Gordon MacDonald, chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, is stepping away from the bench on medical leave, the judicial branch announced Friday.
His leave takes effect immediately, and no additional details were released, “out of respect for Chief Justice MacDonald’s privacy,” the judicial branch said in a statement.
Despite his absence, court officials said the state Supreme Court’s operations will continue without interruption, with Senior Associate Justice Patrick E. Donovan and Justices Melissa Countway, Bryan Gould and Daniel Will continuing to prepare for the court’s upcoming sessions
“The members of the New Hampshire Supreme Court are united in wishing Chief Justice MacDonald a full and speedy recovery,” the justices said in a joint statement.
The court’s next session and oral arguments are scheduled to begin Sept. 22.
The medical leave comes at a time when MacDonald is facing scrutiny from state lawmakers, who have called for an open investigation into a range of concerns surrounding his tenure.
Among them is his role as a witness in the case of fellow Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, who was charged after attempting to influence former Gov. Chris Sununu to intervene in a criminal investigation involving her husband.
Hantz Marconi was sentenced in October under the terms of a plea agreement, which required her to pay a $1,200 fine.
MacDonald served as the state’s attorney general before being appointed as the chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He was sworn in by Sununu in 2021.
