New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, who had been on administrative leave for well over a year amid allegations that she sought to meddle in an investigation involving her husband, is expected to rejoin her colleagues on the bench this week for oral arguments.
Hantz Marconi, 69, had been indicted on felony charges, but she struck a deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to one low-level misdemeanor. A judge found her guilty last week and imposed the agreed-upon sentence, a $1,200 fine, ending her high-profile prosecution. Then a panel of judges concluded her offense wasn’t a “serious crime” under attorney discipline rules, so the Supreme Court allowed her to resume her duties.
Hantz Marconi still might face further action from the court’s Judicial Conduct Committee, which can discipline judges for misbehavior. The committee’s executive secretary, Robert T. Mittelholzer, said on Friday the committee’s investigation into her conduct was still pending. He declined to elaborate.
The expectation that Hantz Marconi will sit for oral arguments this week was reflected in a revision Friday to the court’s calendar. Of the three cases slated for oral arguments this Wednesday, the calendar now lists Hantz Marconi as disqualified for two, suggesting she will participate in the third.
Both of the cases for which Hantz Marconi is disqualified involve the attorney general’s office, which is pressing forward with its prosecution of her husband, Geno J. Marconi, who had been the long-serving director of the New Hampshire Port Authority.
Attorney General John M. Formella’s office is preparing to take Marconi, 74, to trial next month on charges of felony witness tampering, obstructing government administration, and illegally disclosing confidential motor vehicle records. An associate, Bradley J. Cook, 74, is also under indictment for alleged perjury and false swearing related to the investigation.
While certain details about what prompted the investigation into Marconi’s conduct remain murky, some business owners who operate at the state’s harbor facilities have alleged Marconi and others conspired against their business.
The indictment last fall of a sitting Supreme Court justice was a striking development with political implications. Besides the high-profile defendant, the prosecution’s list of witnesses featured some of New Hampshire’s most prominent leaders, including former governor Chris Sununu and current Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald, who had served as attorney general during Sununu’s first several years in office.
The prosecution’s case against Hantz Marconi centered on a conversation she had with Sununu in early June 2024, when she told him a pending investigation into her husband was baseless and needed to be wrapped up quickly because she had recused herself from important cases. Although her legal team argued there was nothing untoward about that conversation, Formella said her conduct was not only illegal but also unethical and detrimental to public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Hantz Marconi’s absence kept her from participating in at least one closely watched case. While she was on administrative leave, the court issued a blockbuster 3-2 decision in July, finding the state has unconstitutionally underfunded its public schools.
Only one of the three judges who signed that majority opinion, Senior Associate Justice James P. Bassett, was a full-fledged member of the Supreme Court at the time. The other two were retired Superior Court judges appointed to fill in for Hantz Marconi and MacDonald, who had recused himself because the underlying litigation was filed in 2019 while he was attorney general.
Bassett, who has since retired, was the last remaining Supreme Court justice appointed by a Democratic governor. Now four of the five justices are Sununu appointees. Bassett’s successor, Bryan K. Gould, was appointed by Governor Kelly A. Ayotte, who took office in January.
The oral arguments on Wednesday for which Hantz Marconi is disqualified include an appeal filed by Adam Montgomery, who was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges in 2024 and sentenced to 56 years to life in prison for fatally beating his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony Montgomery, in 2019 and hiding her remains. His attorneys allege the trial court made procedural errors. The state contends any such error should be seen as harmless.
The oral arguments in a case for which Hantz Marconi isn’t disqualified pertain to a New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board appeal. There are also other cases being submitted on written briefs, without oral arguments, for which she isn’t disqualified.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.