Supreme Court Justice Back On The Bench After Pleading Guilty In Ethics Scandal In Criminal Case

A week after pleading guilty in a high-profile ethics scandal, New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi is back on the bench

Justice Marconi is back at work—seven days after a court convicted her of misusing her position to influence a criminal investigation targeting her husband.
The reinstatement, a first in state history, raises questions about whether the state's highest court is protecting its own from accountability.
Earlier this month Hantz Marconi avoided a trial on serious felony counts including official oppression and tampering with witnesses or victims, by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of criminal solicitation involving the misuse of her official role.

She was not sentenced to jail time, but instead faces a fine and probationary conditions, allowing her to be back in the courtroom as the judge, instead of the suspect.

Hantz Marconi allegedly tried to derail a 2024 grand jury investigation into her husband who is the 73-year-old executive director of the Pease Development Authority—a key state agency overseeing ports and economic development.

Prosecutors accused Geno Marconi of two felonies: witness tampering and falsifying evidence, plus multiple misdemeanors tied to leaking confidential records to a private developer during a corruption investigation.

Hantz Marconi reportedly met with a private attorney and talked about strategies to influence witnesses in her husband's investigation, including pressuring then-Gov. Chris Sununu to intervene.

She was formally charged in October 2024 with two Class B felonies and five misdemeanors, marking a rare ethics crisis for a sitting justice
The deal, approved by a special court, dismissed the felonies in exchange for the misdemeanor conviction, citing her "cooperation"

Despite a brief suspension, the New Hampshire Supreme Court—her own colleagues—voted to restore her full powers

Critics, including legal watchdogs and conservative voices are saying this is an example of "two-tiered justice," and point to the plea process as evidence of a system rigged for insiders, saying,
"It's very clear they did not want to bring witnesses in because they involved so many high-profile public figures."

"I mean, these are the highest public figures in the state"