Gordon MacDonald

Introduction

Gordon J. MacDonald, a former attorney general of New Hampshire, served as chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court from March 2021 until his resignation, effective immediately, on 15 September 2026. MacDonald — the first New Hampshire Supreme Court chief justice in decades who had not previously served as a judge — stepped down under a stipulation and agreement with the state’s independent Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Conduct in which he admitted violating provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including failing “to avoid the appearance of impropriety,” his handling of the controversial employment of court aide Dianne Martin, and failing to impartially exercise his administrative appointment power. The agreement ended the committee’s investigation, begun the previous year after New Hampshire Public Radio revealed that Martin had been laid off and rehired days later to a different position, netting a payout of roughly $50,000 in accrued sick and vacation time. “I believe this is in the best interests of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch. I accept responsibility and accountability for my conduct,” MacDonald wrote in his resignation letter to Gov. Kelly Ayotte.

Background Information

MacDonald was sworn in as chief justice in March 2021, two years after the Democratic-majority New Hampshire Executive Council rejected him for the position on the nomination of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu — a rejection driven in part by Councilor Andru Volinsky’s opposition, which delayed MacDonald’s eventual confirmation. He reached the state’s highest judicial office directly from a career in law and government — without ever having served as a judge.

The conduct matter that would end his tenure centered on Dianne Martin, a close colleague who managed the court system’s Administrative Office of the Courts. According to the committee’s summary, there were long-standing and serious concerns about Martin’s management of the office; she was laid off, and three days later rehired as bar counsel — a position MacDonald extended to her “including bypassing Judicial Branch rules,” without the court’s merit-based selection process — and received a $50,000 payout of accrued time.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Judicial-conduct proceeding — resolved by signed admission. This section describes an administrative ethics matter, not a criminal case. The proceedings before the state’s Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Conduct closed when MacDonald signed a stipulation and agreement admitting violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and resigning. The admitted violations below are formal admissions under the agreement, not allegations.

The matter became public on 23 October 2025, when New Hampshire Public Radio, in a report by Todd Bookman, revealed the unusual payout to Martin. On 31 October 2025, MacDonald and the court’s three associate justices issued a joint public statement that, in the committee’s later finding, “did not accurately portray the process for Martin’s removal and rehire,” creating a misimpression that the move was a routine administrative reorganization. The committee’s own inquiry followed.

On 8 September 2026, MacDonald offered to settle and the committee agreed. Under the resulting stipulation and agreement, approved by a specially assigned panel of justices, MacDonald admitted violations of three provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct and resigned his judicial appointment, including the chief justice position, effective immediately. The admissions included failing to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety (Canon 1, Rule 1.2) and failing to perform his duties impartially in the employment of Martin, bypassing Judicial Branch rules to extend her a position without a merit-based process; the committee found clear and convincing evidence he violated Canon 2, Rule 2.3(A) by failing to exercise his appointment power impartially and on the basis of merit. MacDonald waived further hearings, the committee dropped its investigation, and he agreed to pay the legal fees the committee had incurred.

Committee chair John Mullen conceded that settling deprived the public of the full facts but said it was in the public’s best interest given that MacDonald agreed to resign immediately and did not contest the matter.

The end came a week after the agreement was signed. MacDonald, who had been on medical leave since 24 July 2026 — during which the court’s four associate justices assumed his administrative responsibilities — resigned on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, effective immediately. In his resignation letter to Gov. Kelly Ayotte, MacDonald wrote that “the resignation is consistent with the terms of the Stipulation and Agreement with the Judicial Conduct Committee dated Sept. 8, 2026,” that it “is in the best interests of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch,” and “I accept responsibility and accountability for my conduct.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s office confirmed the resignation the same day, with spokesman John Corbett saying the governor had received it “effective today.” Andru Volinsky, the former Executive Councilor who opposed MacDonald’s judicial nomination, called on the governor and council to “wait until after the next election to confirm MacDonald’s replacement. Let the people choose.” University of New Hampshire law professor Albert Scherr said it was “appropriate that the Chief Justice took full responsibility” but that the conduct “brought substantial questions as to the court’s credibility.”

MacDonald had separately drawn public scrutiny in the unrelated criminal case of former Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, who claimed MacDonald told her it was her right to speak with then-Gov. Chris Sununu during an investigation into her husband — an account he denied. That matter was not part of the judicial-conduct documents.

Current Status

MacDonald’s resignation took effect on 15 September 2026, ending his tenure as chief justice and his judicial appointment. The judicial-conduct investigation against him is closed under the stipulation, with MacDonald owing the legal fees the committee incurred. The Judicial Branch said it “remains focused on carrying out its responsibilities to the public,” with the four associate justices continuing to run the court’s administration. Gov. Ayotte is set to nominate a successor, subject to Executive Council confirmation, with Volinsky urging that the appointment wait until after the next election.

Impact on Their Career/Life

MacDonald’s career — state attorney general, then chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court despite never having served as a judge — ended with a signed, public admission that he violated the Code of Judicial Conduct in exercising his appointment power. Because the exit came by stipulated resignation rather than impeachment, his admissions stand as the documented record of how his tenure ended: an ethics investigation, prompted by a news report, closed by an agreement in which the state’s chief judicial officer accepted “responsibility and accountability” for his conduct. The settlement spared the state a contested removal fight but, as critics noted, closed the file without a full public airing of the facts.