This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – The special state Supreme Court panel in Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi’s professional conduct case lifted her interim suspension and reinstated her law license on Thursday, two days after all seven original criminal charges against her were dismissed when she pleaded no contest to one new charge.

The order paves the way for Hantz Marconi to return to the bench. There will likely remain matters involving Hantz Marconi with the Attorney Discipline Office and the Judicial Conduct Committee, according to the order.

In a plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office, Hantz Marconi was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and faced no jail time. Hantz Marconi, 69, pleaded no contest to the one new charge and Judge Martin Honigberg found her guilty.

The new 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 criminal trial is scheduled for next month.

“We conclude that criminal solicitation (misuse of position) is not a ‘serious crime’ because it does not include, as a necessary element, interference with the administration of justice, false swearing, misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, bribery, extortion, misappropriation, or theft. Accordingly, we lift the
respondent’s interim suspension and reinstate her to the practice of law, effective immediately,” the panel wrote in Thursday’s order.

Appointed as the panel to avoid a conflict with her Supreme Court colleagues were retired Superior Chief Justice Tina Nadeau, Superior Court Chief Justice Mark Howard and Superior Court Justices David Ruoff, Dan St. Hilaire, and Michael Klass, who all concurred on Thursday’s order.

“As noted above, once this court determines that an attorney has committed a crime that falls outside the definition of ‘serious crime’ – as is the case here – the court shall refer the matter to the Attorney Discipline Office for such action as it deems appropriate,” the order stated.

“Accordingly, this matter is referred back to the ADO for such action as it deems appropriate,” the order said.

“As the matter before the court only implicates the attorney disciplinary system and the respondent’s license to practice law, nothing in this order shall be construed to impede or interfere with any action, if any, of the Judicial Conduct Committee,” the order said.

After the hearing Tuesday, Hantz Marconi’s lawyer Richard Guerriero said she was looking forward to getting back to work, but had no comment Thursday because of the matters involving the ADO and JCC.

“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 a previous news release.

The regular state Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, who had been subpoenaed to testify in Hantz Marconi’s trial, agreed on Tuesday to lift Hantz Marconi’s administrative suspension from the court, but made it clear her license to practice law had to be reinstated before she could return to work.

The plea bargain Tuesday ended her case one year after she was indicted, but her husband Geno Marconi, 74, is still scheduled for trial next month in Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood.

Before she was placed on paid leave last year, Hantz Marconi was recusing herself from all Supreme Court cases involving the Attorney General’s Office because of the investigation into her husband.

Hantz Marconi claimed her boss on the court, Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald told he she had a right to meet with Sununu, which MacDonald later denied, according to court records.

Hantz Marconi’s trial, which was supposed to start next month, was expected to draw a great deal of attention because MacDonald, Sununu, Attorney General John Formella, and four judges had all been subpoenaed to testify.

Geno Marconi 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.

After Hantz Marconi’s hearing Tuesday, Attorney General John Formella said: “This is a sad and unfortunate case that reflects a serious breach of the public trust. Justice Hantz Marconi was an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court when she arranged for a private meeting with the Governor and then sought to obtain special treatment regarding an active criminal investigation involving her husband. That conduct was unlawful and unethical, and it undermines confidence in our criminal justice system. Today’s conviction holds her accountable under the law.”

“While serving as a sitting Supreme Court Justice, Hantz Marconi arranged for a meeting with then Governor Christopher T. Sununu, to discuss a personal matter. During the meeting, in June of 2024, she discussed an ongoing criminal grand jury investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi, the Director of the Division of Ports and Harbors at the Pease Development Authority and its effect on her both personally and as a member of the Supreme Court. The Justice told Governor Sununu that there was no merit to the criminal investigation and stated multiple times that the investigation needed to wrap up quickly. She also spoke to the Governor about how the investigation was hard on her personally and was preventing her from sitting on important cases pending or imminently pending before the Supreme Court.

“Judges have special ethical responsibilities, including to obey the law; to promote public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary; to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety; and to not abuse the prestige of their office to advance the personal interest of themselves or others,” added Formella. “The State of New Hampshire takes seriously its responsibility to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability at every level of public service. This outcome reinforces a core principle of our justice system: no one is above the law – not even a Justice of the Supreme Court,” Formella said.