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Justice of the Peace
Newsletter

SUMMER 2006

In This Issue:
CT JP Conference
First Texas Member
 In the News
      New Job for NH  JPs
      First Female JP
      New MA court ruling
JPs Q and A
Advice for JPs

CONNECTICUT JUSTICE OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE
Location: Constitution Room in Memorial Hall
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, Connecticut

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2006
Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Registration from 8:30 a.m.)

For the second annual Connecticut Justice of the Peace Conference, we are pleased to announce that the keynote speaker will be Susan Bysiewicz. The conference takes place soon after Election Day, when Susan is running for her third term as Secretary of the State. The Secretary of State's office maintains the Connecticut State Register and Manual, where newly appointed JPs' names are listed by town. It also publishes the manual for Justices of the Peace in Connecticut. Revisions to the manual were most recently made when civil unions became legal in September 2005.

Of her many accomplishments as Secretary of State and previously as a three-term state legislator and lawyer, of particular relevance to Justices of the Peace is Susan's role as the state's chief business registrar. In 1999, she oversaw the creation of The Connecticut Small & Minority Business Showcase dedicated to knowledge, growth and networking for small businesses, where entrepreneurs can get one-stop assistance for their business initiatives and exhibitors display their goods and services.

The Showcase's founder, Harland Henry,  Director of Community Outreach and Business Development and Susan's Executive Assistant, will also be on our program. Harland suggests that JPs attend the next Showcase on August 17th. See www.ctshowcase.org for more information and to register.
CONFERENCE Event Highlights

  • Keynote: Susan Bysiewicz, Secretary of State
  • JPs as Small Business:  Harland Henry,  Director of Community Outreach
  • Update on civil unions and intelligence investigations: Beth Frugale, Registrar of Vital Records, Department of Public Health
  • Afternoon Breakout Sessions led by JPs on topics you've asked for. In the Student Center.
  • Network with Colleagues at Continental Breakfast and catered Lunch
  • Exhibition space for JP products such as multi-media advertising, embossing seals, ceremonial attire, marriage and civil union certificates, etc.
  • More details to be announced as they are firmed up.

Call for Volunteers

Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, get connected, and support the JP Association. Besides that, it’s fun! If you’re planning on attending this year’s conference, why not consider volunteering as well? Volunteers make the conference a success by helping to plan it, meeting and greeting attendees, leading a discussion group, providing entertainment.

  • Breakout session leaders
  • Skit writers and performers
  • Sponsor and advertisers solicitation
  • Registration Desk
  • Conference Materials (Signs, Nametags, Programs)

Register Early for Best Price and Help Us Plan Better!  
$30 for www.jpUS.org members, $35 for non-members
Offer good until September 30!
After September 30, it's $40 for www.jpUS.org members, $45 for non-members.    
At the door: $50 for all.
We hope you will save $10 by registering early.
Price includes admission to all program events, continental breakfast and a catered lunch.
Join www.jpUS.org and save more.

You can register online at  www.jpUS.org/conferenceregister.htm#form. For those who prefer to print and mail the form, we're including it at the bottom of this newsletter.

A Texas Justice of the Peace Joins the JP Association and findaJP goes to Texas
We welcome Judge Michael R. Little to membership in www.jpUS.org.  Knowing that JPs in Texas (and Nevada, among other states) are full-time officers of the court with judicial duties, we asked him how come he joined. He replied: "I joined jpUS because I perform weddings for many Military students here at Sheppard Air Force Base. They often need to be married so the spouse is included on the shipping orders to their permanent duty station. They are from all over the country. I joined to make their search a little easier."
          In Texas, a JP is part of County government and is elected to a precinct. Mike's precinct includes Wichita Falls, a town of 110,000 in Wichita County. Just some of his duties: Misdemeanors (tickets, hearings on Fail to Attend School cases, Administrative Hearings (Drivers License Suspensions, Handgun License Suspensions etc); evictions and lawsuits up to $5000; Magistrate duties involving crimes "ranging from Driving While License Invalid to Murder and everything in between"; hearings on cruelly treated or dangerous animals.
         Whew! And he does weddings too! 
JPs Q and A
Q: I need some help, please.  I have been emailed and/or called three times for weddings but when I say that I haven’t done a wedding before although I have spoken in public I don’t get the job.  What can I do?  I don’t want to not tell the truth.  A New JP
A:  Humor is good. If asked, "Is this your first wedding," you can answer, "Yes, is this your first wedding? Then, it will be a first for both of us." If you sound confident and enthusiastic, you should win them over. Saul Haffner  Do you have other advice for first-timers? Write to us.
Q: I have been asked to perform a civil union by a couple who reside in CT. However they would like us to perform the ceremony in real time via a  webcast. I would be here in CT at my home and they would be in another state with friends. The ceremony would be a webcast in realtime. I would see and speak with them over a high speed cable internet connection.  A Connecticut JP
A: What interesting dilemmas technology provokes! Beth Frugale, Registrar of Vital Records, responds: "A civil union license or marriage license is issued and only valid for use in Connecticut. All parties are required to be present in person in this state in order for the JP to adequately solemnize and complete the license." Could this rule be challenged? "It is always a possibility," Beth says. "Interpretation of the law would be requested of the Attorney General's office." 
Q: I have been requested to perform a wedding of a couple who had an Islam ceremony in England but never recorded it. I am not sure as to the procedure. Although she is a U.S. citizen, he is not. They have the marriage license from the Town Clerk. Marianne Malkin, Newtown CT
 A: We often get asked "what if" questions covering odd situations. Here's the simple answer. If the couple has an authentic license, you can perform the marriage or civil union. I usually ask the couple to verify that they are the people on the license and are entering into the marriage/ civil union freely and willingly. That's it. It's up to the Town Clerk to sort out the issues beforehand. Saul

JP Couples
My husband, Craig Minor, a member of the Democratic Town Committee and a City Councilman, has been a JP longer than I have. He has no interest in performing weddings or civil unions but recently I was asked to perform a civil union on our way to a romantic weekend in VT. Craig was with me and was going to stand in the background when we realized that the couple and their three children had no one to take pictures. Voila. JP and JP photographer!    Laura Minor, Bristol, CT
 We are both JPs who perform weddings and civil unions. We are strong proponents of full marriage equality between opposite and same sex couples. (Civil unions are separate and unequal.) We had our own civil union ceremony last year in our town clerk's office on Oct 1, the first day that CT's civil union law went into effect. We've been together for almost 27 years.  Ken Cornet & Joe Mustich, Washington, CT
IN THE NEWS  
NH JPs acquired a new responsibility when Gov. John Lynch signed a bill rewriting state laws governing advance directives this month. The new law permits a justice of the peace or a notary to witness the signing of a living will or durable power of attorney for health care. Previously two witnesses and a notary were required.

Ester Morris, the first female justice of the peace in the United States and an activist who won women the right to vote in Wyoming in 1869, will be inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in October (posthumously, of course). She’ll join such notable western women as Annie Oakley, Dale Evans and Sacagawea among 181 other hall-of-famers inducted since the Fort Worth museum was founded in 1975.
Ed Butler, a member of jpUS.org, and his partner Les Schoof,  keepers of The Notchland Inn in Hart's Location New Hampshire, were among eight couples who lost their challenge of the Massachusetts law denying out-of-state same-sex couples the right to marry. The MA Supreme Judicial Court ruled that couples from other states cannot get married in MA if the marriage would not be recognized in their home state. MA is still the only state to allow same-sex marriages. As Rhode Island does not specifically prohibit same-sex marriage, another case is underway in MA to permit gay couples from RI to marry in MA.
Advice for JPs:
Be on the Alert for Suspicious Email
I got an email from a couple in Britain wanting to hire me as a wedding planner.  Big budget. Asked for info and my bank account number. There was no reason for them to wire transfer money. I gave them an alternative payment method, but I wanted to advise other JPs not to fall for this possible scam. Mary Pugh, Norwalk CT
We should all know NEVER to give out personal information, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. Ed.
 

Treat Marriage Licenses With Care
Today I received a marriage license from a JP. It was folded in half twice and crammed into a 5X10 cardboard mail envelope. Please address the importance of returning marriage licenses to their proper Town/City Halls in the large manilla envelope that is usually provided to the couple when they apply for the license. Most JP’s return the licenses in original condition. It’s just the lack of respect for the license by a few that gets to me. Thank you for helping. Barbara Rockwell, Plymouth Ct Town Clerk

Share your experiences on any of these topics. Send to: newsletter@jpus.org       

CONNECTICUT JP CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

GYES!  I will attend the JP Conference on Nov. 18, 2006.  Enclosed is my check for $ ______.

First Name (for nametag) _____________________ Last Name _____________________________

Address __________________________Town/City ___________________  State _____ Zip_______

Phone ________________________     Email ____________________________________

G  I want to help create conference materials.
G  I want to help find sponsors for the conference.
G  I want to be a breakout session leader.
G  I want to write or act in a skit to be performed at the conference.
G  I want to help at the Registration desk.
G Other _________________________________________________________

Please mail with check to: Justice of the Peace Association  • 8 Webb Road • Westport CT 06880
For further information: 203-226-1710  or Email:  conference@jpUS.org

This form can be filled out online at  www.jpUS.org/conferenceregister.htm#form if you prefer.
Directions to CCSU are at  http://jpus.org/conferencedirections.htm and will be emailed upon confirmation.

Are you listed on findaJP.com?
Join www.jpUS.org and Support the JP Association.
Click here.

Please let us know if you prefer not to receive this Newsletter and we'll take you off the list. Also let us know if you have problems receiving it or if you are receiving more than one . We welcome your feedback and appreciate news or features of interest to JPs. Please send your suggestions, comments and submissions to newsletter@jpus.org 
Saul Haffner  saulhaffner@jpus.org