In Wake of MacDonald Resignation, Warmington Calls for Public Hearings on Supreme Court

MANCHESTER, NH — Following a press conference yesterday in which Democratic nominee for governor Cinde Warmington called for a delay in naming Gordon MacDonald’s replacement until after the November election, Warmington is now calling for public hearings of the New Hampshire Supreme Court justices who participated in the handling of the personnel matter underlying MacDonald’s resignation. 

“While I am pleased that the Judicial Conduct Committee took action against Gordon MacDonald, there are serious questions that remain unanswered. MacDonald’s resignation followed revelations about his mishandling of an internal personnel matter involving Dianne Martin. However, last October, Justices Donovan, Countway, and Gould all joined MacDonald in a statement defending MacDonald’s actions and stating that ‘every personnel decision regarding Ms. Martin was made collectively by the Supreme Court.’ This statement warrants a full investigation into the conduct of each member of the court who participated. 

“Kelly Ayotte has broken with a longstanding tradition of maintaining a bipartisan court by advocating for and nominating highly partisan justices, including two who previously served as legal counsel to the Republican Party. We now have a circumstance where partisan justices joined together to support conduct that brought disgrace upon not only MacDonald but the entire court. 

“Granite Staters need to know that the people serving on our state’s highest judiciary body are issuing fair, impartial, and objective rulings and meet the highest ethical standards. That's why I'm calling for immediate public hearings on this court's conduct to identify how far MacDonald’s culture of corruption extends. The people of New Hampshire deserve answers, and we must restore public confidence in our Supreme Court.”