Louis Scolnik

ANDOVER, Mass. – Louis Scolnik, civil rights activist and former Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, passed away on Oct. 10, 2024, at the remarkable age of 101. Born on Feb. 14, 1923, his family’s “Valentine baby,” Justice Scolnik – affectionately, known as Lou or Louie – was a Navy veteran, a lawyer known for his fierce commitment to the rights of the marginalized, a justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court noted for his important dissents, a passionate lover of animals, a life-long jazz sax player, and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.

The youngest of five children, Scolnik was born to Julius and Bessie Scolnik, Jewish immigrants who fled Kovno, Lithuania, in 1904, to settle in Lewiston, Maine. There, Julius Scolnik ran a dry goods store with his brother Kalman. Raised in a kosher household, Scolnik often recalled how his mother would send him to school with unwrapped potato latkes in his pockets, which he would eat covered in lint.

Upon graduation from Lewiston High School, Scolnik enrolled at Bates College and, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, enlisted in the Bates V-12 Naval Program. In the final year of the war, he served as an officer on LCI(L) 776, an amphibious landing ship, participated in landings in the Philippines and occupation duty in China, ultimately commanding the ship. After the war, Scolnik returned to Bates College, where he completed his BA in 1947. He then attended Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and earned an LLB in 1952. On the advice of a professor, he returned to his hometown of Lewiston to practice law.

Scolnik’s legal career was defined by his steadfast commitment to civil rights and civil liberties. After opening his own private practice in 1957, Scolnik served as corporation counsel to the City of Lewiston, counsel to the central Maine branch of the NAACP, chair of the Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Human Rights. In 1968, after serving for 16 years as the only cooperating attorney in Maine for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Scolnik helped organize and became the first president of the ACLU’s Maine chapter.

In 1974, Governor Kenneth Curtis appointed Scolnik to serve as a justice on the Maine Superior Court, where he was eventually named presiding justice for Region II. As a trial court judge, Scolnik was obliged to ride circuit hearing cases around the state. During these month-long sojourns he brought his golden retriever Sarah to keep him company. Sarah would remain in chambers during the trials, but Scolnik joked with the attorneys that one bark meant guilty, two barks innocent and three barks a mistrial. In 1983, Scolnik was elevated to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, where he served until his retirement in 1988.

Though Scolnik won numerous awards throughout his career, his greatest pride came in 1989 when, in recognition of his lifetime commitment to civil liberties, he was presented with the Roger Baldwin Award, named for the late founder of the ACLU. That same year, the Maine Civil Liberties Union established the Justice Louis Scolnik Award, which annually honors members of the legal community who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the protection of civil liberties. Scolnik himself received the eponymous honor for lifetime achievement in 2019.

In addition to his legal pursuits, Scolnik was a passionate and accomplished jazz musician, playing tenor saxophone and clarinet throughout his life. As he loved to say, “I wasn’t a hangin’ judge, I was a swingin’ judge.” He played in various dance bands during his high school and college years and even had a jazz trio on board his ship in the Pacific. Later in life, he formed “The Golden Years Trio,” which often entertained residents at local retirement homes. Among his favorite tunes were “Sunny Side of the Street” and “Our Love is Here to Stay.”

Scolnik was married for 67 years to Paula Scolnik, a beloved high school English teacher who passed away in 2018 after a long illness. During her final years, Scolnik devoted himself to her care, embodying the love and commitment that defined their life together.

He is predeceased by his brothers, Morris and William H. Scolnik, and his sisters Rose Goldman and Ida Kaneff. He is survived by his three daughters, Nina, Donna, and Julie; their husbands and partners, Louis Jack, Bruce Rothstein, and Michael Brower; his grandchildren, Sophie and Sasha Scolnik-Brower and Ted Jack; and his longtime devoted nurse, Sandy Pasco.

A memorial service celebrating Scolnik’s extraordinary life will be held in early 2025, close to what would have been his 102nd birthday.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ACLU of Maine.