Courts & rulings
New Hampshire · highest court
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Appointed by governor
Chief: The Chief Justice is designated at the time of appointment by the Governor (with advice and consent of the Executive Council); it is a distinct position, not chosen by peers or seniority..
Justices
All judges & justices →- Gordon J. MacDonald
- Patrick E. Donovan
- Melissa Beth Countway
- Bryan K. Gould
- Daniel E. Will
Roster as of 2026-06-13.
Constitution of New Hampshire
Adopted 1784. Its declaration of rights sits in Part First (Bill of Rights), Articles 1-41. This court has the final word on what the New Hampshire constitution means.
Primacy, interprets its own constitution first
How a state reads its own rights provisions relative to the federal floor, lockstep vs departure.
State-court structure and selection methods are from official and reference sources; the justice roster is point-in-time. Civibrief carries each state's highest court (lower state courts are out of scope for now).