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Maine Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2020)
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| Alexander Vacancy Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| January 6, 2020 |
| Table of contents |
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Selection process About Justice Alexander |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
On January 6, 2020, Gov. Janet Mills (D) appointed Superior Court Justice Andrew Horton to succeed Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald Alexander, who retired in January 2020. Gov. Mills also appointed attorney Catherine Connors to succeed Justice Jeffrey Hjelm, who retired in December 2019. Connors and Horton were the governor's first and second nominees to the seven-member supreme court.[1]
At the time of the appointment, the governor would appoint a replacement who had to be confirmed by the Maine State Senate in the event of a vacancy under Maine law.
The appointee
- See also: Andrew Horton
At the time of his supreme court appointment, Horton was a superior court justice for the Cumberland County Superior Court in Maine. Gov. John Baldacci (D) first appointed Horton to the court in January 2007. Horton was a judge on the Maine District Courts from 1999 to 2007.
Horton received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University.[1]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Maine
At the time of the appointment, selection of state supreme court judges in Maine occurred through gubernatorial appointment with state Senate confirmation. Whether newly appointed or reappointed, judges would serve seven-year terms. Appointed judges had to be reappointed if they wished to serve additional terms.[2]
About Justice Alexander
- See also: Donald Alexander
Justice Alexander was appointed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Angus King (I) and joined the court on September 2, 1998.[3] Alexander previously served on the Maine Superior Court, the Maine District Court, and as a deputy attorney general. He was also an assistant to U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie in Washington D.C., and a legislative counsel for the National League of Cities.
Alexander received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.[4]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Alexander received a campaign finance score of -1, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -1.01 that justices received in Maine.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[5]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2020
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. 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 Maine.gov, "Governor Mills Nominates Candidates to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court & Superior Court," January 6, 2020
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maine," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Maine.gov, "Maine Supreme Court Judges Since 1820," accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ State of Maine Judicial Branch, "Donald G. Alexander," accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
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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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