48 hours in jail for phony wedding justice of the peace

A Hampton man will spend the weekend in jail after being sentenced last week for falsely officiating two weddings.

Scott A. Baldwin, 55, will serve a 48-hour sentence in the Rockingham County jail in Brentwood from 6 p.m. Friday, July 31 until 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Maguerite Wageling on July 23 in Superior Court on two felony counts of duties and responsibilities, two misdemeanor counts of tampering with public records and a fifth count of forgery, also a misdemeanor.

Baldwin was given a sentence of 1½ to 3 years for the felonies in the New Hampshire State Prison, deferred for three years and then suspended for two, according to court documents. The felonies also bring a $1,000 fine suspended for five years.

"Deferred" means Baldwin must go before a judge and argue that he has earned the suspension after the three years is over by demonstrating good behavior, Assistant Attorney General Stephen LaBonte said. A suspended sentence is one that will not be imposed unless the defendant fails to maintain good behavior.

If a judge feels Baldwin maintained good behavior while the sentence was deferred, he may allow the sentence to be suspended for two years, LaBonte said. Baldwin’s first review hearing for his deferment will be this November.

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Baldwin must undergo "counseling to address the issue surrounding his fraudulent behavior" and "provide written proof of compliance with the condition," Wageling wrote. He must remain gainfully employed, too.

Baldwin is also required to pay $800 in restitution to one of the two couples whose wedding he officiated.

Baldwin’s three days in jail are part of a 24-month sentence that is otherwise suspended, as each tampering charge brings 12 months in jail suspended for three years.

Baldwin allegedly officiated weddings in 2009 and 2014, the 2014 later being that of his relative, despite never being a justice of the peace, according to an affidavit written and signed by investigator Paul E. Brodeur from the state attorney general's office and court papers.

Baldwin also allegedly forged a Hampton town employee's signature on a wedding certificate and falsely stamped the word "certified" on it, according to the affidavit.

The investigation into Baldwin began in August 2014, when Hampton Town Clerk Jane Cypher contacted police about Baldwin falsely acting as a justice of the peace for his relative's wedding in May.

According to police, Baldwin also allegedly attempted to deter the female relative whose wedding he falsely officiated from speaking to authorities. That led to an initial felony charge of tampering with a witness, but that charge was not included as part of the plea deal.

"If you really love me, you'll let this die down," Baldwin allegedly told his relative when she confronted him last August, Brodeur wrote in the affidavit.

Baldwin was also initially charged with a fourth misdemeanor charge of solemnization by an unauthorized person, but that charge was also dropped as part of the plea deal.

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