New Hampshire’s Judicial Conduct Committee has released a detailed record of the ethics case that ended with Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald’s immediate resignation, exposing an unusually public struggle over personnel decisions, court transparency and judicial oversight.
MacDonald stepped down Sept. 15 rather than contest the allegations. In his one-page resignation letter, he said leaving was in the Judicial Branch’s best interest and accepted responsibility for his conduct. A final court order closed the proceeding after he admitted violations of three provisions of the judicial code.
The committee’s 121-page summary report centers on Dianne Martin, then director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The report says justices removed Martin from that job in February 2025 after concerns about her management. She was formally laid off April 1 and rehired three days later as general counsel for the Office of Bar Admissions. That break in service triggered about $49,855 in unused leave and termination pay that would not have been available through a direct transfer.
The committee concluded that the evidence, if proved, could establish favoritism and compensation beyond the fair value of services. It also questioned an October 2025 court statement describing Martin’s departure as part of a planned cost-saving reorganization. Records reviewed by New Hampshire Public Radio showed that the statement itself became a focus of the ethics investigation because the committee considered it inaccurate.
The dispute extended beyond MacDonald. Newly released correspondence showed that other justices tried to prevent the committee from publicly confirming its inquiry, arguing that disclosure could undermine confidence in the courts. The committee’s lawyer countered that the justices were attempting to control the public narrative. Two related cases were briefly unsealed, resealed and then opened again, according to an account by InDepthNH.
The ethics finding is separate from criminal liability. The New Hampshire Department of Justice previously found no reasonable suspicion that further investigation would uncover a crime. Its review nevertheless said the personnel sequence appeared inconsistent with Judicial Branch procedures and did not follow best practices.
The practical consequence is a vacancy atop New Hampshire’s court system and a continuing institutional question: how the branch will address the conduct committee’s broader concerns about candor and internal accountability. Justice Patrick Donovan had been carrying the chief justice’s responsibilities while MacDonald was on medical leave, and the governor now controls the nomination of a successor, subject to Executive Council confirmation.
The episode is also a test of the state’s oversight structure. The committee is independent of the Supreme Court it investigates, but the released materials show how confidentiality rules, court control over records and the interests of sitting justices can collide. MacDonald’s departure resolved the case against him without a public disciplinary trial; the documents now provide the main public record of why it ended.
