When a seven-count indictment against a New Hampshire Supreme Court justice was announced last fall, the news rocketed across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The justice, Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, was accused of asking one of New Hampshire\u2019s best-known politicians \u2014 former Gov. Chris Sununu \u2014 to interfere in a criminal case against her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dual criminal cases threatened to derail the careers of both Hantz Marconi and her husband, Geno Marconi, the longtime head of the state’s Division of Ports and Harbors. But only one member of the family has emerged with her job firmly intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hantz Marconi, 69, is scheduled to return to the bench Wednesday, a move that surprised the prosecutors who brought the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not a decision we expected,\u201d said state Attorney General John Formella, adding that he was disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Formella said Hantz Marconi\u2019s conduct \u201cwas unlawful and unethical, and it undermines confidence in our criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesman for the New Hampshire Judicial Branch declined to comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no immediate response to a request for comment emailed to Sununu\u2019s website Tuesday. When Hantz Marconi was charged in 2024, then-Gov. Sununu called the indictment an \u201cextremely serious situation,\u201d the Concord Monitor reported at the time. \u201cEveryone needs to be held, especially public servants, to a very high standard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hantz Marconi’s return to the bench capped a dizzying past several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Hantz Marconi struck a plea deal after multiple attempts to get the charges dismissed failed. She pleaded no contest to a single count of criminal solicitation related to the misuse of her position, a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A judge accepted the plea agreement and found Hantz Marconi guilty of soliciting Sununu last year, when he was still governor, \u201cto secure a governmental privilege and\/or advantage\u201d in an investigation of her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the terms of the plea deal, Hantz Marconi paid a $1,200 fine but avoided prison time. All seven of the original charges, including two felony counts punishable by up to seven years in prison, were dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two days later, a state Supreme Court panel decided to restore Hantz Marconi’s law license with no restrictions, clearing the way for her to return to the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judges said the charge to which she pleaded no contest does not meet the definition of a “serious crime” in the state’s attorney discipline system. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors also made the same determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hantz Marconi\u2019s lawyer, Richard Guerriero, said last week that she \u201ccontinues to disagree with the attorney general\u2019s characterization of her actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said she pleaded no contest to \u201cbring the case to an end without the spectacle and possible damage of a trial involving testimony by New Hampshire Supreme Court Justices and other state officials.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hantz Marconi\u2019s return to the bench will be short. Under court rules, she must retire when she turns 70 in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her husband\u2019s criminal case continues. Few details have been made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geno Marconi, 74, was charged with six counts, including two felonies, over allegations he deleted voicemails, engaged in witness tampering and shared confidential records with another person. The nature of the investigation in question was unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the original indictment against her, Hantz Marconi told Sununu that there was no merit to the allegations and that any investigation of her husband \u201cneeded to be wrapped up quickly because she was recused from important cases pending\u201d before the state Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geno Marconi has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n