Walter Stephen Thayer III[1] (born January 13, 1946) was a justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1986 to 2000.
He is a member of the Republican Party and participated in several conservative organizations.
[2][3][4] In 2000, he resigned from the New Hampshire Supreme Court amid a controversy involving claims that he attempted to influence a decision of the court regarding his bitterly contested divorce from his wife Judith, former chairwoman of the New Hampshire State Board of Education.
I can't sit on the bench and be expected to fulfill my constitutional duties when I was being dragged through the mud on federal felony bank charges," he said.
[6] In 2003, he was appointed by the Bush administration to participate in an effort to establish more comprehensive screening process for airline passengers.