The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime appointments with a mandatory retirement age of 70. Starting in 1839, justices have been appointed for seven-year terms, with no limit on the number of terms that they may serve nor a mandatory retirement age.
The University of Maine School of Law is a public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's current dean is Leigh Saufley, who assumed the post in 2020. Until 1972 the School of Law was located at 68 High Street, Portland. In 1972, the School of Law moved to the University of Maine School of Law Building, which is adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. In 2023, the Law School moved to 300 Fore Street, on the waterfront of downtown Portland.
The Maine Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the Maine state court system.
Janet Trafton Mills is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2019. She previously served as the Maine Attorney General on two occasions.
Thomas E. Delahanty II was an American lawyer and former judge. He was the former United States Attorney for the District of Maine.
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370, was a landmark decision regarding aboriginal title in the United States. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the Nonintercourse Act applied to the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, non-federally-recognized Indian tribes, and established a trust relationship between those tribes and the federal government that the State of Maine could not terminate.
Nancy Torresen is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine. She is the first female judge to serve in the District of Maine.
The 2018 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Maine. It occurred along with elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Paul LePage was term limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term in office although he later announced his campaign for a third term in the 2022 election.
Charles William Goddard was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Goddard, a Whig turned Republican, served two one-year terms in the Maine Senate. In his second year, he was chosen Senate President.
Aaron M. Frey is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 58th Attorney General of Maine since 2019. He formerly served as a Democratic representative in the Maine House of Representatives.
Rena D. Newell is the Passamaquoddy tribal representative to the Maine House of Representatives. As of February 2020, she is serving her second two-year term and is the only tribal representative in the Maine House.
Donald Cotesworth Gellers, also known by his Jewish name Tuvia Ben-Shmuel Yosef, was an American lawyer. In the 1960s he lived in Eastport, Maine, where he represented members of the Passamaquoddy tribe in court and advocated for their civil rights. In 1968 he filed a land claim suit on the tribe's behalf. Immediately after filing the suit he was charged with constructive possession of six marijuana cigarettes. He was convicted on a felony charge and sentenced to prison. After an unsuccessful appeal process, he moved to Israel without serving his sentence. He returned to the United States in 1980 and practiced as a rabbi until his death. In 2020 he was granted a posthumous pardon by the state of Maine.
Valerie Stanfill is an American judge who serves as the chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. She is a former Associate Justice of the Maine Superior Court.
Heidi Hilgartner Sampson is a Republican politician, anti-vaccine activist and member of the Maine House of Representatives. Sampson represents Maine House District #21, consisting of the towns of Alfred and Newfield and parts of the towns of Limerick, Parsonsfield and Shapleigh. Sampson's prominence in the anti-vaccination movement in Maine began with her 2019 opposition toward legislation eliminating religious and philosophical exemptions to childhood vaccinations in the state. Sampson was active in a campaign for a failed people's veto of the legislation, and spoke at anti-vaccine rallies and events throughout the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sampson was a vocal opponent of public health measures taken to limit the spread of the pandemic in Maine, participating in rallies and demonstrations against business closures, gathering limits, mask wearing and vaccinations. Sampson has made comparisons of vaccine and mask mandates to Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust.
