Despite the NHPR headlines, there was no wrongdoing in Dianne Martin’s move between jobs in the state’s judicial branch, a preliminary review from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office (AGO) found.
A story by the left-leaning radio news outlet highlighting Martin’s receipt of a $50,000 payment between jobs raised eyebrows — and concerns — particularly during a tight budget year.
The eye-catching claim was that Martin, described by NHPR as an “ally” of Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, “was laid off from state government for two days, then immediately rehired.”
According to the AGO’s findings, however, Martin lost her job as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. on February 28, 2025, and wasn’t hired for her new gig as General Counsel for the Office of Bar Admissions until April 4.
Because the first position was eliminated (Martin was on paid administrative leave until April 1), she received the standard state employee payout of annual leave, sick time, and terminal pay. In Martin’s case, the total came to a very generous $49,856.83, processed by the state’s Department of Administrative Services (DAS).
The NHPR reporting referenced by the AGO described the transition as “strange.”
“Based on all of the facts gathered during our preliminary review, DOJ concludes that the series of events and transactions examined do not warrant further review or investigation by DOJ as, at this time, there is no reasonable suspicion to believe that further investigation would uncover actionable criminal conduct,” the AGO reported.
The courts didn’t get off scot-free, however. The AGO blamed the Judicial Branch’s lack of transparency for adding to the confusion, noting there was no written document showing Martin’s position had been eliminated in February.
“While it would be reasonable to conclude that in certain respects human resources best practices were not followed during the series of events and transactions examined, DOJ does not have oversight authority over the judicial branch for such issues,” the AGO wrote.
Republican attorney and former Speaker of the House Bill O’Brien said he was happy the Department of Justice released the facts in this case to push back on what he sees as a partisan attempt to suggest wrongdoing by the conservative chief justice.
“I applaud the attorney general for cutting through the noise and following the evidence instead of half-baked innuendo,” O’Brien said Tuesday.
“NHPR’s initial report was a narrative in search of a scandal, and it unfairly tarnished the reputations of Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald and the entire court. The attorney general’s conclusions make clear that the Judicial Branch acted properly from start to finish.”
Rep. Ross Berry (R-Weare) added, “I am pleased that we can quickly bring this non-issue to a close, as the AG’s report has shown there is no wrongdoing or violations of New Hampshire law.”
