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Former Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn (D-Whitefield) won’t go to trial a third time on domestic violence charges as New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella decided to drop the case.

“The state has tried Mr. Woodburn twice and secured convictions on certain charges against him. Taking into consideration the recent mistrial after a hung jury on several remaining charges, as well as other relevant factors, I have made the decision to not bring these remaining charges against Mr. Woodburn to trial a third time,” Formella said in a statement.

But Woodburn’s not free and clear of the scandal that ended his political career in 2018. He’s still fighting to appeal his convictions on two criminal mischief charges against the same alleged victim. Woodburn has two 30-day jail sentences hanging over him, though both of those sentences are stayed pending appeal. 

Mark Sisti, Woodburn’s attorney, said his client’s future remains up in the air until the state Supreme Court weighs in.

“There’s nothing solid right now,” Sisti said.

Woodburn was arrested in 2018 on charges he assaulted his former girlfriend in a series of incidents going back to December 2017. He was convicted at the 2021 trial on counts of domestic violence, simple assault, and criminal mischief. A subsequent Supreme Court decision overturned the domestic violence and simple assault convictions on the ground Woodburn was blocked from arguing self defense at the 2021 trial.

At the second trial this spring Woodburn was able to make his case that he was defending himself against his girlfriend when he bit her hand. The result was a hung jury and a mistrial. 

Rather than take the victim through another trial, and risk another loss in Coos Superior Court, Formella made the call to end the case.

“After prosecuting this case for nearly six years and two jury trials, I do not reach this decision lightly. Domestic violence is a serious, ongoing issue that must be addressed with the utmost care and resolve,” Formella said.

Woodburn lost political support almost immediately after he was charged in 2018, with Democratic leaders calling on him to step aside. Instead, Woodburn ran and won a primary to retain his Senate seat. But he lost the general election to an unknown Republican candidate and has been out of politics since.

Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley declined to respond to a request for comment. Sen. Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) who is serving as Senate Minority Leader, also refused to comment.

Formella thanked the victim for her bravery in repeatedly testifying against Woodburn, as did Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

“We have nothing but admiration for the brave survivor who shared her truth and paved the way for so many other domestic violence victims to break their silence. This survivor endured six years of legal proceedings in a high-profile case brought against Mr. Woodburn, who was in a position of power with higher political ambitions,” Grady Sexton said.

In Wednesday’s statement, Formella anticipates winning the next round at the Supreme Court and seeing Woodburn serve time for the criminal mischief convictions. Sisti warned the case isn’t over yet.

“I’m glad they seem very optimistic, but I’ll leave it to the Supreme Court to decide if Jeff goes to jail,” Sisti said.

For state Rep. Keith Ammon (R-New Boston), Tuesday’s ruling striking down the state’s anti-discrimination in education law meant one thing.

“Judge Barbadoro just put stopping Critical Race Theory back on the ballot in November.”

New Hampshire Democrats, teachers unions, and the state chapter of the ACLU all celebrated United States District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro’s decision to declare the law unconstitutional. The Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education law — often referred to by the judge and its critics as the “divisive concepts” law — was passed in 2021 in response to concerns about Critical Race Theory (CRT) content in classrooms. It barred any public employee from teaching or training others that race, sex, or other inherent characteristics made an individual racist, sexist, etc.

Democrats are delighted to see the law go.

“I am pleased that Judge Barbadoro recognized today what the Senate Democrats have said for years: the Republican’s ‘divisive concepts’ law is an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of Granite Staters,” said state Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy (D-Manchester).

And both Democrats running for governor confirmed Ammon’s prediction that the ruling would result in a partisan political battle.

Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig promised to shut down any Republican who tries to revive the law.

“As governor, I’ll stop any bill that threatens teachers’ ability to teach and prevents students from receiving an honest education,” Craig said.

Her fellow Democratic candidate for governor, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, said the law “sought to undermine public education by subjecting educators to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement and penalties. I am relieved to see the court’s ruling today declaring this law unconstitutional.”

And House Democratic Leader Rep. Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester) linked the law to GOP-backed legislation for keeping boys out of girls’ bathrooms and off of girls-only sports teams.

“Make no mistake—the Republican Party will stop at nothing to infringe upon our children’s freedom with nonsensical culture wars like their “divisive concepts” ban, book bans, sports bans, and bathroom bans,” Wilhelm said.

But Republicans blasted the ruling. Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanbornton) said it will allow teachers to promote racist CRT-inspired ideology in public classrooms.

“Seems odd the court thinks it’s OK to allow teachers to teach, based on your race, you are inherently a victim or a perpetrator of racism. Which is what the ‘divisive concepts’ law prohibited, no person is inherently racist based on race,” Lang said. 

Chuck Morse, who’s running in the GOP primary for governor, helped craft the legislation and get it to Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk. He said he will work to push through a law that passes constitutional muster if elected.

“We must equip our students with the tools to think critically and engage with each other respectfully, without the influence of biased and discriminatory teachings,” Morse said. “My administration will prioritize transparency, and adherence to constitutional principles to ensure that any new legislation will stand up to judicial scrutiny and serve the best interests of our students.”

Teachers union president Deb Howes with the New Hampshire American Federation of Teachers disagrees, saying Tuesday’s ruling should be the end of the lesson. 

“This decision should put to rest the issue, and New Hampshire teachers will no longer have to live under a cloud of fear of getting fired for actually teaching accurate, honest education.” Howes said. 

Ironically, the ruling may boost support for the Education Freedom Account program Howes and her Democratic allies oppose. Parents who discover they can’t prevent their children from being labeled “racist” or “privileged” by their local public school may turn to the EFA program to send their kids elsewhere.

Before the law passed, CRT-based content was being used in school districts like Manchester, Laconia, and Litchfield. However, there is no record of any teacher or administrator being subjected to enforcement under the law.

Manchester School District’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Director Christina Kim Philibotte and Andres Mejia, the former DEI director at SAU 16, said the ruling will let teachers get back to caring for “students of color, students from the LGBTQ+ community, and students with historically marginalized identities.”

“It is critically important that students see themselves in the books they read and in the classroom discussions they have to ensure that they feel cared for and valued,” Philibotte and Mejia said in a joint statement.

Less than 24 hours after being sworn in, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais was already at work on one of his top priorities: reducing crime on his city’s streets by fixing the state’s broken bail system.

Ruais led a bipartisan coalition of Manchester officials to the capitol Wednesday morning, where he laid out what he sees as the brutal math from lax bail rules.

“The reason I made this one of my first official acts is to highlight the importance of this issue to our city,” Ruais said. “In 2023, 813 criminals were arrested, released, and rearrested. Many of these criminals were not just arrested for petty crimes but violent assaults, robberies, and other serious offenses.

“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that would have a more transformative effect on the city of Manchester than reforming our state’s bail laws,” Ruais added.

Since 2018’s controversial bail reform law, thousands of alleged Manchester criminals charged with violent crimes have been released without bail only to get arrested on new charges. Rep. Ross Berry (R-Manchester) said some of those suspects have been charged with murder.

“Eight is the number of times my constituent was stabbed to death by somebody already out on double-PR bail,” Berry said.

Ruais, a Republican, scored his upset victory over Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh in last year’s election by running on issues like crime, homelessness, and the city’s lack of order. The word is out on the street in Manchester that criminals get a free pass, Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long warned.

“I recall being in a (homeless) encampment in Manchester and overhearing the residents in that encampment talking about no concern with breaking into cars, trespassing. There was no concern (because) they would be back out on the street in a couple of hours,” Long said.

Long is also a Democratic state representative.

The original bail reform bill passed in 2018 was aimed at keeping poor people who are charged with non-violent crimes from getting locked up because they could not afford a $100 or $200 cash bail, according to Sen. Donna Soucy (D-Manchester). Soucy said even in 2018, she and other lawmakers were worried about the unintended consequences.

“This has been an issue for a long time,” Soucy said. “I was in the Senate when we initially enacted bail reform, and although well-intentioned, I think we all recognized this law needs fine-tuning.”

Ruais promised in Tuesday’s inaugural address he would champion bail reform and lobby lawmakers until they got it right.

“The fight for our security will continue today, it will continue tomorrow, and it will continue until everyone in our community feels safe,” Ruais said Tuesday.

Ruais made sure to get to Concord Wednesday, on his first full day on the job, to put friendly pressure on lawmakers as they opened their legislative session for the year. Two proposed bail reform bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, have a good chance to pass this session.

Ruais isn’t saying which proposal he prefers, leaving it up to legislators to do their job in crafting a bill that works and will pass.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to move its bill, SB-249, to the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Daryl Abbas (R-Salem) said it is past time for a bail reform bill that protects people.

“We have heard testimony for years in both the House and the Senate that we need bail reform. We have dangerous individuals committing crimes, being released on bail, and then immediately reoffending,” Abbas said. “No one should be denied bail solely because they cannot afford it, and this bill will not change that. This bill requires a judge to determine whether a violent offender poses a threat to the public before being released. Senate Republicans have been fighting for years for common sense bail reform, and we will continue to do so to keep our communities safe.”