Time for the New Hampshire Supreme Court to Do the Right Thing

By Jeffrey Thomas Clay

The New Hampshire Supreme Court is at a crossroads. It has allowed a deeply flawed lower-court decision in Town of Newmarket v. Jeffrey Clay to stand, despite overwhelming evidence that the opinion written by Judge Schulman was legally unsound and contrary to the spirit of our state’s Right-to-Know law. It is not too late for the Court to correct this injustice.

I understand full well that I have written critically about the Court in the past. I have called them out, bluntly and unapologetically, for decisions that betrayed the principle of “equal justice under law.” I know this makes it more difficult for the justices to step back and acknowledge error in my case. But if the Court truly serves the public—and not entrenched power—it cannot let wounded pride stand in the way of justice.

Judge Schulman’s opinion was fraught with legal errors. It gave public officials a free pass to do what the law expressly forbids: conceal government documents and buy their way out of transparency obligations. That ruling was not “well reasoned,” as the Supreme Court casually labeled it—it was a dangerous departure from law and precedent. By endorsing it, the Supreme Court signaled that accountability could be negotiated away behind closed doors.

That is not the New Hampshire way. Our Right-to-Know law exists to prevent secrecy and backroom deals. It is rooted in the fundamental belief that government must remain open to the people it serves. Allowing Judge Schulman’s opinion to stand undermines that principle and erodes public confidence in our courts.

The justices of the Supreme Court now have a choice: continue down the path of protecting their own past missteps, or summon the courage to admit error and dismiss Newmarket’s case against me. Yes, it will take humility. Yes, it will take integrity. But nothing prevents the Court from doing what is right.

The people of New Hampshire deserve better than legal contortions that protect officials at the expense of citizens. The Supreme Court still has time to reaffirm its role as guardian of the law, not an enabler of its circumvention.

It is never too late to do the right thing.