UPDATE: In a late afternoon court filing Wednesday, Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi’s lawyer asked that the Court’s October 31, 2024 Order suspending her from the practice of law be vacated and that her right to practice law be reinstated…General Counsel for the ADO authorized undersigned counsel to state that the Attorney Discipline Office agrees that the offense of which Justice Hantz Marconi was convicted “falls outside of the definition of ‘serious crime’ in N.H. Sup. Ct. R. 37(9)(b). While the Attorney Discipline Office assents to lifting the interim suspension, it will conduct its own further investigation and process Justice Hantz Marconi’s matter in the normal course for discipline matters flowing from an attorney’s conviction of a crime.”
By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
The special state Supreme Court panel in Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi’s professional conduct case says her license to practice law remains suspended so she might not be returning to the bench quickly, but it’s also not impossible as their order Wednesday detailed what she needs to do to reinstate it.
The Attorney General’s Office dropped the original seven criminal charges against Hantz Marconi, 69, of Stratham at her sentencing hearing Tuesday in Merrimack County Superior Court. Hantz Marconi pleaded no contest to a new charge of Criminal Solicitation (Misuse of Position) and Judge Martin Honigberg found her guilty of the new charge. She received no jail time and was fined $1,200.
That charge says Hantz Marconi met with then-Gov. Chris Sununu last summer and secured a government privilege she wasn’t entitled to regarding a criminal investigation into her husband, Ports and Harbors Director Geno Marconi, whose trial date has been re-scheduled again.
After the hearing, Hantz Marconi’s lawyer Richard Guerriero said she was looking forward to getting back to work.
“The Attorney General’s Office agreed that the Class B Misdemeanor is not a serious crime because it does not involve interference with the administration of justice, false statements, bribery, extortion, or other serious criminal conduct,” Guerriero said in the news release.
The regular state Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, who had been subpoenaed to testify in Hantz Marconi’s case, agreed on Tuesday to lift Hantz Marconi’s administrative suspension from the court, but made it clear her license to practice law must be reinstated before she can return to work.
Hantz Marconi had said MacDonald told her it was OK to meet with Sununu in 2024, which MacDonald denies.
Filling in to avoid a conflict with her Supreme Court colleagues on the matter of her law license are retired Superior Chief Justice Tina Nadeau, Superior Court Chief Justice Mark Howard and Superior Court Justices David Ruoff, Dan St. Hilaire, and Michael Klass.
They issued an order Wednesday saying Hantz Marconi’s law license continues to be suspended and explained the process going forward showing the term “serious crime” may prove important in Hantz Marconi returning to the bench.
“On or before October 20, 2025, the Attorney Discipline Office (ADO) may file a pleading setting forth its positions as to whether Hantz Marconi’s) conviction constitutes a ‘serious crime,’ as defined by
Rule 37(9)(b) and as referenced in the ADO’s October 21, 2024 recommendation for a suspension, and whether her suspension should be lifted,” the special panel wrote.
Any response from Hantz Marconi to the Attorney Discipline Office’s pleading must be filed within ten days of that pleading.
“After review of the parties’ filings, we will determine whether the respondent’s conviction constitutes a ‘serious crime’ and whether the suspension shall be lifted. If neither party files a pleading, we will make those determinations without their input,” the order states.
Geno Marconi’s Trial
Judge David Ruoff, who is presiding over Geno Marconi’s trial, issued an order in that case after Hantz Marconi’s case ended in the plea deal Tuesday.
At a hearing Friday in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood, Assistant Attorneys General Joe Fincham and Dan Jimenez argued to delay Geno Marconi’s trial because they were handling Hantz Marconi’s and Geno Marconi’s trials at about the same time.
“The singular reason for the postponement was because State’s counsel was also trying the case of State v. Hantz-Marconi in Merrimack County Superior Court. The defendant withdrew his objection and a new date was set by agreement.
“Yet, one business day later, the defendant in the Hantz-Marconi case filed a Notice of Intent to Plea
and her plea was changed and accepted on today’s date. That ended the prosecution of that case.
Given that less than two business days have passed since that scheduling conflict has been resolved,
the Court is of the opinion that this case can be placed back in its original trial track in November,” Ruoff wrote.
“The original jury selection date of November 3, 2025 (two week trial period) is reinstated,” Ruoff wrote.
Geno Marconi, 74, has pleaded not guilty to falsifying physical evidence by deleting a voicemail/and or voicemails from a phone on April 22, 2024. He was also indicted for allegedly retaliating against Pease Development Authority Board Vice Chairman Neil Levesque by providing confidential motor vehicle records pertaining to Levesque to Bradley Cook, in violation of the Driver Privacy Act.