Guide to the Papers of Clifton Below, 1999

SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF COLLECTION

BOX 1 : A 2001 BOOK BY NH STATE SENATOR MARY BROWN ENTITLED "THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE" AND FOUR BINDERS CONTAINING THE TRIAL PLAN; TRIAL MEMORANDUMS; COURT ORDERS; COURTROOM MAPS; DAILY ACTIVITY LOGS; HOUSE RESOLUTIONS; SENATE ROLLS; AGENDAS; EXHIBIT LISTS; WITNESS LISTS; A TYPED GLOSSARY OF LEGAL TERMS; PHOTOCOPIES OF CALENDARS, CORRESPONDENCES, COURT MOTIONS, PUBLISHED COMPLAINTS, COURT POLICIES, SERVICE CERTIFICATES, MEMOS, SUPREME COURT RULES, OPENING STATEMENTS, AND TRIAL NOTES OF PAST TRIALS FOR EXHIBIT AND/OR STUDY IN THE SEPTEMBER 2000 TRIAL OF CHIEF JUSTICE DAVID A. BROCK. ALSO INCLUDED, ARE HANDWRITTEN NOTES BELONGING TO SENATOR CLIFTON C. BELOW.

BOX 2 : FOUR VHS TAPES RECORDING THE NH SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL'S FINAL DAY AND DELIBERATIONS (OCTOBER 10, 2000); TWO BINDERS OF CHIEF JUSTICE DAVID A. BROCK'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION TO REQUIRE A TWO-THIRDS VOTE TO CONVICT THAT INCLUDE TYPED DOCUMENTS AND PHOTO COPIES OF HEARING MOTIONS, MEMORANDUMS, AND STATEMENTS (AUGUST 21, 2000); A 1999-2000 COPY OF THE 1784 NEW HAMPSHIRE CONSTITUTION; CONDENSED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL (DAY 1- DAY 15); AN AP PHOTO OF THE BENCH CONFERENCE OF SENATORS (OCTOBER 2000); A TRIAL AGENDA; A COPY OF MASON'S MANUAL OF LEGISLATION; PHOTOCOPIES OF PARALEGAL LETTERS, MEMOS, AS WELL AS A KEY NOTE LISTING FOR THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE; RULES OF THE NH SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND COPIES OF RULES OF PAST TRIALS OF DEPOSITION FOR STUDY. ALSO INCLUDED ARE TRIAL-RELATED LETTERS TO BELOW.

Guide to the Papers of Clifton Below, 1999 - 2001

Contact Information:
Rauner Special Collections Library.
6065 Webster Hall
Hanover, NH 03755-2519, USA
Phone: (603) 646-2037
FAX: (603) 646-0447
Email: Rauner.Reference@dartmouth.edu
URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~speccoll/

	Creator:	Below, Clifton C.
	Title Remainder:	Papers. 1999 - 2001
	Dates:	1999 - 2001
	Identification:	MS-950
	Size of collection:	2 boxes (3.0 linear ft.)
	Abstract:	Papers relating to the 2000 impeachment trial of New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice David Brock. Clifton C. Below was a State Senator at the time and participated in the trial.

Biography

Senator Clifton C. Below attended elementary school in Brunswick and Topsham, Maine. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1978 with distinction in Geography and Environmental Studies. He has served as the vice president of the LISTEN Board of Directors as well as the secretary of the Grafton County Democratic Committee of NH and is a member of the Lebanon Energy Commission and Energy Working Group of the Forum on the Valley's Future, the Upper Valley Energy Coalition, and the New Hampshire Energy Coalition. A former NH senator (D), he served in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice David A. Brock in the year 2000:

On March 31, 2000, the NH State Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin, in the report "In re: W. Stephen Thayer, III and Related Matters" brought to light information concerning the conduct of New Hampshire's Supreme Court justices in the Feld's Case and Thayer v. Thayer. On April 19, the NH House approved HR 50, authorizing and directing the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether cause existed for the impeachment of David A. Brock, the Chief Justice, and/or any other justice of the NH Court. While no article of impeachment was brought against other investigated Supreme Court justices, the House committee found convincing evidence that there were constitutional grounds for the impeachment and subsequent removal of Chief Justice Brock and approved four articles of impeachment against him. As the NH constitution provides neither the level of evidence required to determine what conduct is impeachable nor the number of votes required to convict, NH senators served as both justice and jury on the three-week trial, together deciding on a two-thirds vote to convict. Ultimately, Brock was acquitted on all charges (October 10, 2000).

Below currently resides in Lebanon, NH.

Scope and Contents of Collection

Papers of Clifton C. Below document the impeachment trial of NH Supreme Court Justice David A. Brock, in which Senator Below took part. The Papers include a book by NH State Senator Mary Brown ( "The Impeachment Trial of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice," 2001); six binders containing trial memorandums, court orders, courtroom maps, hearing motions, daily activity logs, House resolutions, Senate rolls, agendas, exhibit lists, trial plans, witness lists, and a legal term listing, as well as photocopies of calendars, correspondences, published complaints, court policies, court rules, opening statements, and trial notes of past trials for exhibit and/or study in the 2000 impeachment trial of Chief Justice David A. Brock. Also includes four VHS tapes recording the senate impeachment trial's final day and deliberations; a copy of the New Hampshire Constitution; condensed transcripts of the trial; photocopies of paralegal letters; a key note listing for the House Judiciary Committee; a copy of Mason's Manual of Legislation; rules of the NH Senate and NH House of Representatives; and handwritten notes and trial-related letters of Below.

Of interest: an AP photo of the Bench Conference of Senators (October 2000).