Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice vacancy (January 2024)
| Maine Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Jabar vacancy |
| Date: January 31, 2024 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Julia Lipez |
| Date: February 28, 2025 |
Governor Janet T. Mills (D) appointed Julia Lipez to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, replacing former justice Joseph Jabar, who retired on January 31, 2024.[1] Lipez was Governor Mills' sixth nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Her appointment was confirmed by the Maine State Senate on March 21, 2025, and she was sworn in on March 28, 2025.[2][2]
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.[3] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
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.[4]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Maine Supreme Judicial 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 2024.
The appointee
- See also: Julia Lipez
Governor Janet Mills (D) appointed Julia Lipez to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on February 28, 2025.[1] Her appointment was confirmed by the Maine State Senate on March 21, 2025, and was sworn in on March 28, 2025.[2][5]
Education
Lipez earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 2002 and a law degree from Stanford Law School in 2006.[6]
Career
- 2025-present: Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
- 2022-2025: Justice on the Maine Superior Court
- 2019-2022: Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine
- 2007-2011: Senior associate
- 2006-2007: Law clerk[6]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Maine
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.[7] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Justices
Following Jabar's retirement, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court included the following members:
| ■ Andrew Horton | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Catherine Connors | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Valerie Stanfill | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2021 | |
| ■ Rick E. Lawrence | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2022 | |
| ■ Wayne R. Douglas | Appointed by Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) in 2023 | |
| ■ Andrew Mead | Appointed by Gov. John E. Baldacci (D) in 2007, reappointed in 2014 and 2021 |
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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Jabar
- See also: Joseph Jabar
Jabar received his undergraduate degree in economics from Colby College in 1968 and his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law in 1971.[11]
After graduating from law school, Jabar served as a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Upon his return to Maine, he spent four years as a district attorney in Kennebec and Somerset counties. Jabar then joined the firm Jabar Batten Ringer & Murphy.
He also served in the Maine State Legislature from 1996 to 2000. His first judicial appointment was to the Maine Superior Court by former Gov. Angus King (I) in 2001.[12][11]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2024
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2024
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2024. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2023.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of Governor Janet Mills, "Governor Mills Nominates Maine Superior Court Justice Julia Lipez to Serve on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court," February 28, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bangor Daily News, "Maine Senate confirms Julia Lipez to the Supreme Judicial Court," March 21, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "conf" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sea Coast Online, "Jabar nominated to Maine supreme court," August 4, 2009
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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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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