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Boston Globe
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Maine judiciary clash: Lawmakers seek probe into judge ethics process
But the legislators' options appeared limited. Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill had previously testified that any legislative branch efforts to change the judicial branch's internal processes would violate the Maine Constitution's separation of powers clause. Advertisement 'The judicial power vested in the Supreme Judicial Court includes the exclusive authority to regulate the conduct of judges of all the courts, including imposing discipline or misconduct,' Stanfill wrote in her testimony opposing the bill. The legislative committee ultimately endorsed an amended version of the bill that would convene a group to study the court's process, despite being told by a judicial representative the legislature had no power to enact any changes the committee might recommend. The conflict between the two branches of government stems from Advertisement A January 2024 ethics complaint from attorney Thomas Cox had argued that the justice's decision not to recuse herself from two cases involving Maine foreclosure law was unethical because of her previous work representing banks in foreclosure cases. In one of those cases, , she argued for the bank, but the Court disagreed and decided against her, establishing a new precedent favorable to Maine homeowners. A few years later, a new court with Connors on the bench heard arguments in a similar case, Pushard . Connors the justice had helped overturn a precedent created in a case that Connors the attorney had lost, sparking outrage from some lawmakers and members of the bar who thought she should have recused herself from the case. Connors has defended her conduct, and pointed out that she sought advice from a judicial advisory panel, which advised her that recusal was not necessary. The Committee for Judicial Conduct evaluated the complaint and made an initial recommendation that Connors should be disciplined in October, clarifying in a December filing that the discipline should consist of a public reprimand. The power to mete out judicial discipline lies with the high court. Connors' case raised questions about what happens if a justice is the subject of a complaint, as well as about the potential conflict in tasking Supreme Court justices with deciding whether or not to discipline a colleague. In January, the Maine Supreme Court drafted new rules for how to handle the unprecedented complaint against Connors. The draft rules put the authority for evaluating complaints against Supreme Court justices in the hands of a panel of lower court judges. Advertisement But the rules have not been implemented, the Connors matter has not been closed and no timeline has been given for when it could be resolved. 'It looks like this matter is being swept under the rug,' Cox testified to the judiciary committee. Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn), who introduced the legislation, looked to neighboring Massachusetts for its system of evaluating allegations against Supreme Court Justices. Their process involves a similar process of creating a panel of lower court judges to evaluate misconduct by a member of the high court. Last week, Lee and the legislative committee seemed poised to amend the bill to avoid the constitutional issues raised by Stanfill. Instead of implementing a new system, they discussed creating a legislative study group to examine Maine's process for disciplining judges and justices. Judicial spokesperson Barbara Cardone reiterated her boss's position to the committee. 'What you're about to undertake is an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power,' Cardone said. 'I don't know how many of you understand how rare it is for the chief justice to speak out at a public hearing regarding the constitutionality of a bill. It's somewhat upsetting that that declaration, that advice, seems to go unheeded by members of this committee.' Some lawmakers pushed back, asking how it could be unconstitutional to form a legislative study committee. Cardone argued it was pointless to form a committee to study an issue the legislature had no say in. Advertisement 'If the legislature does not have that power, why would the legislature convene a study commission?' Cardone said. 'I guess that's the question that you all need to answer.' Cardone noted that the Court had received public comment on the proposed rules, and would soon be issuing another draft of the rules based on the feedback it had received. But she could not say when those rules would be made public, or what changes they contained. She said the rules would be different enough from the first draft that there would be another public comment period, and encouraged lawmakers to submit comments. Rep. Lee was defiant as he made a motion to advance the amended bill calling for a study group. 'The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is indeed the ultimate arbiter of the constitutionality of things, but they do so through cases and controversies, not through testimony to the judiciary committee,' he said. The committee voted to advance the bill by a margin of ten to three.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine's chief justice says courts are overwhelmed and underfunded
Feb. 25—AUGUSTA — Maine's top judge has watched with increasing alarm as the state's court system continues trying to climb its way out of a backlog in cases. In her annual State of the Judiciary speech at the Maine State House on Tuesday, Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill described an agency that's trying to keep its head above water after years of underfunding. Criminal cases and family matters are more complicated than ever before and are taking longer to resolve, she said. Judges and other court employees are paid less in Maine than other states. 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 Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday she "intends to proceed with an appointment as soon as possible.") And under the current two-year budget proposal, the judiciary faces a $1.8 million annual shortfall due to a recent decline in surcharges on fines. Many of these are the same concerns Stanfill highlighted in her speech to lawmakers last year. But now, she says the judiciary is tackling all of that while facing a national decline in trust in public institutions — including the courts. A Gallup poll late last year found that Americans' trust in the judicial system had reached an all-time low. "I don't think it's specific, in some ways, to the court, but I do think there has been an undermining of the respect for institutions," Stanfill told reporters after her speech. She referenced threats against court employees and increased confrontations in the courtroom that have required court marshals to intervene. "I think it's important that all people — whether it's the Legislature, whether it's the executive, whether it's all of you — we can disagree," she said. "We can disagree with a court order. But we have to have a certain respect for the way things work. ... If you want society to function, it does take a certain level of respect for the institutions and what their functions are." Stanfill declined to weigh in on the Trump administration and its executive orders that are being challenged in court. Some legal experts fear what could happen if he ignores court orders. In her speech Tuesday, she made references to the country's values of "justice, equality and fairness for all people," saying "these aren't liberal or conservative sentiments. They are the ideals upon which this country was founded." PUBLIC DEFENSE To help address Maine's public defense crisis, Stanfill urged lawmakers to pass a bill that will allow judges to appoint any lawyer to represent indigent clients, regardless of whether or not they're rostered by Maine's public defense agency. Stanfill said judges have the ability to do this already, but the three-year emergency legislation would ensure lawyers get paid when they're appointed. Some in the defense bar have been resistant to the idea out of fear they'll be overwhelmed with work that they didn't sign up for. The executive director of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services recently said that he doubts there is a "tidal wave" of lawyers available to take court-appointed work who aren't already doing so. Stanfill seemed to disagree, telling lawmakers "there are people out there who are able and capable of taking these cases who are not on the rosters." She said the unavailability of attorneys in cases "where significant rights are at stake" is making cases take longer, and it's not helping address a backlog. She distanced herself from the commission's requests to the Legislature, because it is a separate quasi-state agency charged with finding lawyers for those who cannot afford their own. A court-maintained list of people who need lawyers has declined in recent weeks, from more than 900 criminal cases at the end of last year to under 600 cases as of Monday. Still, Stanfill said it's the judicial branch that regulates attorneys and is intent on making it easier for people to practice, including students and attorneys licensed in other states. "Cases have simply gotten more complicated," Stanfill said. "People expect more from the courts. They expect us to solve their problems and their parenting problems — not just to grant the divorce." TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS The justice also spoke about Maine's slow effort to move its paper court records online. For more than a decade, the state has been working with Tyler Technologies to digitize court records. So far, they've moved only civil and family cases online in Penobscot and Androscoggin counties. They're slowly working on criminal cases now — but that also involves dealing with law enforcement agencies' record-keeping systems, Stanfill said. While the state was able to pay for initial investments in 2013 with bonds, those don't cover all of their annual fees and repairs. Now, the courts are struggling to continue to afford all the technology they need to stream remote hearings and broadcast digital evidence. The courts have been relying some on added surcharges to fines and fees, including those for traffic violations, but they're receiving less every year as prices continue to rise, Stanfill said. "This has to be part of just how we do this," she said. "Trying to pay for this technology, through surcharges on fines and fees, is not a sound plan. ... Those surcharges, of course, are often imposed on those least able to pay." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine owes it to citizens to properly resource judicial branch, chief justice says
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. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
