life of the law – both past and present through educational programs, exhibitions of court artifacts and art, a lecture series, scholarly articles, an oral history project, and an awards program. While many states have such organizations to preserve the history of their courts, this is the first such initiative in the Granite State.