FORMER STATE SENATOR Mary Brown has recently published "The Impeachment Trial of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice," a comprehensive compilation of the testimony of the proceedings, with additional commentary from Brown.

Brown, who voted to convict Chief Justice David Brock on all four counts, acknowledges in a preface that she offered to recuse herself from the proceedings as she had signed on as a co-sponsor of an unsuccessful Bill of Address against Brock in the previous legislative session. However, the Senate Legal Counsel advised her that it was appropriate for her to participate if she believed she could hear the case fairly. Those letters, along with many other original documents that figured in the impeachment probe and the Senate trial, are collected in a comprehensive appendix.

An example of the behind-the-scenes revelations that add to the historical record was Brown reporting her annoyance that, during the course of the Senate trial, her House colleagues were lobbying her. "One of my House friends called me tonight," Brown wrote on the eve of the trial's close, "obviously trying to persuade me to convict - I pointed out to her she was doing precisely what she'd accused the Court of doing - trying to affect the impartiality of a judge/juror."

Interestingly, given her votes to convict Brock, Brown ruminates in a postscript that perhaps the impeachment trial wasn't the best vehicle for addressing the issues involved. Brown calls the Claremont rulings "an invisible presence throughout the trial" and suggests: "But what of the concept that any defendant should have a fair and impartial trial? The Legislature, no matter how valiant the effort, still had to contend with the emotional fallout of the Claremont ruling, with which many members openly expressed disagreement and criticism.... Let's face it, Judge Brock couldn't exactly ask for a change of venue." However, Brown observes that the overwhelming vote in the House demonstrated that even many who agreed with the Claremont rulings had voted to impeach him.

Brown, now executive director of the NH Wildlife Federation, recently was appointed by the Senate president to serve on the legislatively created Judicial Conduct Commission. (See page 23 for more on the JCC's membership.)

Visit www.marybrown.com or contact Lynxfield Publishing, PO Box 216, Pittsfield, NH 03263 to order the book.

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