By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org,
LANCASTER – Judge Peter Bornstein has denied former Democratic state Sen. Jeffrey Woodburn’s motion for sentence modification and ordered a hearing to impose his 30-day jail sentence, but his attorney Mark Sisti said his client isn’t giving up at this point.
Sisti said the Coos Superior Court hasn’t yet set a date for the sentence imposition hearing but if Woodburn, who lives in Whitefield, doesn’t prevail and avoid jail time, he will again appeal.
“We have no reservations about taking an appeal to the Supreme Court,” Sisti said Thursday.
If that happens it would be the third time before the high court on Woodburn’s convictions involving domestic violence related charges dating back over six years against Woodburn’s then-fiancee Emily Jacobs.
The only two convictions that originated from the events in 2017 that are subject to sentencing are misdemeanor A criminal mischief convictions, not violent in nature with no allegations of bodily harm, Sisti wrote previously.
They were for kicking Jacobs’ dryer door and the door to her residence.
Woodburn was either found not guilty on some of the domestic violence charges or they were dismissed after a second trial jury couldn’t reach a verdict. The two misdemeanor criminal mischief convictions are the last remaining in the case.
Attorney General John Formella said Thursday: “The original sentences imposed on Mr. Woodburn for criminal mischief were carefully considered and were consistent with the facts and circumstances of the case. This outcome reflects our commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that all convictions are addressed in a manner that respects both the victims and the integrity of the judicial process.”
Bornstein wrote in Thursday’s order that Woodburn’s request for sentence modification is “untimely in the extreme;” he has waived any right to sentence modification; there is no legal or factual basis for granting sentence modification; and even if the court were to consider it, it would deny same because his criminal mischief sentences reflected all relevant facts and circumstances and appropriately balanced and promoted the goals of sentencing.
Earlier this month Sisti filed a motion arguing the 30 days his client was sentenced to should be “modified to reflect the present reality of what charges and convictions exist in 2024 that did not exist when he was originally sentenced.”
Sisti wrote: “The Court now has before it two minor property related crimes committed by a man with zero criminal record prior to these offenses and zero criminal record after these offenses.
“The kicking of a dryer door and residential door hardly requires actual incarceration in light of the history of this case and the character of Jeffrey Woodburn,” Sisti wrote, adding as attachments several character letters praising Woodburn, including one from his psychiatrist, one from an ex-wife and one from his present girlfriend.
“No other individual facing first offense level cases with the characteristics of Jeff Woodburn would be subjected to incarceration,” Sisti wrote.
