Anna Barbara “Bobbie” Hantz Marconi, the former New Hampshire Supreme Court justice who was convicted last year of a low-level misdemeanor for having an improper conversation with the governor in 2024 about a pending criminal investigation into her husband, is now facing formal charges of professional misconduct.
New Hampshire’s Judicial Conduct Committee announced this week that a three-day hearing will be held in December to assess whether Hantz Marconi’s actions violated the Code of Judicial Conduct. The committee has brought two formal charges alleging misconduct based on the judge having broken the law and failed to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
Hantz Marconi, who briefly returned to the bench after her criminal conviction last fall before taking another leave of absence, resigned in February, on her 70th birthday, the state’s mandatory judicial retirement age.
In a statement released by her attorneys, Hantz Marconi said Thursday the newly filed charges are superfluous, since she already acknowledged she violated the rules by failing to recognize how her meeting with then-governor Chris Sununu might be interpreted.
“I acknowledged that violation in person and in writing. I also said that I would accept a sanction for that violation,” she said, expressing dissatisfaction that the committee appears to prefer moving forward with “a trial” anyway. “I am disappointed that I am being subjected to this unnecessary process.”
Hantz Marconi said she didn’t attempt to influence the attorney general’s investigation into her husband, Geno J. Marconi, who ultimately struck a misdemeanor plea deal to resolve allegations related to his former role as New Hampshire Port Authority director.
Her statement also noted some comments Sununu had made to investigators, including the governor’s assessment that there wasn’t “anything illegal” about their meeting in his office.
Witness interview transcripts that the attorney general’s office previously released to the Globe in response to a public records request show that Sununu said he found the meeting with Hantz Marconi to be “awkward” and “a little bit inappropriate.”
“I didn’t think there was anything illegal about it, but ... I’m not a lawyer,” he said.
Attorney General John M. Formella, whose team oversaw Hantz Marconi’s prosecution, issued a statement last fall recounting how she had sought special treatment.
“That conduct was unlawful and unethical, and it undermines confidence in our criminal justice system,” Formella said at the time, describing the situation as “a sad and unfortunate case that reflects a serious breach of the public trust.”
The list of witnesses who might have been called to testify, if Hantz Marconi’s criminal case had gone to trial, featured big names in state government, including Sununu and Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald, who had served as attorney general during Sununu’s first several years in office.
In October 2024, shortly after she was indicted, Hantz Marconi said she had consulted MacDonald before meeting with Sununu, and he had signaled the meeting seemed appropriate.
The witness interview transcripts indicate MacDonald told investigators in August 2024 that no one informed him in advance that Hantz Marconi would be meeting with Sununu.
In 2025, MacDonald came under scrutiny over a separate matter involving a senior staffer’s nearly $50,000 payout. Amid the heightened attention, the Supreme Court used a no-bid contracting process to hire a prominent GOP political operative to handle strategic communications and information-sharing with the public, New Hampshire Public Radio reported.
Last week, the New Hampshire Supreme Court announced MacDonald would immediately take a medical leave of absence, without disclosing additional details.
It’s not immediately clear what disciplinary actions the Judicial Conduct Committee might take against Hantz Marconi beyond a reprimand, since she is no longer eligible to serve as a New Hampshire judge on account of her age. The committee operates separately from the state’s attorney discipline system.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.