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Maine Supreme Court Justice Gorman vacancy (March 2022)
| Maine Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Gorman vacancy |
| Date: March 18, 2022 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Rick Lawrence |
| Date: March 7, 2022 |
Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) nominated Rick Lawrence to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on March 7, 2022. The Maine State Senate confirmed him to the court on April 12, 2022. Lawrence succeeded Justice Ellen Gorman, who retired at the end of her term on March 18, 2022. Lawrence was Gov. Mills' fourth nominee to the seven-member court.[1]
At the time of the nomination, Maine law required the governor's nominee to be confirmed by the legislature's Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary and the Maine State Senate in order to take office.[1]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Utah Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2022.
The appointee
- See also: Rick Lawrence
At the time of his nomination, Rick Lawrence was the deputy chief judge on the Maine District Court. He served on the district court since 2000 and during that time served as the presiding judge for Androscoggin County Unified Criminal Docket’s Domestic Violence Judicial Monitoring Program and the presiding judge for the Foreclosure Diversion Program for Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Lawrence worked as an attorney in private practice. His legal practice included working as the vice president and managing counsel at Unum and an associate at Pierce Atwood. He also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Maine Law School.[1]
Lawrence earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.[1]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Maine
The seven justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court are appointed by the governor with confirmation from the Maine State Senate.[2]
Justices serve for seven years after their appointment. To continue to serve on the court, they must be reappointed by the governor and reconfirmed by the Maine State Senate.[2]
Qualifications
State law requires that supreme court justices be "learned in the law."[3]
Chief justice
In Maine, the position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court (similar to the Supreme Court of the United States) rather than a peer-selected leadership position. The chief justice is appointed in the same manner as the other justices on the court.[2]
Vacancies
If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a justice's term. The governor appoints a justice with confirmation by the Maine State Senate. The new appointee serves a seven-year term.[2]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Justices
Following Gorman's retirement, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court included the following members:
| ■ Valerie Stanfill | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2021 | |
| ■ Thomas Humphrey | Appointed by Gov. Paul LePage (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Andrew Mead | Appointed by Gov. John E. Baldacci (D) in 2007 | |
| ■ Andrew Horton | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Joseph Jabar | Appointed by Gov. John E. Baldacci (D) in 2009 | |
| ■ Catherine Connors | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2020 |
About the court
Founded in 1820, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The chief of the court is Valerie Stanfill.[4]
As of April 2025, all seven judges were appointed by Democratic governors.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court typically hears arguments at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland, although it may occasionally meet elsewhere. The court typically hears arguments one week per month.[5] A hearing calendar is available here.
In Maine, state supreme court justices are selected through direct gubernatorial appointment. Justices are appointed directly by the governor without the use of a nominating commission.[6] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Gorman
- See also: Ellen Gorman
Justice Ellen Gorman joined the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 2007 and was reappointed to a second term in 2015. Prior to her appointment to the supreme court, she was a judge on the Maine District Court. Her other career experience includes working as an associate for the firm of Richardson, Tyler and Troubh and being an appointed member of the Maine Workers' Compensation Commission.[7]
Gorman earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity Washington University and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.[7]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2022
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2022
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2022. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Office of Governor Janet T. Mills, "Governor Mills Nominates Judge Rick Lawrence to Maine Supreme Judicial Court," March 7, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maine," accessed September 15, 2021
- ↑ Maine Legislature, "Title 4: Judiciary, Chapter 1: Supreme Judicial Court - §1. Constitution of the court; administrative responsibilities of the court and the Chief Justice," accessed April 3, 2023
- ↑ State of Maine Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justices," accessed June 14, 2021
- ↑ State of Maine Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Calendar," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 State of Maine Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justices," archived March 10, 2022
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Federal courts:
First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Maine • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Maine
State courts:
Maine Supreme Judicial Court • Maine Superior Court • Maine Business and Consumer Court • Maine District Courts • Maine Family Division • Maine Juvenile Court • Maine Probate Courts • Maine Small Claims Court • Maine Treatment Court
State resources:
Courts in Maine • Maine judicial elections • Judicial selection in Maine
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