Maine Superior Court

The Maine Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the Maine state court system.

All state jury trials are held in the Superior Court. The court is located in each of Maine's 16 counties (with two locations in Aroostook County). The Court consists of 17 justices who all have statewide jurisdiction and travel to the different courthouses to hold court.[1] Justices are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate and are appointed to seven-year terms.[2]

Chief Justices of the Maine Superior Court

The position of Chief Justice of the Maine Superior Court was authorized by the Maine Legislature, P.L. 1983, c. 269, § 7, to be effective on January 1, 1984. The Chief Justice is designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to "serve at the pleasure and under the supervision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and shall be responsible for the operation of the Superior Court." 4 MRSA §101-A.[3]

Name Home Start of Term End of Term Notes
Robert W. Clifford Lewiston, Maine January 1, 1984 August 1, 1986 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Morton A. Brody Waterville, Maine August 1, 1986 June 6, 1990 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Thomas E. Delahanty II Lewiston, Maine June 6, 1990 June 6, 1995 5-year term expired
Roland A. Cole Wells, Maine June 7, 1995 June 30, 1997 2-year term expired
Margaret J. Kravchuk Bangor, Maine July 1, 1997 June 30, 1999 2-year term expired
Andrew A. Mead Bangor, Maine July 1, 1999 June 30, 2001 2-year term expired
Nancy D. Mills Cornville, Maine July 1, 2001 September 1, 2004 Resigned as Chief Justice
Thomas E. Humphrey Sanford, Maine September 1, 2004 April 29, 2015 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Roland A. Cole Wells, Maine June 10, 2015[4] 2018
Robert Mullen Portland, Maine 2018

Current justices

As of January 30, 2020, the justices of the Maine Superior Court are:

Name Date of Birth Birthplace Appointed By Start of Term Notes
Thomas D. Warren Angus King September 2, 1998[3]
M. Michaela Murphy John Baldacci October 1, 2007[3]
William R. Anderson John Baldacci February 21, 2008 Formerly on the Maine District Court[3]
MaryGay Kennedy John Baldacci July 30, 2010
Ann M. Murray John Baldacci July 30, 2010
Robert E. Murray John Baldacci July 30, 2010
John O'Neil Paul LePage August 31, 2011
Robert Mullen Paul LePage February 7, 2014
Daniel Billings Paul LePage February 7, 2014
William R. Stokes Paul LePage May 7, 2014
Wayne R. Douglas Paul LePage May 26, 2015
Bruce C. Mallonee Paul LePage May 26, 2015
Harold Stewart II Paul LePage April 14, 2016
Valerie Stanfill Janet Mills January 8, 2020
Stephen Nelson Janet Mills January 30, 2020
Thomas McKeon Janet Mills January 30, 2020

Active-retired justices of the Maine Superior Court:

Name Start Date of Active-Retired Status Notes
William S. Brodrick April 24, 1995[3]
Carl O. Bradford[5] September 2, 1998[3]
S. Kirk Studstrup October 1, 2007[3]
Donald H. Marden March 3, 2008[3]
Robert W. Clifford September 1, 2009 Retired from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, but is sitting in the Superior Court[3]
G. Arthur Brennan August 26, 2011
Joyce A. Wheeler April 2015
Paul A. Fritzsche July 2015
E. Allen Hunter April 16, 2016
Roland A. Cole December 31, 2019
Nancy D. Mills[6] December 31, 2019

Former justices
Name Hometown Home County Start of Term End of Term Reason for Leaving
Charles W. Goddard Cumberland February 28, 1871 November 4, 1871 Resigned
Marquis DeLafayette Lane Cumberland November 4, 1871 September 15, 1872 Died in office
Joseph W. Symonds Portland, Maine Cumberland September 28, 1872 October 16, 1878 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
William Penn Whitehouse Augusta, Maine Kennebec February 13, 1878 April 15, 1890 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Percival Bonney Cumberland October 16, 1878 August 4, 1906 Died in office
William M. Robinson Aroostook March 25, 1885 July 1, 1893 Aroostook County Superior Court was abolished on July 1, 1893
Oliver G. Hall Kennebec April 24, 1890 April 26, 1911 Retired
Levi Turner Cumberland September 21, 1906 February 19, 1911 Died in office
Joseph E.F. Connolly Cumberland March 2, 1911 March 2, 1918 Term expired
Lauren M. Sanborn Cumberland March 2, 1918 March 2, 1925 Term expired
Fred Emery Beane Kennebec April 26, 1911 May 14, 1924 Retired (active retired)
Henry W. Oakes Androscoggin July 16, 1917 March 31, 1928 Retired (active retired)
Bertram L. Smith Penobscot July 16, 1919 November 4, 1924 Died in office
William H. Fisher Augusta, Maine Kennebec May 21, 1924 August 31, 1940 Retired (active retired)
George H. Worster Bangor, Maine Penobscot November 25, 1924 December 21, 1939 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Arthur Chapman Portland, Maine Cumberland March 12, 1925 November 4, 1942 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Harry Manser Auburn, Maine Androscoggin April 1, 1928 July 18, 1935 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
George L. Emery Biddeford, Maine York January 1, 1930 October 2, 1944 Died in office
James H. Hudson Guilford, Maine Piscataquis January 1, 1930 November 20, 1933 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Sidney St. F. Thaxter Portland, Maine Cumberland January 1, 1930 October 1, 1930 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Herbert T. Powers Fort Fairfield, Maine Aroostook October 1, 1930 July 1, 1941 Retired
Herbert E. Holmes Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin November 20, 1933 May 6, 1935 Died in office
Edward P. Murray Bangor, Maine Penobscot July 18, 1935 September 18, 1947 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Albert Beliveau Rumford, Maine Oxford July 18, 1935 March 3, 1954 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Raymond B. Fellows Bangor, Maine Penobscot December 10, 1939 May 1, 1946 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Robert A. Cony Augusta, Maine Kennebec October 31, 1940 January 1, 1945 Died in office
Nathaniel Tompkins Houlton, Maine Aroostook October 9, 1941 August 23, 1945 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Arthur E. Sewall York, Maine York December 17, 1942 March 3, 1953 Retired (active retired)
Earle L. Russell Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cumberland December 27, 1944 August 5, 1947 Died in office
Edward F. Merrill Skowhegan, Maine Somerset February 1, 1945 June 2, 1948 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Robert B. Williamson Augusta, Maine Kennebec September 5, 1945 May 5, 1949 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Frank A. Tirrell, Jr. Rockland, Maine Knox May 15, 1946 March 18, 1953 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
William B. Nulty Portland, Maine Cumberland September 18, 1947 March 16, 1949 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Percy T. Clarke Ellsworth, Maine Hancock October 1, 1947 June 29, 1955 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Donald W. Webber Auburn, Maine Androscoggin September 1, 1948 October 8, 1953 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Francis W. Sullivan Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cumberland April 5, 1949 October 4, 1956 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Granville C. Gray Presque Isle, Maine Aroostook May 18, 1949 September 2, 1956 Died in office
Harold C. Marden Waterville, Maine Kennebec March 3, 1953 December 19, 1962 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Randolph A. Weatherbee Hampden, Maine Penobscot March 25, 1953 December 21, 1966 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Cecil J. Siddall Sanford, Maine York August 19, 1953 May 7, 1958 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Leonard F. Williams Auburn, Maine Androscoggin November 4, 1953 March 30, 1964 Died in office
Walter M. Tapley, Jr. Portland, Maine Cumberland March 3, 1954 May 5, 1954 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Abraham M. Rudman Bangor, Maine Penobscot June 9, 1954 May 30, 1965 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
F. Harold Dubord Waterville, Maine Kennebec June 29, 1955 October 4, 1956 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Charles A. Pomeroy Portland, Maine Cumberland October 4, 1956 July 2, 1969 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
James P. Archibald Houlton, Maine Aroostook October 4, 1956 January 27, 1971 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Armand A. Dufresne, Jr. Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin October 4, 1956 August 24, 1965 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
John P. Carey Bath, Maine Sagadahoc May 7, 1958 December 10, 1958 Resigned
Thomas E. Delahanty Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin December 31, 1958 September 5, 1973 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
William S. Silsby Aurora, Maine Hancock December 20, 1961 August 2, 1972 Retired
James L. Reid Augusta, Maine Kennebec December 28, 1962 September 1, 1975 Retired (active retired)
Harold J. Rubin Bath, Maine Sagadahoc May 20, 1964 January 15, 1979 Retired
Alton A. Lessard Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin August 24, 1965 August 2, 1974 Retired (medical disability)
Lincoln Spencer Kennebunkport, Maine York August 24, 1965 September 1, 1977 Retired
Albert Knudsen Portland, Maine Cumberland May 4, 1966 December 31, 1973 Retired
Robert L. Browne Bangor, Maine Penobscot 1974 1985 Retired, to active-retired status[7]
Robert W. Clifford Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin June 8, 1979 August 1, 1986 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Thomas E. Delahanty II Lewiston, Maine Androscoggin November 4, 1983 June 30, 2010 Appointed as United States Attorney for the District of Maine
Andrew M. Mead Bangor, Maine Penobscot May 28, 1992 April, 2007 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Ellen A. Gorman Durham, Maine Androscoggin March 30, 2000 October 1, 2007 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Joseph Jabar Waterville, Maine Kennebec October 26, 2001 September 1, 2009 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Robert E. Crowley June 14, 1993 August 31, 2010[3]
Jeffrey Hjelm[8] Dixmont, Maine Penobscot September 2, 1998 August 1, 2014 Appointed to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
John Nivison October 1, 2007 2014 Formerly chief judge on the Maine District Court[3]

Statewide Superior Court established January 1, 1930; P.L. 1929, ch 141. The Superior Court, with a location in each county, became the general jurisdiction trial court, replacing the Maine Supreme Court justices who traveled from county to county to sit in trial terms (Nisi Prius) in those counties without their own Superior Court. The presiding justices from the Superior Courts in four counties (Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, and Penobscot) continued to serve on the statewide Superior Court. The Supreme Judicial Court was reduced from eight justices to six justices as a result of vacancies.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
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See also

Reference list
  1. Maine Judicial Branch :Superior Courts Archived 2007-01-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Me. Const. art. V, § 8; Me. Const. art. VI, § 4
  3. "Maine Superior Court Chronology" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  4. Hench, David (2015-06-16). "Justice Roland Cole named chief of Superior Court in Maine". Press Herald. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  5. "Hon. Carl O. Bradford". FindLaw Lawyer Directory. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  6. Francis X. Quinn, McKernan Taps Dana for High Court Position, Mills, Murray Picked for Superior Court, Bangor Daily News, Jan. 7, 1993, available at 1993 WLNR 539755.
  7. "Robert L. Browne recalled as judicial pioneer". Bangor Daily News. 18 August 2003. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  8. A. Jay Higgins, Senate OKs King's Appointees, Bangor Daily News, Aug. 19, 1998, available at 1998 WLNR 852504.
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