Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced plans to nominate a Manchester attorney to the Supreme Court, who if confirmed would be the third female justice to serve on the state’s highest court.
Sununu will formally nominate Anna Barbara “Bobbie” Hantz Marconi of Stratham as the next associate justice during Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting, according to a news release from the governor’s office. A confirmation vote will likely take place June 21.
If confirmed, Hantz Marconi will join the Supreme Court following the retirement of Associate Justice Carol Ann Conboy on June 30. Conboy was the second female justice to be confirmed to the high court. The first was Chief Justice Linda Stewart Dalianis, who was also the first woman to be chief justice.
“I am incredibly proud to nominate Bobbie to New Hampshire’s highest court,” Sununu said. “One of the Granite State’s sharpest legal minds, Bobbie is an outstanding legal talent with in-depth knowledge of the law and a diversity of experiences. She will make innumerable contributions to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Throughout her distinguished career, she has exhibited a passion for the law and public service, both of which will serve her well as she brings a fresh perspective to decisions on the most pressing legal questions facing our state.”
Sununu is expected to have a hand in reshaping the state’s highest court. Three of the five justices are expected to retire within his first two-year term.
Sununu selected Hantz Marconi from a list of recommended candidates he received from his bipartisan Judicial Selection Commission. The commission, which Sununu created by executive order in February, comprises experts from a wide range of professions including the legal, law enforcement and business communities.
Former New Hampshire congressman and Supreme Court justice Chuck Douglas, who serves as chairman of the commission, said Hantz Marconi “quickly rose to the top” as a nominee.
During her 25-year legal career, Hantz Marconi has made significant contributions to the legal profession and shown a commitment to public service, Sununu’s office said Tuesday. She was recently recognized as one of the 2017 Best Lawyers in America.
Hantz Marconi is a 1977 graduate of the University of New Hampshire and received her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1992. After law school, she served as judicial law clerk to Justices Caroline Glassman and Robert Clifford of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Hantz Marconi is currently a shareholder at Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green P.A., where she serves on the Management Committee. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, with significant concentrations in land use, construction defects, insurance coverage, partnership disputes, trust and estates, family law, and contract disputes, the governor’s office said.
“I am immensely honored by this nomination,” Hantz Marconi said in a statement Tuesday. “As a member of New Hampshire’s highest court, I will have no greater responsibility than upholding the rule of law, and I thank Governor Sununu and the Judicial Selection Commission for putting my name forward. I am truly humbled and energized by the opportunity to serve our great state.”