By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – The Attorney General’s Office said human resources’ “best practices were not followed” when Dianne Martin, a longtime colleague of state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, was laid off for two days, then hired into another position within the judicial branch and allowed to collect $50,000 in accrued annual leave, sick leave and termination pay.
“…DOJ concludes that the series of events and transactions examined do not warrant further review or investigation by DOJ as, at this time, there is no reasonable suspicion to believe that further investigation would uncover actionable criminal conduct,” according to Attorney General John Formella’s news release Tuesday.
The release also said, “DOJ does not have oversight authority over the judicial branch for such issues. DOJ is therefore closing its review and will take no further action on this matter.”
The release also raised questions about how long Martin worked after she was laid off Feb. 28. It appears that she didn’t return to work for more than a month, not just two days.
Martin was hired as Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts effective November 15, 2021, formally laid off on April 1, 2025, and hired to a different position within the judicial branch as General Counsel for the Office of Bar Admissions effective April 4, 2025, Formella’s release said.
“During our review we learned that Dianne Martin was called to a meeting with several Justices at the New Hampshire Supreme Court on February 28, 2025, at which time she was told that her position as AOC Director was eliminated effective immediately.
“She had no advance notice of an impending layoff, as required by the judicial branch personnel rules. The Hon. Christopher Keating was informed the same day that he would be AOC’s Interim Director. Ms. Martin left the February 28 meeting with the understanding that her layoff was effective that date; she never returned to AOC. Although verbally informed her layoff was effective February 28, 2025, records indicate that she was retained on paid administrative leave until formally laid off on April 1, 2025,” the release said.
Formella launched the investigation based on an investigation by New Hampshire Public Radio last month.
The state Supreme Court released the following statement Tuesday that appears at odds with Formella’s findings: “We acknowledge the review conducted by the Office of the Attorney General and note its findings that the Judicial Branch personnel actions in question were carried out in accordance with governing rules and policies.
“The Judicial Branch remains committed to the orderly, impartial, and transparent administration of justice. With this matter resolved, the Court will continue its work on behalf of the people of New Hampshire and its responsibilities under the Constitution,” the Justices said, directing any further questions to Formella’s office.
According to Formella’s release: “DOJ received a letter from attorneys representing Chief Justice MacDonald, offering to provide an attorney proffer on his behalf, and apprising that they would make immediate outreach to the offices of Governor Kelly Ayotte, Speaker of the House Sherman Packard, and Senate President Sharon Carson to address issues raised in the report.
“Prompted by the news story and reactions to it, DOJ commenced a preliminary review of the facts and circumstances reported to determine whether any further actions were warranted. Letters were sent to several parties directing them to preserve documents and materials relevant to the preliminary inquiry along with assurances that DOJ’s preliminary review was not a formal criminal investigation.
“DOJ’s preliminary review included interviews with current and former state employees in the judicial and executive branches, and review of judicial branch personnel rules, government records, and other documents.
“That review confirms the chronology of events NHPR reported—namely, Dianne Martin was hired as Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) effective November 15, 2021, formally laid off on April 1, 2025, and hired to a different position within the judicial branch as General Counsel for the Office of Bar Admissions effective April 4, 2025. Her layoff as AOC Director triggered a payout of accrued annual leave, accrued sick leave, and termination pay. The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) processed the payout based entirely upon the accrued leave balances reported to it by the judicial branch,” the release said.
Formella’s release also said: “The judicial branch was the exclusive record keeper of Ms. Martin’s leave account, which was based on leave usage entered into the judicial branch’s system by Ms. Martin and approved by her supervisor, Chief Justice MacDonald.”
“Judicial branch officials attest to DOJ that the accrued leave balances they submitted to process Ms. Martin’s layoff payout were accurate. Relying upon the leave balances the judicial branch provided DAS, Ms. Martin received a payment of $49,856.83, which represented a payout for 330 hours of annual leave totaling $27,386.70, 194.75 hours of sick time totaling $16,162.30 and terminal pay of $6,307.83. DAS properly calculated the payout amount based exclusively upon the accrued leave information provided to it by the judicial branch,” the release said.
When asked via email for documents relating to best practices not being followed and why the DOJ doesn’t have oversight, InDepthNH.org received an email from Deputy Attorney General James Boffetti calling it a right-to-know 91a request, although it wasn’t sent as one.
Boffetti wrote: “We are in receipt of your request received on November 25, 2025 for documents
under New Hampshire RSA 91-A for materials gathered during the preliminary review of
the Judicial Branch Employment Matter concerning Dianne Martin.
“Please be advised that we estimate that it will take us until December 19, 2025 to
gather and review the documents that you requested to determine if they can be produced,” Boffetti said.