Latest news with #Lipez
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Julia Lipez confirmed as Maine's newest state supreme court justice
Mar. 20—AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate voted Thursday to confirm Julia Lipez, a superior court justice and former assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine, to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Lipez, of Cape Elizabeth, was confirmed in a 34-1 vote with Sen. Joseph Martin, R-Oxford, opposed. She was previously endorsed by the Legislature's Judiciary Committee in a unanimous vote Wednesday. Lipez, who was not present Thursday for the Senate vote, has served on the Maine Superior Court since 2022 and was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine. She was nominated last year by President Biden to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, but was one of four appellate nominees that senators agreed not to confirm as part of a deal between Democrats and Republicans so they could quickly confirm other nominees before the change in administration. Gov. Janet Mills announced her selection of Lipez last month to fill a year-old vacancy on the high court, replacing Associate Justice Joseph Jabar. Lipez was asked twice in the Judiciary Committee about questions raised by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, during her nomination process to the federal bench, in which he accused her of giving a light sentence in 2023 to a Woodstock man convicted of unlawful sexual contact with two young girls. As she told Kennedy, Lipez told Maine lawmakers she is obligated to follow sentencing laws set by the Legislature. Lipez said she ordered what prosecutors had requested and that she takes victims' concerns seriously. "I have personally sat many times with victims and survivors of crime while they have shared with me in harrowing detail what they experienced," Lipez said. Lipez is a Stanford Law School graduate who began her legal career with a clerkship at the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Virginia. She worked for three years at a large law firm in New York before returning to Maine in 2011 to work for the U.S. Attorney's Office, where she prosecuted cases involving human trafficking, fraud, narcotics and child exploitation. The Senate on Thursday also voted 30-5 to confirm former U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee to serve on the state superior court. McElwee, of Scarborough, was most recently the District of Maine's chief federal law enforcement officer. She was terminated in February by order of the Trump administration, which is not uncommon during presidential turnover. The Trump administration has yet to announce a new nominee. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine lawmakers endorse nominees to state's high, superior courts
Mar. 19—Julia Lipez was about to join New England's federal appeals court in Boston when she got caught up in a political deal made by the U.S. Senate. Now, Maine is poised to confirm her to the state's highest court. A committee of state lawmakers unanimously endorsed Lipez's nomination to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday after a public hearing at the State House. The Senate now has to vote on whether to confirm her. Lipez received broad support from Maine legislators, unlike in Congress, where she and other nominees of then-President Joe Biden were subjected to hyperpartisan debate. Her nomination to the federal bench was effectively scrapped so Senate Democrats could confirm more lower-level judicial nominations before President Donald Trump took office. Trump has yet to announce his nominee for the appeals court, but Lipez has already moved on. Gov. Janet Mills announced her selection of Lipez last month to fill the year-old vacancy on the high court, replacing Associate Justice Joseph Jabar. On Wednesday, state lawmakers also voted 8-2 to advance Mills' nomination of former U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee to serve on the state superior court. (McElwee was also terminated amid the change in administration.) Both women are lifelong Mainers with extensive legal experience, namely as federal prosecutors. JULIA LIPEZ Lipez, of Cape Elizabeth, was joined at the Legislature on Wednesday by her husband, two children and parents, including Judge Kermit Lipez, who serves on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals where she initially planned to serve. She said Wednesday that her great-grandparents, who immigrated to the United States after enduring antisemitism in Eastern Europe, "would be quite amazed" at her family's experience in the courts. Lipez is a Stanford Law School graduate who began her legal career with a prestigious clerkship at the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Virginia. She worked for three years at a large law firm in New York before returning to Maine in 2011 to work for the U.S. Attorney's Office, where she prosecuted cases involving human trafficking, fraud, narcotics and child exploitation. She would later coordinate Maine's efforts to fight human trafficking and oversee the U.S. Attorney's Office's appellate division before becoming a Maine superior court judge in 2022. She has presided over cases in western Maine, Kennebec County and Portland, "giving (her) an opportunity to see up close the lives of Mainers from different parts of the state and how they are affected by the criminal legal system." Lipez was asked twice Wednesday about questions raised by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, during her nomination process to the federal bench, in which he accused her of giving a light sentence in 2023 to a Woodstock man convicted of unlawful sexual contact with two young girls. As she told Kennedy, Lipez she is obligated to follow sentencing laws set by the Legislature. Lipez said she ordered what prosecutors had requested and that she takes victims' concerns seriously. "I have personally sat many times with victims and survivors of crime while they have shared with me in harrowing detail what they experienced," Lipez said. District Attorney Neil McLean, whose office worked on the Woodstock case, defended Lipez's decision in that case, saying she was only allowed to consider a sentence based on limited facts shared in court. "Oftentimes, they only know what we provided them, or what they learned from the trial," McLean said. Several attorneys, including a former federal prosecutor, members of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and the Maine State Bar Association, testified in support of Lipez's nomination Wednesday. No one in attendance spoke against her. DARCIE McELWEE McElwee, of Scarborough, was most recently the District of Maine's chief federal law enforcement officer. She was terminated in February by order of the Trump administration, which is not uncommon during presidential turnover. The Trump administration has yet to announce a new nominee. She was raised in Aroostook County and is a University of Maine School of Law graduate. Her parents were "career public servants," McElwee said. Her mother, Carol McElwee, taught English and was a Republican state lawmaker from 2012 to 2018. Her father was an attorney and district judge. Gerald Reid, an attorney for the governor's office, highlighted McElwee's lengthy experience prosecuting domestic violence cases. Several Maine attorneys, both prosecutors and defense, sang her praises. McElwee told lawmakers the state has come a long way since her first domestic violence case in the late 1990s, when she was a prosecutor in Bangor. She also discussed her experience prosecuting firearm-related offenses in a uniquely gun friendly state. "Maine is a hunting and sport state," McElwee said. "Maine gun owners want to be responsible as a whole." At one point in questioning, McElwee was asked about videos she has made as U.S. attorney recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Day of Visibility. McElwee told lawmakers she didn't believe these were political positions and that she made videos raising awareness for elder abuse, sextortion and human trafficking. "It wasn't to take any political position, it wasn't to take any activist role, but instead to take the No. 1 job that I had: to make sure that every person who lived in Maine felt safe," McElwee said. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Superior court justice nominated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Feb. 28—Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that she had nominated Julia Lipez, a superior court justice in Augusta, to serve on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The nomination comes days after Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill said in her annual State of the Judiciary address that the judicial branch is struggling with vacancies, including a spot on the high court that has been open for more than a year. A spokesperson for Mills said after the address that she planned to proceed with an appointment as soon as possible. Lipez, of Cape Elizabeth, has served on the Maine Superior Court since 2022 and was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine. "I am delighted to nominate Justice Julia Lipez to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court," Mills said in a statement. "Throughout her service to Maine people — first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and presently as a Justice of the Maine Superior Court — Justice Lipez has earned deep respect for her fairness, intellect, and commitment to the rule of law. Maine is lucky to have a jurist of Justice Lipez's caliber as a nominee for the Supreme Judicial Court." Lipez was nominated last year by President Biden to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, but was one of four appellate nominees that senators agreed not to confirm as part of a deal between Democrats and Republicans so they could quickly confirm other nominees before the change in administration. Prior to becoming a superior court justice, Lipez worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 2011-2022, leading prosecutions of human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, narcotics and violent crimes, according to Mills' office. She was promoted to chief of the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney Office in Maine in 2019. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Lipez also worked as a private lawyer at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in New York. She also clerked for a federal appellate judge in New York in 2006, after receiving her law degree from Stanford Law School. Lipez said she is "deeply honored" by Mills' nomination. "If confirmed, I will serve the people of Maine as I have throughout my career in law and public service — with a commitment to fairness and justice and equality before the law," she said in a statement. Last year, Joseph Jabar, a longtime justice for the state's highest court said he was passed over for reappointment by the governor. He was first appointed to the court in 2009 and reappointed by then-Gov. Paul LePage, who later accused Jabar of reneging on an agreement to retire after he reached 20 years of legislative and judicial service. Jabar said in an interview last year that he had expressed interest in another seven-year term, but was told by legal counsel for Mills that the administration wanted to diversify the court. He has since returned to private practice in Waterville. Mills also announced nominations for the Maine Superior Court and Maine District Court. Darcie McElwee of Scarborough, who this month was terminated from her role as Maine's U.S. attorney by the Trump administration, was nominated for justice for the superior court. Amy Dieterich of Auburn, a practicing attorney for 16 years, was nominated to be a judge for Maine District Court. Judge Matthew Tice was nominated for reappointment to the Maine District Court, where he has served since 2018. Prior to that appointment, he was an assistant district attorney in Cumberland County for more than two decades. All of the nominations will be reviewed by the legislature's Judiciary Committee and confirmed by the Maine Senate. After the confirmation process, the judicial branch will determine the areas that each nominee will serve. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Superior court justice nominated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Feb. 28—Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that she had nominated Julia Lipez, a superior court justice in Augusta, to serve on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The nomination comes days after Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill said in her annual State of the Judiciary address that the judicial branch is struggling with vacancies, including a spot on the high court that has been open for more than a year. A spokesperson for Mills said after the address that she planned to proceed with an appointment as soon as possible. Lipez, of Cape Elizabeth, has served on the Maine Superior Court since 2022 and was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine. "I am delighted to nominate Justice Julia Lipez to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court," Mills said in a statement. "Throughout her service to Maine people — first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and presently as a Justice of the Maine Superior Court — Justice Lipez has earned deep respect for her fairness, intellect, and commitment to the rule of law. Maine is lucky to have a jurist of Justice Lipez's caliber as a nominee for the Supreme Judicial Court." Lipez was nominated last year by President Biden to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, but was one of four appellate nominees that senators agreed not to confirm as part of a deal between Democrats and Republicans so they could quickly confirm other nominees before the change in administration. Prior to becoming a superior court justice, Lipez worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 2011-2022, leading prosecutions of human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, narcotics and violent crimes, according to Mills' office. She was promoted to chief of the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney Office in Maine in 2019. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Lipez also worked as a private lawyer at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in New York. She also clerked for a federal appellate judge in New York in 2006, after receiving her law degree from Stanford Law School. Lipez said she is "deeply honored" by Mills' nomination. "If confirmed, I will serve the people of Maine as I have throughout my career in law and public service — with a commitment to fairness and justice and equality before the law," she said in a statement. Last year, Joseph Jabar, a longtime justice for the state's highest court said he was passed over for reappointment by the governor. He was first appointed to the court in 2009 and reappointed by then-Gov. Paul LePage, who later accused Jabar of reneging on an agreement to retire after he reached 20 years of legislative and judicial service. Jabar said in an interview last year that he had expressed interest in another seven-year term, but was told by legal counsel for Mills that the administration wanted to diversify the court. He has since returned to private practice in Waterville. Mills also announced nominations for the Maine Superior Court and Maine District Court. Darcie McElwee of Scarborough, who this month was terminated from her role as Maine's U.S. attorney by the Trump administration, was nominated for justice for the superior court. Amy Dieterich of Auburn, a practicing attorney for 16 years, was nominated to be a judge for Maine District Court. Judge Matthew Tice was nominated for reappointment to the Maine District Court, where he has served since 2018. Prior to that appointment, he was an assistant district attorney in Cumberland County for more than two decades. All of the nominations will be reviewed by the legislature's Judiciary Committee and confirmed by the Maine Senate. After the confirmation process, the judicial branch will determine the areas that each nominee will serve. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Mills announces nominee for open seat on Maine's highest court
In the past five years, Maine Commission on Public Defense Services has provided counsel for over 28,000 charges related to violating conditions of release and spent over $1.7 million on defense attorneys for those cases. (Stock photo) During her State of the Judiciary address earlier this week, Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill not only provided an update on the state of the judicial branch, but nudged Gov. Janet Mills about the unfilled seat on the state's highest court. 'We've had a vacancy for a year, but I'm hopeful that's going to be filled soon,' Stanfill said. Just three days later, Mills announced she has nominated Julia Lipez to serve as an associate justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Most recently, Lipez has served on the Maine Superior Court since 2022. 'Justice Lipez has earned deep respect for her fairness, intellect, and commitment to the rule of law,' Mills said in a news release Friday. This is Mills' sixth new nominee to the court since taking office in 2019. The nomination will go first to the Legislature's Judiciary Committee and then the Maine Senate for confirmation. Before her current role, Lipez served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine for more than a decade. In that role, she led prosecutions of human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, narcotics and other serious crimes, the release said. She was promoted to chief of the Appellate Division of the U.S. Attorney Office for Maine in 2019. Last May, Biden nominated Lipez to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; however, the U.S. Senate didn't advance her nomination before Congress adjourned in January. Though a Maine native, Lipez received her undergraduate degree from Amherst College before attending Stanford Law School. She now lives in Cape Elizabeth with her family. 'If confirmed, I will serve the people of Maine as I have throughout my career in law and public service — with a commitment to fairness and justice, and equality before the law,' Lipez said in the release. Mills also announced three other judicial nominations Friday. Darcie McElwee was nominated for justice on the Maine Superior Court. Amy Dieterich was nominated for judge on the Maine District Court. Matthew Tice was also nominated for reappointment to the Maine District Court. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
