AUGUSTA — Fifty years ago, the voters of Maine approved a constitutional amendment that repealed their historic right to elect probate judges in each county. But the referendum didn’t actually set a date for when that would happen. Instead, it was supposed to take place when the Legislature worked out how to create a new […]
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Maine’s funding for court-appointed lawyers runs out
AUGUSTA (AP) — Attorneys in Maine appointed to defend people who can’t afford a lawyer will have to wait nearly two months to get paid after state funding ran out. The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/2q1ryKN ) court-appointed lawyers won’t get paid until the new fiscal year, which starts July 1. John Pelletier, executive director […]
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Case files in attic had evidence Sanborn’s defense team never saw
PORTLAND (AP) — A lawyer trying to overturn a decades-old murder conviction says case files recently returned to police by a retired detective contained critical evidence that was never shown to the defense. The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/2qsZOf2 ) the lawyer, Amy Fairfield, said in court filings that the boxes had been stored in […]
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Gov. Paul LePage sues Attorney General Janet Mills
AUGUSTA — In a move bound to create political fallout, Gov. Paul LePage sued Attorney General Janet Mills on Monday and accused her of a “clear abuse of power” because she wouldn’t represent him in a controversial federal case involving President Donald Trump’s two stalled immigration orders. Mills denounced the governor’s move for wasting state […]
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Kennebec County court officer on leave after sharing photo of lawyer's notes
AUGUSTA — A court security officer has been placed on leave while under investigation for sending a cellphone photo of a defense attorney’s notes to a prosecutor. The Kennebec Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2mB95mA) that court officials are calling the incident a serious ethical breach and violation of courtroom protocol. Sgt. Joel Eldridge took the photo Tuesday […]
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Maine courts starting 5-year project to go paperless
AUGUSTA — It’ll take $17 million and five years to bring Maine’s courts into the 21st century. Maine has selected Tyler Technologies to transform the state’s 200-year-old system of paper court filings and documents tucked in courthouse cabinets. Tyler currently has four offices in Maine. The company’s software will let court users initiate cases and […]
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Maine courts unseal documents after media challenge
PORTLAND — The Maine court system reversed itself on sealing some court records after pressure from media groups, officials said Wednesday. Dismissed criminal cases that had been ordered sealed will remain public records as they have in the past, according to a spokeswoman for the Maine court system. Media organizations led by the Sun Journal newspaper […]
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Maine considers using Supreme Judicial Court justices in lower courts
AUGUSTA — Maine’s judicial system may address a backlog of criminal cases by sending Supreme Judicial Court justices to trial courts in the spring, which could require more money from the Legislature. Details are thin on the plan, which Gov. Paul LePage teased in his regular Tuesday appearance on WVOM, a Bangor radio station, saying […]
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Court rules against Gov. Paul LePage; 65 bills are law
PORTLAND — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has found that a set of 65 bills that Republican Gov. Paul LePage was contesting have become law. The opinion came just six days after the court heard lawyers for LePage and the Legislature’s caucus leaders make their case, with one side arguing LePage had missed his veto […]
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Lewiston attorney makes case against LePage asking for lawyers
LEWISTON — A local attorney and law professor is making a case against Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s use of private attorneys when Maine’s attorney general refuses to represent the state. LePage has asked a state’s highest court to determine if he should be allowed to hire attorneys in those situations. Under the state’s constitution and […]