This week began for Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi with the announcement that she intended to enter into a plea deal on allegations she used her stature to try to score political favor on behalf of her husband. By Thursday, she learned that she would regain her law license and have her seat on the state’s highest court reinstated.
Hantz Marconi’s plea agreement this week ended a year-long criminal case that was scheduled for trial in November. She was accused by the New Hampshire Department of Justice of criminal solicitation, stemming from a private conservation she had with then-Gov. Chris Sununu in his office last June.
Under the terms of the plea, Hantz Marconi paid a $1,200 fine and avoided jail time. She didn’t admit her guilt, but didn’t dispute that the state had enough evidence to convict her. In the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed that her conduct did not constitute a "serious crime," though Attorney General John Formella said she had breached a public trust.
“That conduct was unlawful and unethical, and it undermines confidence in our criminal justice system,” Formella said in a written statement Tuesday.
Two days later, a specially convened panel of judges announced it was restoring Hantz Marconi’s ability to practice law in the state with no restrictions, concluding that she had not committed a “serious crime.” The judges also noted that her conduct did not include “interference with the administration of justice, false swearing, misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, bribery, extortion, misappropriation, or theft.”
That decision clears the way for Hantz Marconi to resume her judicial duties and hear cases once again.
At the time she met with Sununu, Hantz Marconi’s husband, Geno Marconi, the state’s longtime port director, was under investigation for allegedly sharing confidential records. Prosecutors said Hantz Marconi tried to steer Sununu to intervene on her husband’s behalf, an allegation she denied. Sununu himself would later say he didn’t think Hantz Marconi crossed any lines by talking to him.
Hantz Marconi had been on paid administrative leave from the Supreme Court since last July. Prior to that suspension, she was forced to recuse herself from all cases involving the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, as prosecutors continued to investigate her husband.
Geno Marconi remains on paid administrative leave from his job as state ports director. Last October, he was indicted for allegedly sharing confidential motor vehicle records related to a member of the board of the Pease Development Authority, which oversees the state’s ports. Prosecutors say Geno Marconi was retaliating against that board member, though they have provided no details beyond that. Marconi has pleaded not guilty, and is scheduled for trial early next year.
It isn’t clear if Hantz Marconi will continue to recuse herself from cases involving the Attorney General's office. The court is next scheduled to hear oral arguments on Oct. 15.
While her criminal case is now over and she has regained her law license, Hantz Marconi could still face possible punishment. The state Judicial Conduct Committee confirmed last year that it has opened an investigation into her, but it isn’t clear if or when it may recommend penalties, including further suspension or other disciplinary actions against her.
Regardless of any additional sanctions, Hantz Marconi’s time as a judge is limited: She will turn 70 in February, which is the mandatory retirement age for judges in the state. Sununu first appointed her to the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 2017.
