By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
Two and a half years after he was arrested on nine domestic violence-related charges against his former fiancee, trial date was set Monday for former state Sen. Jeff Woodburn for May 10 in Coos County Superior Court.
Woodburn, 55, a Whitefield Democrat, has pleaded not guilty, and filed notice that he will claim self-defense. Trial had been set last year just as the pandemic hit delaying court proceedings.
It was unclear if the sole witness for the defense – Dr. Paul Donahue – who counseled Woodburn and former fiancee Emily Jacobs as a couple and individually, will testify. Woodburn’s attorney Donna Brown had filed a 54-page motion seeking records of Jacobs’ sessions with Donahue early on in the case and listed him as the only witness.
But two weeks ago on March 16, Donahue voluntarily surrendered his license to practice to settle misconduct allegations with the Board of Mental Health Practice. It is not known if that will impact his ability to testify or credibility and Brown didn’t return a call seeking comment.
In public documents, the Board doesn’t name individuals in the case for which Donahue was accused of professional misconduct.
“(Donahue) failed to maintain objectivity in the couple’s counseling relationship; provided false information during the investigation regarding record keeping practices and whether one of the clients reported being afraid of the other client; and shared information from one client with the other client that could have put the disclosing client in danger given the temper, anger, and physical abuse allegations that she previously shared during her individual sessions,” the Board wrote, along with a number of other allegations that Donahue agreed to settle by relinquishing his license to practice.
The motion Brown had filed in September of 2018 included transcripts of emails and a voice mail from Donahue to Woodburn that suggested Jacobs wanted to “get back at” him for leaving her.
One was a voice message from Donahue to Woodburn on July 3, 2018. Brown quoted Donahue: “Yeah, I met with Emily. It was very discouraging. Very. Seems confused about what she wants to do, but overall on the negative side…how to get back at you. I urged her to think about things before she did anything and exactly what she has in mind is hard to say, but if I were you as I said face to face, I would proceed with caution …”
Woodburn is charged with four counts of simple assault, two counts of domestic violence, two counts of criminal mischief, and one count of criminal trespass, all of which are misdemeanors.
Woodburn was accused of biting Jacobs’ arm and hand, hitting her in the stomach, throwing a cup of water in her face, then throwing the empty cup striking her in the face, breaking her dryer by kicking the door, kicking the locked door of her home and trespassing. The misdemeanor crimes allegedly occurred during a period from August 2017 through June 10, 2018.
Woodburn was a popular state Senator who by all accounts had a promising political future. Jacobs, too, was very involved in Democratic party politics and was running for Coos County treasurer when Woodburn was arrested. She lost the county race.
Woodburn won his primary against Kathleen Kelley in 2018, then lost in the general election to Republican David Starr. Starr lost in the primary during the last election to Erin Hennessey, who took the District 1 Senate seat in a race against Democrat Susan Ford.
Charges against Woodburn, who did not respond to calls seeking comment Monday, surprised his constituents in the North Country, although many Democrats and Republicans around the state immediately called for his resignation after the attorney general issued his news release Aug. 2, 2018.
Jacobs could not be reached for comment.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 5 with the trial set for May 10. Attorney Brown said she may have a conflict for that date with a trial in Rockingham County, but would let the judge know when she could confirm.
Judge Peter Bornstein set deadlines for any special requests relative to questioning potential jurors April 12, and April 26 for any special jury instructions. Covid court protocols will be in effect for the trial.