Melissa Countway of Alton will serve on the New Hampshire Supreme Court, following the Executive Council’s 4-to-1 vote approving her nomination Wednesday.
Countway, 52, was tapped to fill the seat vacated by Justice Gary Hicks, who recently turned 70, the mandatory retirement age for judges in the state.
With her confirmation, Countway becomes the first circuit court judge to be appointed to the state’s highest court. She served on the state’s lower court after being nominated by Gov. Chris Sununu in 2017. Prior to her judicial career, she was Belknap County Attorney, winning three terms as the Republican candidate.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Councilor Cinde Warmington, the lone Democrat on the council who is also running for governor, said she couldn’t support Countway after the nominee declined to clarify her position on abortion rights during her public hearing last month.
“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,” Warmington said.
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year in the Dobbs case, which overturned the precedent set in Roe v. Wade, abortion rights advocates have highlighted the need for state-level judges to uphold protections for reproductive rights.
Councilor Joe Kenney, a Republican, praised Countway, saying she has the “respect of her community” and that she would be a “bright addition to the state Supreme Court.”
With her appointment to the court, Sununu has now selected four of the five sitting justices.
