With his N.H. Supreme Court appeals exhausted, the state wants former state Sen. Jeffrey Woodburn to begin serving the 30-day jail sentence handed down in July 2021, following his conviction on two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief.
The N.H. Attorney General’s office filed a motion on July 30, asking Coos County Superior Court Justice Peter Bornstein to schedule a hearing to impose the sentence or simply order Woodburn to report to the House of Correction within 60 days.
“The defendant has now exhausted all available avenues of appeal with regard to the criminal mischief convictions,” the state wrote, noting that the deadline for a new motion for a new trial has passed.
But three days later Woodburn filed an objection, arguing at the time of sentencing he had been convicted of other assault-related charges that no longer exist. Charging the sentence is disproportionate to the crime, the defense is asking that the entire sentence be suspended for two additional years.
Woodburn was arrested in August 2018 on nine Class A misdemeanor charges that included two counts of domestic violence, four counts of simple assault, two counts of criminal trespass, and one count of criminal mischief. At the time of his arrest, the 59-year-old Whitefield man was running for his fourth term as state senator and was the Senate Minority Leader. The victim in the case was his fiancée Emily Jacobs, who was a candidate for Coos County Treasurer.
Woodburn Attorney Mark Sisti said of the nine charges filed against Woodburn, only two remain and neither of the charges involved bodily harm.
“During the original sentencing, the court saw Jeff Woodburn through the lens of an individual that had not only the property related misdemeanors, but also assault related misdemeanors. The domestic violence aspect of this case no longer exists. The court now has before it two (2) minor property related crimes committed by a man with zero criminal record prior to these offenses and zero criminal record after these offenses,” Sisti wrote.
“The kicking of a dryer door and residential door hardly requires actual incarceration in light of the history of this case and the character of Jeffrey Woodburn,” Sisti said.
Specifically, the defense noted that Woodburn had no prior criminal record and has no record since his arrest in 2019. He remains in counseling and the motion said has no violent history.
“He has been a dedicated public servant for years, an educator and a man involved in community service. His entire family resides in this state, and he has had no issues with law enforcement since these charges were brought,” the motion states.
Sisti also argued that “Woodburn should not be disproportionately punished because of his notoriety or the media attention to this matter. He should stand on equal footing with all other N.H. citizens in a similar situation with a similar background. A sentence involving actual incarceration would be excessive and would serve no logical purpose.”
The defense submitted letters of support from Woodburn’s psychiatrist, his current girlfriend, a former wife and two recent employers.
In a response filed Monday, Senior Assistant Attorney General Joshua L. Speicher said the court considered all the factors raised in Woodburn’s objection when imposing sentence for the criminal mischief charges. He pointed out that Bornstein distinguished between the two charges in sentencing Woodburn.
“The criminal act in each case is not the same. That is, in my view, the kicking down a locked door after the defendant had been asked to leave the house is more serious and significant and at least qualitatively different to some extent than kicking the dryer door, admittedly, repeatedly, and damaging it quite significantly,” Bornstein said according to a transcript included with the state’s motion.
Speicher called the defense motion a “last-ditch attempt to again request a modification to his sentence” and said the “request should be summarily rejected without delay.”
It has been a long and complicated case with two jury trials and two appeals to the N.H. Superior Court.
While the charges in the case were misdemeanors, both parties agreed to move the case to Superior Court, expecting that it would end up there on appeal. The initial trial in the case was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was heard in Coos County Superior Court in May 2021. The jury acquitted Woodburn of five charges but found him guilty of simple assault, domestic violence, and two counts of criminal mischief.
Woodburn then appealed to the N.H. Supreme Court and the court overturned the simple assault and domestic violence complaint, ruling Bornstein had erred in not allowing Woodburn to argue self-defense. A second trial ended in a hung jury and Bornstein declared a mistrial. The state said it would not pursue a third trial and nolle prossed the two complaints.
After Bornstein rejected Woodburn’s request for a retrial on the criminal mischief charges, Sisti appealed to the N.H. Supreme Court, arguing Woodburn’s prior attorney had provided ineffective counsel in not seeking separate trials for the charge. But the Supreme Court last month upheld Bornstein’s decision rejecting the request for a new trial.
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