Gov. Sununu nominated business persecutor and law-bender Gordon MacDonald, the state’s attorney general, to the N.H. Supreme Court. A public hearing concerning his nomination to the chief justice position is coming before the Executive Council on Jan. 21.
We want to thank Andrew Manuse for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you want us to consider, please submit it to skip@ or steve@granitegrok.com.
Please email the Executive Council and urge them to decline MacDonald’s nomination if you do nothing else today (see below).
You may participate in this process in three ways:
1) Go to the meeting on the 21st in person (they’ll probably make you wear a mask—resist if you are so inclined),
2) Attend the meeting using their call-in number, or
3) Email the Executive Councilors and give them your reasons why Gordon MacDonald should not be trusted with the highest judicial office in New Hampshire.
There are several reasons to oppose MacDonald’s nomination to New Hampshire’s chief justice position, not all of which have to do with RebuildNH’s mission, and we are going to list all of them here for your review and consideration:
- In late November, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald began selectively enforcing Emergency Order 52 (Exhibit A, Exhibit B), which recommends retail workers wear face coverings when they cannot maintain social distancing, thus punishing businesses that were already struggling to survive following the governor’s lockdown orders. The first action took place before the governor proclaimed his mandatory face covering edict on Nov. 19 (Emergency Order 74). (As an aside, please support these businesses in any way that you can). Affected businesses include:
- Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, who is the chief law enforcement officer for the executive branch, decided to enforce a “recommendation” and “guidance” as if it is “law,” which in itself is an excessive use of executive power, but then he went further by following an unlawful internal adjudication process, thus also acting like a court, to provide an appeals process for those who were fined. This blatently violates the separation of powers set up by the Constitution and assumes law-making, law-enforcing, and law-adjudicating powers for one branch of government. In banana republics, we call this a “kangaroo court.”
- During the previous primary election in September and general election in November, AG MacDonald’s office adopted an unconstitutional stance of “separate but equal” voting locations for the masked and the unmasked. This was such a disaster, that in places like Bedford, the maskless, outdoor voting tent blew away and caused injuries. This edict was arbitrarily enforced. For instance, I walked in and voted personally at Pinkerton Academy in Derry without a mask, but my wife was denied the same right two hours later and was turned away to the outdoor tent. Was her vote counted?
- AG MacDonald’s office ruled that students enrolled in New Hampshire colleges who were living with their parents in out-of-state residences and using video conferencing to attend classes could vote in New Hampshire using a dorm they never set foot in as their residence.
- Also during the election, AG MacDonald’s office failed to robustly investigate voter fraud and declined to investigate claims of voter fraud following the Nov. 3 election.
- In a religious liberty case, AG MacDonald argued that the State could violate religious liberty if the peaceful religious practice violated a state law, despite the protections for religious liberty in the Constitution. Thankfully the N.H. High Court disagreed with him, but what if he was the chief justice of the court at the time?
- Attorney General MacDonald’s office has restricted defense attorney and judge’s use of Laurie’s List, which outlines police officers with a history of violence or abuse of authority. Because defendants have a Constitutional right to present all evidence in their favor, restricting the list’s use is a Constitutional violation.
- Attorney General MacDonald is a Marsy’s Law supporter, which would have created new “victim’s rights” in the state Constitution, trampling on the due process rights of the accused.
- MacDonald has shown several signs of his intent to be a judicial activist through his associations, endorsements and actions, while the N.H. Supreme Court demands only strict constructionists who will interpret law and the Constitution as originally intended.
- Among potential acts of judicial activism, Gordon MacDonald has shown that he would invent a “right to an abortion” in the state constitution where one does not exist. Whether or not you agree with the practice, creating a right where one does not exist is not an acceptable use of judicial authority.
If this man has so much baggage before taking on the state’s top court position, we are confident in saying that he does not belong on the N.H. Supreme Court. Please oppose his nomination and defend your liberty today.
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