Melissa Countway, former Belknap County attorney, confirmed to NH Supreme Court

The NH Executive Council confirmed Melissa Countway as an associate justice on the state Supreme Court, 4-1, on Wednesday, despite opposition from Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, who said the Alton resident didn’t adequately discuss her views in a nomination hearing last month.

Warmington, whose district takes in much of the Monadnock Region and is the only Democrat on the five-member panel, said Countway used the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct to avoid difficult questions during the Nov. 29 nomination hearing.

That code discusses the need for judges to maintain impartiality and integrity and is one reason why judicial nominees are reluctant to discuss their opinions.

“Judge Countway took this to a new level, broadly interpreting the code, declining even to provide any insight into her judicial philosophy, how she would approach constitutional questions, or even her personal perspective,” said Warmington, a Concord attorney who is running for governor.

“She provided no assurance that she would protect fundamental rights, including the rights of women to have the liberty and freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions.”

During the earlier hearing, Countway, 52, said she was not a judicial activist, or someone who makes rulings based on policy views rather than honestly interpreting the law.

But she declined to answer questions about reproductive rights.

“Of course, I cannot give any indication of how I would rule on a controversy that could come before the court,” Countway, a state Circuit Court judge and former Belknap County attorney, said at the hearing.

On Wednesday, Executive Councilor Joe Kenney spoke in favor of confirming Countway.

“I’ve always known her to be impartial,” he said. “She has the respect of her community, the respect of the chief justice, the respect of law enforcement. I have a feeling that she will be a bright addition to the state Supreme Court.”

Sununu nominated Countway to fill the seat of Justice Gary Hicks, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last month. The Republican governor has also nominated three other justices over the last six years who now sit on the five-member NH Supreme Court.

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Rick Green can be reached at RGreen@KeeneSentinel.com or 603-355-8567.

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