YOUR COMMENTS

One bad judge done... many more to go.
Send all the bad ones to MA!
- peter, stratham, nh

Patricia Coffey and her husband are co-conspirators. She conspired with her husband, to take jointly held assets and place them soley in her name. Why??? To hinder and defraud. Is it any wonder why she was napping on the bench, she was up at night strategizing with her hubby....... Whats up with the Judical Conduct Committee???????? The JCC needs to take the lamp shades off their pointy little heads!
- Kathy, Candia

Judge Coffey did not commit a crime. Her husband was disbarred, he was ordered to pay a fine TO THE PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT COMMITTEE. (PCC). It was a hefty fine, over $60k. The Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) and the Supreme Court found that Judge Coffey moved assets that belonged to her and her husband into a trust in only her name. She did do that and it COULD have interfered with the PCC being able to collect the fine, if for some reasons Mr. Coffey had refused to pay it.

The trust was created BEFORE THE FINE WAS IMPOSED.

And the fine was paid, in full, before any of you read a peep about any of this in the paper. Also, as I commented previously: the former client of Mr. Coffey got his house back, long before the trust was created.

There is misconduct, and I don't defend it. But, so many readers keep writing in about sending Judge Coffey to jail, and committing a crime and stealing - all completely wrong since there was NO evidence that she actually defrauded the PCC from the fine they (3 days later) imposed on HER HUSBAND, and which SHE PAID. Judges are held to a higher standard of conduct than other citizens, and can be disciplined for the APPEARANCE of impropriety - as in this case when she was disciplined because it LOOKED LIKE she might have intended to hide assets from the PCC. If you committed fraud, you'd get a jury trial and the right to proof beyond a reasonable doubt - a Judge can get disciplined because the JCC/Supreme Court finds she may have created the trust with the intent to hide assets from the PCC when they fined her husband- even though the trust was created BEFORE THE PCC IMPOSED THE FINE.
A tough standard, and which is appropriate for Judges, but still: not a crime or even an allegation of a crime by Judge Coffey.
- Nancy, Manchester

Hmmmm-- add it all up and what do you get--

"justice" in our courts is all about money-- who had, who wants it, and who gets it! Is it any surprise that issues of "fraud" and the IRS are somehow interconnected in this story?

It really is "All About The Money"!
- Randy, Stockton, Maine

So, someone tell me: Where else can you work independantly of the laws for the "Regular Folk", commit a CRIMINAL ACT, get tossed out in digrace (barely) and show up in the other "Realm" where you are no longer the same person that you were when you were committing a crime? The judiciary of course! They made the rules to fit themselves. So now this miscreant gets to be a lawyer? What a sad day to be a New Hampshire citizen or a lawyer! PATRICIA COFFEY IS A CRIMINAL AND THE BAR DOES NOT GET TO NOTICE THIS?
- Fran, Salem

She is no different from all the other criminals and crooks out there, she hid the facts of her and her husbands dealings until they got caught, then they was forthwright. As far as the Judicial Committee is concerned, they in my opinion do the same. If it weren't such a high profile case they would have swept it under the rug also. The status quo in N.H. these days is to set up all these committees, commissions, etc. in attempts to make the public believe they are being attended to and protected from these criminals. The truth is that the state and these other entities do no want to expend the money to go after white collar criminals unless they are forced too, they have too much money, freinds in high places and put up too much of a fight. And even if Mr. Coffey was brought up on charges, (theft, fraud, etc. etc.) he would be spending jail time in some type of resort style prison anyway!
- Dan, Manchester

To Bill W.

She was a good judge? You have an odd benchmark and set of parameters defining good.
- Allysa, Rye

Wow!!! Her Disbarred husband now works for the IRS?? Your kidding! But no, I know your not kidding, I only wish you were.
Now she intends to continue to work as a Liar oops I mean lawyer! This shouldnt happen.
Heres a plan. Let her take her case to Superior Court and convince a judge she shouldnt go to jail. Make her pay for a lawyer. And, now for the good part, have the judge sleep through her trial.
I still think both her and her husband should be tarred and featherd and ridden out of state on a rail.
- Doug, Alton

I have stared into the financial abyss. Five years ago I was laid off as the result of a corporate merger. Laid off two months after buying my first home and 3 weeks after the birth of my first baby. I lost my minivan and my home during that difficult time. Not once did I hide my assets in an attempt to deceive my creditors. I walked int to the bank to hand in the keys to my minivan when I got behind on my payments. I sold my house at a loss to avoid foreclosure. I am still paying off those debts today.

So dont tell me to "go walk in their shoes", I have and, unlike the Coffeys, I did it the HONEST way. Bottom line is what they did wrong and they should take responsibility for their actions by admitting they were wrong and quietly accepting the consequences. Instead, they try to justify their actions by blaming them on "financial strain" and bemoan the consequences. This is the behavior I expect from my 5 year old not an adult.
- Jack, Derry, NH

The Judge was a good Judge.
"NH likes to eat it's own", suspension would have been fine!
Now that she is going back to being a lawyer, she is the first lawyer I would use when I need one.
- Bill Willitts, Rye, NH

Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey has resigned under pressure from Governor John Lynch. I find that amazing since a panel of her piers, The Judicial Conduct Committee, only recommended a three (3) month suspension and the NH Supreme Court imposed a three (3) year suspension.

Since Judge Coffee participated in fraud by helping her disbarred husband by hiding personal assets, why wasn’t she disbarred and fired? She and her husband cost NH taxpayers thousands of dollars when she helped hide $10,000 from stock sales and hid $76,000 from the sale of an office condo. This money was supposed to be used to reimburse the NH court system for investigative costs.

Oh well! I suppose the suspension is better that disbarment and allows her to collect a pension and still earn a living as a lawyer.

General John Stark did not mean that trusted government officials should live on the state when he said; “Live Free or Die”.
- Dick Olson, Jaffrey

Coffey's resignation shows that public pressure can work. Even the governor got motivated on this one. But it did not need to go to this length to get noticed. Three years ago Chief Justice Broderick asked a commission to be formed to look into the public's perception of justice system. Here's how one commission member summed up his experience:As a member of the Citizen's Commission on NH State Courts, I heard a plethora of public testimony on the misbehavior of judges. However, that, and all other public testimony went unheeded. One of the major complaints was the absolute failure of the Committee on Judicial Conduct to hold miscreant judges (and marital masters) accountable. What we need is an INDEPENDENT Judicial Conduct Commission, not one run by the Supreme Court.
- Paul Clements, Gaffney, SC
The Commission's "work" is online. Federal Judge Joseph Laplante has asked the U.S. attorney's office to review letter #12 (Public Participation) as it raises many serious questions about the administration of justice in this state.
I agree with Mr. Clements. Self-regulation does not work in N.H. We need to use the Coffey experience as a springboard for even greater results.
- Dave Coltin, Newburyport, Ma.
- Dave Coltin, Newburyport, Ma.

Seven months of hell? Who created the mess you are in? Now you are complaining about it. How terrible that you got caught and had to pay the price. You have some nerve Ms. Coffey. Pretty hard to realize it isn't just about you isn't it?

You took money from a senior citizen who trusted you to take care of their assets on their behalf not yours. I can't even believe you have the nerve to do a news story commenting and still thinking it is all about you.

You need a reality check and the sooner the better, then perhaps you will take ownership for what you and your disbarded husband did. You are both a disgrace and should be ashamed to even show your faces in public, let alone do a news story about your "7 months in Hell", think it is tough now, where do you think when your time comes your are going to end up? 7 months is the beginning of your lifetime in HELL
- Pat Van Den Berghe, manchester, NH

Wrong is wrong. You make a mistake, you have to endure the consequences.
I am sure the Coffey's regret the whole episode, but, they did it of their own free will and now should endure the outcome quietly.
- Maddie, Hampstead

No matter how you try to spin this "situation," what Mr and Mrs Coffey did was wrong. They are now paying the price both professionally and personally.

Whether she was a fair Judge in the past, no longer matters. She destroyed her image by her actions and the reputatiion she is left with, is the one she has now earned by her actions.

I have to wonder if the people who are defending her are relatives.......:)
- Sydney, Rye

JDC III,
Yes I have, and it is because of a corrupt judicial system.
I have had two seperate judges state that stripping me of my veterans pension based on false staterments given under oath is NOT fraud.
I have been forced to live on a $300 wk. paycheck. I have been forced to miss days at work because I can't afford gas. I have read RSA's to a judge only to hear "we're going to do it this way".
Maybe this ex-judge should be forced to live like I have had to.
- Dave, Concord

She still has PLENTY of money to console herself.
Maybe she can share a cell with Elaine Brown soon!
- Pauline, Franklin

That ought to wake her up!
- Matty, Manchester

Walmart is always looking for cart collectors.
- George O., Berlin

Good Sunday morning to Dan and Mike in Manchester, Madalyne in Chester, Dave in Concord, Jack in Derry, and Pete B in Plaistow. I agree with Soupy in Gloucester and Jesse in Manchester. Uness and until the rest of you have stared into the financial abyss and watched your life's work dissipate, as have Judge Coffey and her husband, and borne the humility they have, you really ought to keep your not very ably formed or stated opinions to yourself. And if Mr. Coffey some day finds a chance to resolve an IRS audit justly in the favor of a beleaugered taxpayer, and Judge Coffey some day finds the chance to perform a pro bono service for someone with her back against the wall, then bless their hearts.
- JDC III, Concord

Disbarred Attorney John Coffey "... has since gotten a job as a tax examiner for the IRS."

So, now we know that the IRS hires crooks.
- Kate Davis, Granite

I can't believe the hubris in claiming destitution after they knowingly cheated an impaired old man out of his house by giving him $100,000 less than the assessed value. When they got caught they put all of their property into a trust (sounds like excellent money management to me) and then continued to
sell properties realizing large profits while also spending $125,000 on renovations to their house.
Read the court decision and you will be as incensed as I was reading it... Truly disgusting.
- Dan Pinard, Manchester

John Coffey recieved a home from the client with dementia. The home was returned to the client's family as part of the resolution of his case.

The money owed was a fine (HIS fine, not Judge Coffey's) and it was paid, in full, from assets in that trust.

Even from the start of all of this, the client's estate had been repaid, and the fine had already been paid. Doesn't excuse the misconduct, but there have been so many comments from readers about the victims not getting repaid - the UL articles haven't made that clear enough.
- Nancy, Manchester

"Judge others as you want to be judged".
- soupy, gloucester, MA

She was a good Judge, a Fair Judge and surely worthy of some mercy. When you compare what she did to what other Judges do without getting caught, her mistake palls in comparison. Many NH Justices feel and act with impunity in regards to the Laws because they believe they are far above them. Judge Coffey buckled under the pressure of her husband, her marriage, her job, the accusation that she slept on the job, and her severe financial woes. She made a mistake and deserved punishment but a three year suspension, that's harsh. I could go on and on about what other NH Justices do and do not do without punishment but it would take up four pages. The botton line; a punishment more befitting of the mistake was the thing to do and claerly was not done in this matter. This was overkill
- Cassandra, Bow, NH

Why isn't this woman and her crooked husband being prosecuted for this. Her husband stole the poor old woman's property and now he's a tax examiner? What the hell is wrong with that picture?
He should be making license plates and she should be helping him.
- Dave Jones, Rye

Is she for real? Someone in her circumstances should not be looking for pity in the press. Her comments are laughable.

Once I realized I made a mistake, I was as cooperative as I could be," Coffey said, a claim the Supreme Court disputed. For shame Ms. Coffey. Once you realized that you were in trouble you decided to cooperate.

Her personal life is a reflection of her professional life. I am thinking teaching or praticing law is not an option. I would have to say Ms. Coffey needs to find another way of making a living. Who would trust her to do anything?
- Madalynne, Chester

To answer some of the questions:
The full text of the NH Supreme Court decision is available on their website (just Google it). My understanding from reading it is that all the debt has now been repaid out of the Coffey's assets.

Whether she'll be allowed to practice law is an open question. It's not automatic that the judicial conduct finding carries over, but I expect the attorney disciplinary folks are already looking at it closely.
- Betsy, Providence, RI, formerly Manchester

WAAAAAA, the poor, poor ex-judge went through hell for 7 months because she was held accountable for her actions. The only reason it went that far was she was tried in the only honest court in the state, the court of public opioion. If the media did not report this, it would have been swept under the rug like all the other judicial abuses.
- Dave, Concord

Give her a break, people. She resigned. What she did wasn't the worst thing anyone ever did, and she paid a huge price for it. And she did so with dignity. She spent 15 years on the bench where she was generally known as a fair judge by the thousands of lawyers and private parties who appeared in her court. She's 54 years and embarking on a new career, not an easy thing to do. I can't help thinking that a lot of the anger shown here is misogyny -- after all, I don't hear a lot of women weighing in. The time for judging her has past. It's time to cut a fellow human being some slack.
- Jesse L, Portsmouth, NH

glad to finally see that the jcc did the right thing .(perhaps they were reading the past UL responses). FINNALLY... the ex judge did the right thing too(confessed) ,but only after she was exposed.
- dennis, manchester

"Because her discipline involved her actions as a judge, not as a lawyer, there is nothing to prevent her from practicing law."

I'm not sure about that, but I haven't read the Supreme Court decision in Coffey's case. I've only read the news reports about it, and I think it's pretty clear from those that Coffey's actions were not made in her capacity as a judge. They were made privately, but reflected on her honesty and, therefore, her fitness to be a judge. I think the standard of conduct is similar for a lawyer. If a lawyer acts dishonestly or does anything that shows he is unfit to practice law, he may be disciplined, even though his actions had nothing to do with his practice of law. The New Hampshire Supreme Court decided that years ago. So I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Attorney Coffey might become the subject of a complaint to the Professional Conduct Committee for the same conduct that brought her before the Judicial Conduct Committee, unless there is some arcane loophole that holds lawyers to a lower standard of honesty than judges.
- John, Maine

This article is just one big whine fest. She received just punishment for her actions. Instead of accepting it like an adult and quietly leaving her position, she whines like a 3 year old about "poor little me".
- Jack, Derry, NH

Its Ironic that she said they "Were not the best money mangers" yet her husbands last held job was as a "Tax examiner" for the IRS.
It does not help her husbands case any that as a lawyer he took advantage of an elderly client with dementia.
Thats just bad Karma.
Sometimes a greedy lawyer getting payback is a happy ending.
I wish I could have sympathy for Judge Coffey . We'd all like to hang on to what we've got but her position holds her to a much higher standard regarding the charges against her.
- mike, Manchester

By the way...whatever happened to all the assets put into that trust??? Was the trust broken and money takes as restitution??
- PeterB, Plaistow

So the disbarred lawyer is now an IRS tax xaminer?!?!?! Doesn't the IRA have issues with hiring professional thieves? And ex-Judge Coffey thought the debt she owed the courts wasn't pressing??? What a crock all around.
- PeterB, Plaistow