Attorneys for New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi have filed another set of motions to dismiss all but one of the indictments against her.
Hantz Marconi was indicted by a Merrimack County grand jury on two felony charges — attempt to commit improper influence and criminal solicitation of improper influence — after she allegedly interfered with a criminal investigation involving her husband, Geno Marconi, director of the Division of Ports and Harbors in the Pease Development Authority.
Hantz Marconi has also been charged with five misdemeanors: criminal solicitation of official oppression, official oppression, obstructing government administration and two counts of criminal solicitation of misuse of position.
The case centers around a meeting Hantz Marconi had with former Gov. Chris Sununu last summer where she discussed her husband as well as her case load, transcripts show. Her attorneys say no laws were broken, but prosecutors allege there was criminal intent.
In the latest motions, lawyers say the charges of attempting improper influence should be dismissed.
“Neither indictment alleges that Justice Hantz Marconi had the mental state of purposefully attempting to ‘privately address’ Governor Sununu or purposefully soliciting anyone to ‘privately address’ the governor,” Gurriero said in the motion. “Nor could the prosecutors have alleged an effort to privately address the governor since, by all accounts, the meeting with the governor was scheduled using state email addresses through the state employee who was the governor’s official scheduler, placed on the governor’s public calendar, held in his public office, and witnessed by his official Legal Counsel.
“The meeting was the opposite of a private meeting. Since a purpose to ‘privately address’ a public official is required for an attempt or solicitation to violate the Improper Influence statutes, the indictments are defective and must be dismissed.”
Hantz Marconi’s legal team is also looking to have the indictment for criminal solicitation of misuse of position regarding Pease Development Authority Chairperson Steve Duprey dismissed because the statute on which the prosecution relies applies only to “executive branch officials” and “classified employees,” and Duprey is “neither an executive branch official nor a classified employee.”
“For this reason, which is plain according to the terms of the applicable statutes, the indictment must be dismissed,” according to the motion.
Guerriero declined comment “beyond what we say in the motions.”
A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said, “We are reviewing the motions and will respond in court as appropriate.”
Jury selection is set for Sept. 2 with a final pre-trial hearing scheduled for Aug. 18.