© 2025 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Win big during NHPR's Summer Raffle! Purchase your tickets today!

MacDonald Judicial Application Highlights Legal Experience, Political Background

Britta Greene / nhpr

In a questionnaire dated April 15, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald told the Governor's judicial selection commission that judges must always be open to persuasion and reason, and said if confirmed he'd do his best to fill the role with dignity and courtesy.

In addition to his two years leading the Department of Justice, MacDonald cited the seven years he spent as a staffer to U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey. That job, he said, gave him a first-hand understanding of the lawmaking process.

MacDonald listed Humphrey -- a conservative who left the GOP over its embrace of Donald Trump-- as one reference on his application. Former Chief Justice John Broderick, a Democrat, was another.

Before Sununu picked him to become Attorney General in 2017, MacDonald was a litigator at Nixon Peabody.

His clients have included Purdue Pharma, the N.H. GOP, the Diocese of Manchester, and Dartmouth Hitchcock-Clinic.

MacDonald's Executive Council confimation hearing has been sent for June 26. 

I cover campaigns, elections, and government for NHPR. Stories that attract me often explore New Hampshire’s highly participatory political culture. I am interested in how ideologies – doctrinal and applied – shape our politics. I like to learn how voters make their decisions and explore how candidates and campaigns work to persuade them.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.