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Resolution asks lawmakers to investigate whether cause exists to impeach Supreme Court justices
Summary
Representative Kelly Potenza introduced HR 38 asking the Judiciary Committee to investigate whether cause exists to impeach any justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court; testimony cited conflicting sworn accounts, personnel and HR dysfunction in the judicial branch, and a near-$50,000 payout to a senior court employee as concerns meriting inquiry.
Representative Kelly Potenza presented House Resolution 38, asking the Judiciary Committee to investigate whether probable cause exists for impeachment of any justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Potenza framed the resolution as a fact-finding measure, not a presumption of guilt, and requested the committee seek sworn affidavits and documentary evidence to reconcile apparent contradictions in accounts surrounding recent events involving the court’s administrative office and senior personnel.
Witnesses cited a series of concerns: conflicting sworn accounts between justices and other officials about who was told what in meetings; the judicial branch’s decision to pay a departing employee (Diane Martin) roughly $49,856.83 after a layoff; an MOU with the Department of Administrative Services that, according to testimony, carried an approximately $400,000 price tag to restore HR functions; and internal human-resources dysfunction that some witnesses described as creating an environment where whistleblowers were sidelined.
Proponents of the resolution argued that these cumulative facts meet the probable-cause standard for maladministration and that legislative investigation is appropriate. Members pressed witnesses on scope, whether the resolution targeted specific justices, and what documents would be supplied. Sponsor and witnesses agreed to provide linked documents and an evidence package for the committee to review.
No committee vote occurred on the day of the hearing; sponsor said she would provide hyperlinks and supporting documents to the committee file for follow-up.
