Portland attorney nominated to become federal judge

President Biden has nominated a Portland lawyer to fill an upcoming vacancy in Maine’s U.S. District Court.

Stacey Neumann Courtesy Murray Plumb & Murray

Stacey Neumann is a private attorney and partner at Murray Plumb & Murray. She joined the firm after about four years as a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine and two years as a federal public defender in Vermont.

Neumann did not respond to an email and a voicemail Wednesday afternoon seeking to discuss the nomination to the federal bench.

The U.S. Senate will eventually vote on whether to approve Neumann’s nomination.

Biden selected her to fill an opening left by U.S. District Judge Jon Levy, who last year announced his plans to retire on May 5. He joined the U.S. District Court in 2014 after more than a decade on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Levy was the chief judge from Jan. 1, 2019, until March 18, when Judge Lance Walker in Bangor took over the top position. The chief judge is responsible for overseeing the federal court’s administrative operations, including a budget of more than $5.6 million and a staff of more than 100 people.

Neumann graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and attended Cornell Law School, graduating in 2005, according to her bio on the Murray Plumb & Murray website. It says she lives near Portland with her husband and four children.