New Hampshire's Chief Justice Acquitted
David Brock, Chief Justice of New Hampshire's Supreme Court, was acquitted of misconduct charges Tuesday at his Senate impeachment trial.
Fifteen votes—two-thirds of the 22 participating senators—were needed to convict. The most any of the four articles of impeachment got was five votes.
In five hours of speeches followed by a brief debate, senators either said what Brock did was not serious enough for impeachment or said the evidence was not persuasive.
"For us to convict, there must be serious misconduct," said Sen. Burt Cohen (D-New Castle). "Poor judgment is not enough."
Brock, 64, smiled and hugged his tearful wife at the end of the historic trial.
"It is with the deepest gratitude that I thank all of you who have given your support to us," Brock said at a brief news conference moments after the final vote.
The case began early this year when then-Justice Stephen Thayer's ex-wife appealed the couple's divorce to the Supreme Court. None of Thayer's colleagues could hear the appeal, but Brock had to appoint substitute judges.
When he announced two of his choices at a February 4th court meeting, Thayer strenuously objected to one. Brock left the meeting and tried to put the selection on hold.
Deeply troubled, court Clerk Howard Zibel decided he was legally obligated to report both men. An investigation by Attorney General Philip McLaughlin led to Thayer's resignation in March and the House impeachment inquiry.
Brock, a Supreme Court justice since 1978 and chief justice since 1986, was charged with soliciting Thayer's comments on February 4th, making an improper call to a lower-court judge in 1987, lying to House investigators this summer and routinely allowing justices to comment on cases from which they were disqualified.
Sen. Mary Brown was part of the minority that either found Brock not credible or felt his conduct was too serious to overlook. Brown said she did not believe Brock when he denied making the 1987call.
"I thought it was overwhelmingly obvious that he did," she said.
Cohen wasn't sure. But even if Brock made the call, he asked, "was it unethical? I don't see any evidence of that. I'm not even sure it was improper."
Last week, Brock acknowledged making errors and giving answers that were less than the full truth, but he denied lying. He said confusing questions led him to misspeak once.
Sen. Katie Wheeler said she agreed. Brock may have been caught off-guard or unprepared, she said, but "that's not testifying falsely with intent to mislead."
During the trial, the defense portrayed Thayer as vindictive and untrustworthy. It accused him of not reporting a loan, backdating a financial disclosure form and misrepresenting his experience on an application to become a federal judge.
But Thayer reminded the Senate he could be charged with perjury if he lied.
"You may question if I'm vindictive, but no one has ever accused me of beng stupid," he said.
The House impeached another judge in 1790, but he resigned before his Senate trial. Brock's three-week trial, which ended last week, was unprecedented.
Brock's future as head of the Supreme Court is uncertain. Though he has said repeatedly that he wants to return to work, his conduct remains under review by the court's disciplinary committee.
Furthermore, McLaughlin's office has declined to say if its investigation of the court is closed.
The court changed its flawed recusal policy after it became public this spring. Under the new policy, Brock probably would have to recuse himself from cases involving the judges and lawyers who testified at his trial. That would limit the appeals he could hear.