MacDonald resigns from NH Supreme Court amid judicial misconduct allegations

Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald resigned from his position on the New Hampshire Supreme Court Tuesday, the governor’s office announced, amid allegations of judicial misconduct and an unexplained medical leave.

In October, New Hampshire Public Radio reported that Dianne Martin, a MacDonald ally, had received nearly $50,000 by completing an unusual personnel maneuver. Martin had been MacDonald’s chief of staff in his previous role as New Hampshire’s attorney general. As Supreme Court chief justice a few years later, MacDonald and his colleagues recruited Martin to lead the court’s administrative office. Before she accepted the role, however, Martin was laid off from state government for about 48 hours before being immediately rehired into her new role. The highly unusual move, which was orchestrated by MacDonald, according to NHPR’s reporting, allowed her to collect almost $50,000 for unused vacation, sick time, and other benefits. State policy typically prohibits employees from receiving any accrued benefits when transitioning between roles.