CONCORD, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire’s judicial branch is conducting an internal review days after an attempted murder-suicide in Salem, Mass. seriously injured a local woman.
At 5 p.m. Monday, November 15, 33-year-old Lindsay Smith was shot in the head as she left her job at Doyle’s Sailmakers in Salem. Authorities say the gunman, identified as 55-year-old Richard Lorman, turned the gun on himself and took his own life. Smith and Lorman lived together in a condo in Hampton, N.H., court records show.
>>>PREVIOUS: 1 dead, 1 hospitalized in attempted murder-suicide in Salem
The review was prompted because a domestic violence petition brought by Smith against Lorman was denied in October of this year.
N.H. Circuit Court Judge Polly Hall originally granted a 30-day restraining order to Smith on September 21, 2021. On October 20, 2021, Judge Hall dismissed the case against Lorman, finding, “The Court cannot find that the defendant’s conduct constitutes a credible present threat to plaintiff’s safety.” Court documents do not shed any light on what changed Judge Hall’s mind.
After learning of the attempted murder-suicide, New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald ordered the internal review, which is being led by Circuit Court Judge Susan B. Carbon. The judicial branch described Judge Carbon as, “a nationally recognized expert on domestic violence and a former director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice.”
That internal review is expected to be completed next week and will be made public after findings are submitted to the state Supreme Court.
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The New Hampshire judicial branch is also forming a task force to undergo a systemic review of its domestic violence cases in the court system. That task force will be led by New Hampshire Supreme Court Associate Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi.
“In addition to representatives from the Judicial Branch, the task force will include a broad range of domestic violence stakeholders including the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence [NHCADSV], law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, and others,” the judicial branch wrote Thursday. “The Task Force will seek assistance from national court consultants, with expertise in domestic and sexual violence.”
The NHCADSV also released a statement about the Salem attempted murder-suicide:
“The victim clearly showed in her petition that she was in immediate danger, and we are devastated to learn a final restraining order was denied in this case. Sadly, 43% of final protective orders are denied in New Hampshire, and in some cases where the victim has suffered serious injuries and there is an ongoing criminal investigation,” said Amanda Grady Sexton, director of Public Affairs for NHCADSV.
“We call on the courts to launch a comprehensive review of all recent restraining orders to ensure that judges are following all laws and protocols when making these life-altering decisions, and to seek advanced training on domestic violence for all judges presiding over these cases.”
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