PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Former Judge Patricia Coffey, who resigned last week after being disciplined by the state Supreme Court, says she hopes to get a job practicing or teaching law.

Coffey resigned last Monday from Rockingham County Superior Court after being suspended for three years for helping shield her husband’s assets from creditors as he was being stripped of his law license.

She told the New Hampshire Sunday News she was stunned by the punishment but doesn’t intend to look back.

“I was dumfounded. I was upset, obviously,” said Coffey, 54, who had spent 16 years on the bench. “I cried. Who wouldn’t?”

Coffey said she understands she must pay for her mistake, but she disputed the court’s claim that she was “not completely forthright.”

“The last seven months have been hell. Did I make a mistake? Yes. Once I realized I made a mistake, I was as cooperative as I could be.”

The court’s Judicial Conduct Committee had recommended only a three month suspension, but the court settled on a far more severe penalty. Coffey cleaned out her chambers Friday afternoon.

“I don’t intend to look back,” she said. “I can’t look back.”