By DAMIEN FISHER and NANCY WEST
CONCORD – The state Supreme Court rejected former Democratic state Sen. Jeff Woodburn’s last appeal related to domestic violence charges dating back to 2018, this one about two criminal mischief convictions for kicking his former fiancee Emily Jacobs’ dryer door and breaking a door at her home.
The court released its decision Tuesday ruling against Woodburn’s request for a new trial on those two criminal mischief convictions.
Of the other seven allegations, Woodburn was either found not guilty by a jury or the charges were dropped by the attorney general.
Attorney General John Formella was quick Tuesday to say in a news release that leaves Woodburn of Whitefield to serve 30 days in jail, which his lawyer Mark Sisti also quickly challenged.
Formella said: “After a lengthy and challenging legal process, this decision is consistent with our steadfast commitment to justice and our ongoing support for victims of domestic violence. We remain dedicated to upholding the law and advocating for those affected by such crimes.”
InDepthNH.org’s attempts to reach Jacobs were unsuccessful Tuesday and in the past.
Woodburn’s attorney, Mark Sisti said he will file a motion arguing against any jail time for Woodburn saying there was no physical contact with Jacobs in these two criminal mischief convictions and Woodburn has no prior record and has been of good behavior.
“We’re going to be objecting to imposing any jail sentence,” Sisti said Tuesday.
“Why don’t we all do research and find anyone who has been placed in jail for anything even close to this,” Sisti said. “I can assure you no living breathing human being has been put in jail for kicking a dryer door.”
Woodburn said Tuesday in an email: “Let’s remember where this ordeal started with a slew of slanderous charges brought by a scorned ex-partner and overzealous prosecutor to up-end an election.
“I promised then that I’d never back down and that the process would reveal not only the truth but the tactics, motivation and politics. That has begun to happen – of the nine charges originally brought against me only two property crimes – door kicking incidents — remain. Actions that I admitted and took responsibility for. Most importantly, I cleared my name when the Supreme Court ruled that I was wrongly convicted of the vile crime of domestic violence and that the process was unfair. I’m relieved that this chapter of my life is over, but now I’ll be free to tell my story to help others and advocate for reforms in our criminal justice system that ensnarls one-third of our people,” Woodburn said.
The legal drama surrounding Woodburn’s case has been dragging out since 2018, when the state Senate Minority Leader was first arrested for allegedly abusing Jacobs, his then fiancee.
He was convicted on counts of domestic violence, simple assault, and criminal mischief after his first trial in 2021, but a state Supreme Court ruling overturned the domestic violence and simple assault charges, sending them back for a second trial.
That second trial ended with a hung jury earlier this year, and Formella opted to drop the case rather than go for a third trial. Woodburn has been trying to avoid jail and get the criminal mischief counts overturned.
Woodburn appealed for a new trial on the two convictions, claiming his prior defense attorney before Sisti did not provide effective counsel during the 2021 trial. According to Woodburn’s appeal, his first lawyer should have severed the charges and had the criminal mischief counts before a separate jury. Having all of the counts at one trial resulted in the jury being biased against him, according to the appeal.
But the court ruled Woodburn failed to show his original lawyer performed in a substandard way that would trigger overturning the convictions. The court also found that the 2021 jury found Woodburn not guilty on several counts, and therefore he could not show a particular bias.
“The strength of the evidence related to the criminal mischief charges, in combination with the jury’s multiple not guilty findings as to other related charges, indicate that it was the direct evidence of the underlying conduct, rather than any extraneous relationship information that may have been rendered admissible due to the joinder of multiple charges, that prompted the jury’s guilty findings on the criminal mischief charges,” the state Supreme Court order said.
The state Supreme Court gave Woodburn a major boost last year when it overturned the domestic violence and simple assault charges because he had been unable to argue self-defense during the original 2021 trial.
The self-defense argument was an apparent game changer during this year’s retrial in Coos Superior Court, as Woodburn planned to justify his assaults, including biting, against Jacobs.
“In this case, Jeffrey Woodburn asserts that his act of physical contact, including biting the alleged victim, was necessary as he reasonably believed that the complainant posed an imminent threat of restraining him from exiting the car,” according to the Woodburn defense documents filed in court.
According to court records, Woodburn bit Jacobs’ hand during a December 2017 argument as she was driving him back from a party. Woodburn demanded to be let out of the car, and planned to call a friend for a ride. When Jacobs reached to take his phone, he allegedly bit her hand, according to the allegations.
According to court records, Woodburn kicked the door to Jacobs’ house and she refused to let him inside.
Earlier that year, in August 2017, he reportedly kicked her clothes dryer, breaking the door, according to court records. Those actions would become the basis for the criminal mischief convictions.
Woodburn lost political support almost immediately after he was charged with the misdemeanors in 2018, with Democratic Party leaders calling on him to step aside. Instead, Woodburn ran and won a primary to retain his seat in the senate. He would later lose in the fall 2018 general election and has been out of politics since.
The case has been ongoing since 2018 when the state charged Woodburn, who was then a sitting state Senator, with four counts of simple assault, two counts of domestic violence, two counts of criminal mischief, and one count of criminal trespass, all misdemeanors. They all related to a series of incidents between Woodburn and Jacobs, who was head of the Coos County Democratic Committee and running for Coos County Treasurer at the time.
Woodburn was either found not guilty or the attorney general dropped all charges except the two criminal mischief convictions.
