The Curious Case of NH Supreme Court Justice Marconi.
New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi stood at the center of a potentially explosive legal showdown. She was widely seen as the likely deciding voice in a constitutional case brought by citizen litigant Daniel Richard, a case that directly challenged the authority of Governor Chris Sununu.
At stake were sweeping COVID-era executive orders, the integrity of the 2020 election process, and broader claims of government overreach and voter fraud. The case carried serious legal and political consequences, threatening to expose potential violations of constitutional law and election procedures that could implicate the highest levels of state government.
Then, something shifted.
Just as momentum was building in the Richard case, and as public scrutiny intensified around Sununu’s pandemic-era powers and his role in the 2020 election, attention abruptly turned away from the courtroom and toward the justice herself.
Suddenly, Justice Hantz Marconi became the subject of an unprecedented indictment, not for any act committed in her official capacity, but for allegedly attempting to influence officials on behalf of her husband, Geno Marconi, the state’s Director of Ports and Harbors.
But here’s where the story takes an even more troubling turn.
Contrary to the protocols set forth by the Attorney General’s own office, no formal complaint was ever filed against Justice Hantz Marconi before the investigation began. The entire inquiry was initiated and led by Attorney General John Formella, the very same individual who served as Governor Sununu’s legal counsel during the time period central to the Richard case.
Consider the implications:
•Formella, now acting as prosecutor, personally conducted key interviews in the case, despite his clear conflict of interest and contrary to ethical standards.
•His office initiated the investigation without a formal complaint, violating internal policy that Formella himself helped write.
•Formella has refused to recuse himself, despite being a central witness to the events under investigation and despite his prior direct affiliation with the governor whose interests are at stake.
Geno Marconi, who is married to Justice Hantz Marconi, is being accused of retaliatory conduct in relation to harbor politics. But beneath the surface, his administrative authority, access to infrastructure contracts, and potential insight into state operations may have posed a political threat to the governor. His indictment, like his wife’s, may be less about alleged misconduct and more about silencing potential dissent.
What we may be witnessing is not a standard legal process, but the strategic use of prosecutorial power to sideline those who stood in the way of a politically damaging court ruling.
So the question that must be asked even if those in power hope it isn’t, is this:
Was Justice Hantz Marconi politically targeted to prevent her from ruling against Governor Sununu?
Because if the answer is yes, New Hampshire isn’t just facing a scandal.
It’s staring down the reality of a government willing to weaponize the justice system to protect itself and punish anyone who dares to stand in the way.
Tom Murray
Government Integrity Project
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