The state is still reeling from the shock of its first ever impeachment by the House of Representatives as the Senate prepares for the impeachment trial of New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice David A. Brock, member of the Dartmouth Class of 1958.
The House captured national headlines when it overwhelmingly voted to accuse Brock of lying under oath, malpractice and maladministration.
"This is a solemn and difficult day for the state of New Hampshire," Governor Jeanne Shaheen told the Manchester Union Leader. "Our foremost responsibility is to restore people's confidence in our judicial system."
While Brock admitted to making mistakes and using poor judgment, he maintains that he has not intentionally done anything wrong, denying four counts of perjury.
Two other charges accuse Brock of misconduct during his handling of former high court colleague Stephen Thayer's divorce case and allowing disqualified justices to influence opinions.
The House, acting through its managers and special counsel Joseph Steinfield, will now prosecute Brock with the Senate acting as impartial judges and jurors on August 21st. Senators who will hear and decide the case took an oath of impartiality administered by Senate President Beverly Hollingworth last week.
The proceedings will resemble the trial that President Bill Clinton faced last year. In that case, the Senate failed to produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary to oust Clinton.
One difference, though, is the fact that if he is convicted, Brock will not be automatically removed from office. Instead, law makers would be given broad discretion on how to punish him.
Such lesser penalties as reprimand, censure or even no action could be imposed. These penalties exist as per the state constitution.
Top senators made this most recent announcement on Saturday. Committees are now going through a long process of setting the rules and protocol for the historical, unprecedented trial.
Many closed-door sessions are taking place daily to discuss matters. Hollingworth, who will preside at the trial, said the private sessions were held to determine "how best we should respond to this very, very important situation that we find ourselves in."
"We are feeling quite emotional about it," she added.
For the next five weeks, House managers and Brock's attorneys will be furiously preparing for their cases.
The controversy that produced the impeachment proceedings also involved Associate Justice Sherman Horton, member of the Dartmouth Class of '53 and Justice John Broderick. The House did not impeach them, citing a lack of evidence.
Although Brock is the first chief justice to be impeached, the House in 1790 impeached an associate justice, Woodbury Langdon, who resigned before his Senate trial commenced. The House decided not to offer Brock a full pension if he resigns now, at age 64.
