Maine owes it to citizens to properly resource judicial branch, chief justice says

Yahoo

25-02-2025

Maine Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill gives the State of the Judiciary address before a joint session of the Maine Legislature on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by James Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill has made it her mission to 'right-size' Maine's judicial branch so it can provide an efficient and impartial system for resolving disputes in the state.
However, she told Gov. Janet Mills and state legislators Tuesday that the third co-equal branch of government in the state has been underfunded for decades and is still staring down a persistent backlog of cases that is only complicated by the state's lack of attorneys.
While Stanfill's annual State of the Judiciary address highlighted some of the improvements the courts have made in the last year, she underscored the need for increased funding to address ongoing problems and carry the system into the future.
'When I advocate for right-sizing the judicial branch and ensuring there are adequate resources, I am sure that many of you are out there thinking, 'Yes, but there are many worthy causes,' and there are,' Stanfill said. 'But that is also why we have to remember the central and critical role of courts in our system of government.'
The judicial branch can only uphold the requirements laid out for it in the constitution to adjudicate matters in an independent, fair and timely manner if it has adequate resources, Stanfill said.
'This is what we owe to all of the citizens of Maine,' she said.
As the practice of law in the state is overseen by the Supreme Judicial Court, Stanfill expressed concerns over the current state of the legal profession.
Maine is in the process of trying to avert a constitutional crisis by implementing a more robust public defense system to ensure that everyone who has the right to an attorney is provided one as needed. However, Stanfill said accessing a lawyer is 'increasingly a pipedream' for many Mainers.
At the end of last year, there were 1,150 matters pending without counsel, Stanfill shared from a recent annual report from the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, formerly known as the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. That included nearly 1,000 criminal post-conviction and juvenile matters, as well as more than 100 child protective cases.
'While the public defender offices hold promise for the future, they cannot currently meet the demand,' Stanfill said.
Maine has predominantly contracted with private attorneys to represent those who can't afford legal services, but has expanded public defense efforts in recent years. In 2022, the state hired its first five public defenders and in March 2023 Mills signed a law adding two offices and 10 new public defender positions.
The lack of attorneys only exacerbates the delay and backlog the courts have been facing since the pandemic, so Stanfill laid out some steps the judicial branch has taken to try to address the problem.
This includes having former law clerks take on some of the pending child protective appeals, as well as amending the rules to allow attorneys in good standing from other states to temporarily practice with the public defense commission without having to go through all of the usual steps to be admitted to the bar in Maine.
Stanfill also spoke of the need to recruit and keep lawyers in rural areas. She noted that the people most likely to fill that need would be people who already live in those parts of the state.
Though it would require more conversation and pose challenges, Stanfill also suggested possible remote and online learning with the University of Maine School of Law. She said this would allow people who live in rural areas to gain that schooling without having to uproot and move to Portland, where the law school is based, for three years. This was the only comment during Stanfill's remarks that received marked applause from lawmakers.
Stanfill said the judicial branch also submitted a bill to the Legislature this session to provide that when there isn't an attorney from the public defense commission available, the courts can appoint any attorney who agrees to take the case.
While this is already possible, the proposed change would make it so the commission would then have to pay that attorney, Stanfill noted. The bill also contains a three-year sunset and an emergency clause, which means it will require two-thirds support from the Legislature but could take effect immediately if passed.
'What we're trying to do is not pull lawyers away from the (public defense roster) but rather to bridge the next three years until the public defenders offices are fully up and running and able to fill what is now a yawning gap,' Stanfill said.
While reducing the backlog of cases is a daily struggle, Stanfill said, there has been progress, especially with those that are easier to work through. However, she is concerned that the remainder of the cases will be 'stubborn.'
Criminal caseloads are about 35% above prepandemic levels. While that is still 'terrible,' Stanfill said it is down from a year ago and from its highest point.
Stanfill said she is alarmed by what happened to the family docket. Not only are there 25% more child protective cases pending than before the pandemic, they have been taking twice as long to resolve than they used to.
While the courts have been able to work through those cases and improve those numbers in the past year, they are still taking too long, Stanfill said — 'and every case is not a statistic, it's a real person in crisis.'
The additional funding and resources provided to the judicial branch have helped, Stanfill said, but it will take more to continue clearing the logjam and operating the courts as needed.
One of the resources in need of more funding is technology, which the chief justice said must be viewed not as a luxury but as necessary infrastructure for the court system.
Not only have the courts been rolling out an electronic record system, but there are also needs for people to make court appearances remotely and for digital evidence like body camera videos to be used in proceedings.
Like building and HVAC systems, technology needs to be maintained and updated, which is why the funding for annual fees, licenses and technology maintenance should be part of the general fund budget, Stanfill explained.
The Legislature authorized a bond for the judicial branch to purchase and install its electronic records system; however, the courts have had to rely on surcharges to raise the necessary funds to keep up with the ongoing fees and maintenance costs. Stanfill said this is 'not a sound plan,' adding that those charges often fall on those least able to pay for them.
As for surcharges, traffic fines have provided the biggest source of revenue, but fine revenues have gone down and are not adequate to keep up with increasing maintenance costs. The judicial branch will be short $1.8 million in each of the next two years if it continues to rely on fine revenue.
Stanfill also used her time before lawmakers to advocate for judicial salaries. Even after raises in the last biennium, Stanfill said judicial salaries in Maine are still lower than any other states when adjusted for cost of living.
It's not only an issue of fairness and equity, Stanfill said, but it makes it harder to attract and recruit talent to fill open positions. The judicial branch needs not only judges, but clerks, marshals and other supporting staff to address the backlog and uphold the responsibilities of the branch, Stanfill said.
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