Mistrial declared in former state senator’s trial

Deadlocked jury could not reach unanimous decision in domestic violence case against former state senator Judge Peter H. Bornstein

As a deadlocked jury could not come to a unanimous decision in a case of domestic violence against a former state senator, Judge Peter H. Bornstein declared a mistrial on March 14.

Mark Sisti, defense attorney for Jeffrey Woodburn, a 58-year-old Democrat from Coos County long involved in state politics, asked the court to issue an order and declare a mistrial.

“The jury has been deliberating more than twice as long as the trial took,” Sisti said to Bornstein.

Bornstein asked the two state prosecutors trying the case, Assistant Attorneys General Josh Speicher and Zachary Wolf, if there was an objection to declaring a mistrial.

“No,” Speicher responded. 

Neither the defense nor prosecution seemed pleased by the outcome.

“No comment at this time; litigation is still pending,” said Speicher outside of the courtroom after the mistrial’s declaration.

He did tell reporters that a decision has not yet been made about the next legal steps that will be taken.

“That decision hasn’t been made yet,” Speicher said.

Sisti declined to comment.

A group of men and women supporting the victim did not want to comment on the mistrial as they left the court.

The one-day trial began the morning of March 13 and lasted until that afternoon.

Deliberations underway, the jury of six men and six women came back into court around late morning March 14 and said they were deadlocked, a bit after 11 a.m. Bornstein sent them back to the jury room to continue to deliberate in hopes of reaching a verdict. He cited a passage from state Supreme Court rules about continuing deliberations to determine a case’s outcome.

“You are not partisans, you are judges, judges of fact,” Bornstein told them.

An hour passed. Word came out again, around 12:10 p.m. that the jury remained deadlocked. Bornstein declared the mistrial.

The case has been working its way through the state’s court system since the December 2017 incident between Woodburn and his former girlfriend, the alleged victim.

Woodburn was originally found guilty of four misdemeanor counts by the jury. The New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned two convictions of domestic violence and assault, ruling the judge should have allowed the defendant, Woodburn, to argue self-defense. The high court let stand the remaining two convictions, which were for criminal mischief. Woodburn was sentenced to a total of 60 days in the county jail: Thirty days on the two domestic violence charges that were later overturned by the state Supreme Court and 30 days on the criminal mischief charges.

As earlier reported in the Berlin Sun, here is a timeline of the case:

• On Aug. 10, 2017, Woodburn was charged with criminal mischief and simple assault for allegedly kicking and breaking a clothes dryer door and throwing a cup of water in the victim’s face.
• On Dec. 15, 2017, Woodburn was charged with simple assault and domestic violence for allegedly biting the victim’s left hand.
• On Dec. 24, 2017, Woodburn was charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass and simple assault for allegedly kicking in the door of the victim’s house, entering the house and striking the victim in the stomach with his hand.

On June 9-10, 2018, Woodburn was charged with domestic violence and simple assault for allegedly biting the victim on her right forearm.

In testimony during a May 2021 trial, the alleged victim recounted how Woodburn bit her hand when she tried to grab his cell phone after she pulled to the side of the road coming home from a Christmas party in December 2017 because he wanted to get out of her car.

Woodburn was sentenced in July 2021 to serve 60 days in the House of Correction, but the sentence was stayed pending his Supreme Court appeal.

In March 2023, the state Supreme Court overturned Woodburn’s convictions for domestic violence and simple assault. Left standing were his two convictions for criminal mischief, as earlier reported.

Over the years, Woodburn has represented himself in the courtroom. In a May 2021 trial, Donna Brown was his defense attorney. As of June 2023, and to the present day, Mark Sisti is his attorney.

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