Judge Todd Prevett is facing formal ethics charges over his handling of a guardianship case in Milford, including allegations that he researched a party’s criminal history outside the courtroom and showed bias in a written ruling.
The charges were brought by the New Hampshire Judicial Conduct Committee, which investigates alleged violations of the state’s judicial conduct rules. The proceeding remains in the disciplinary investigation stage. Prevett has not responded to the committee’s charging documents and continues to hear cases at Milford District Court, according to a Judicial Branch spokesperson.
The allegations arise from a December 2024 case involving a mother who sought to reunite with her child after the child had been placed with relatives under a guardianship nearly 10 years earlier. The committee said Prevett’s written order denying the request included language that reflected hostility and disdain toward the mother.
“contained several expressions of hostility and disdain towards the mother.” — New Hampshire Judicial Conduct Committee
The committee also alleges that Prevett searched for the woman’s criminal record in Massachusetts through an online court portal. The records had not been introduced as evidence in the guardianship case, according to the committee’s allegations. The committee further accused the judge of misleading investigators about his conduct.
The related court case
The underlying guardianship case has already reached the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The justices overturned Prevett’s initial ruling and sent the matter back to a lower court for additional review. They also notified a supervisory judge and asked that the judge’s handling of the case be examined.
That appellate ruling and the committee’s disciplinary inquiry are separate proceedings. The Supreme Court’s decision addressed the guardianship ruling, while the Judicial Conduct Committee’s charges concern whether Prevett’s conduct violated judicial ethics requirements. The ethics allegations have not resulted in a final disciplinary ruling.
Prevett was appointed to the bench in 2021. He previously received a formal reprimand in 2024 after attempting to enter another courthouse to file paperwork in a personal case while the building was closed. In that matter, he admitted the mistake and was assigned a senior judge as a mentor.
In December 2025, Prevett sent a letter to the Judicial Conduct Committee defending his actions in the guardianship matter. The committee’s investigation later concluded that he likely violated several provisions of the state’s ethics code, leading to the current charging documents. The disciplinary case remains pending while the allegations are considered.
