# Maine Superior Court

The Maine Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the Maine state court system.
All state jury trials are held in the Superior Court. The court is located in each of Maine's 16 counties (with two locations in Aroostook County), in eight judicial regions. The Court consists of 18 justices who all have statewide jurisdiction and travel to the different courthouses to hold court, with a number of active retired judges as well. Justices are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate and are appointed to seven-year terms.
Maine's Supreme Judicial Court created a statewide Business and Consumer Docket (BCD), which includes within its jurisdiction complex case types that might be found on other states' business and commercial court dockets; but also includes, for example, class actions and complex consumer rights cases arising out of business or government dealings. Cases eligible for this specialized docket are cases that could otherwise have been heard in the Superior Court or Maine's District Court. The BCD has a distinct set of procedural rules. The BCD has two assigned judges from either the Superior or District Courts, who are designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. As of June 2024, the current BCD judges are Superior Court judge Thomas McKeon and District Court judge Michael A. Duddy. Then Superior Court Chief Justice Thomas E. Humphrey was one of the first BCD judges, along with District Court Chief Justice John C. Nivison.

## Chief Justices of the Maine Superior Court

The position of Chief Justice of the Maine Superior Court was authorized by the Maine Legislature, P.L. 1983, c. 269, § 7, to be effective on January 1, 1984. The Chief Justice is designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to "serve at the pleasure and under the supervision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and shall be responsible for the operation of the Superior Court." 4 MRSA §101-A.
| Chief justice | Start of term | End of term |
| Robert W. Clifford | January 1, 1984 | August 1, 1986 |
| Morton A. Brody | August 1, 1986 | June 6, 1990 |
| Thomas E. Delahanty II | June 6, 1990 | June 6, 1995 |
| Roland A. Cole | June 7, 1995 | June 30, 1997 |
| Margaret J. Kravchuk | July 1, 1997 | June 30, 1999 |
| Andrew A. Mead | July 1, 1999 | June 30, 2001 |
| Nancy D. Mills | July 1, 2001 | September 1, 2004 |
| Thomas E. Humphrey | September 1, 2004 | April 29, 2015 |
| Roland A. Cole | June 10, 2015 | 2018 |
| Robert Mullen | 2018 | present |

## Current justices

As of April 20, 2023, the justices of the Maine Superior Court are:
| # | Name | Residence | County | Began service | First appointed by |
| 107 | M. Michaela Murphy | Rome | Kennebec | October 1, 2007 | John Baldacci |
| 110 | Ann M. Murray | Bangor | Penobscot | August 25, 2010 | John Baldacci |
| 111 | Robert Murray | Bangor | Penobscot | August 25, 2010 | John Baldacci |
| 112 | MaryGay Kennedy | Auburn | Androscoggin | August 25, 2010 | John Baldacci |
| 113 | John O'Neil | Kennebunk | York | September 27, 2011 | Paul LePage |
| 114 | Daniel Billings | Bowdoinham | Sagadahoc | March 18, 2014 | Paul LePage |
| 115 | Robert Mullen | Waterville | Kennebec | March 18, 2014 | Paul LePage |
| 118 | Bruce C. Mallonee | Bangor | Penobscot | June 10, 2015 | Paul LePage |
| 120 | Harold Stewart II | Portland | Cumberland | April 4, 2016 | Paul LePage |
| 122 | Stephen Nelson | Houlton | Aroostook | January 30, 2020 | Janet Mills |
| 123 | Thomas McKeon | Falmouth | Cumberland | January 30, 2020 | Janet Mills |
| 124 | Richard W. Mulhern | Falmouth | Cumberland | February 25, 2021 | Janet Mills |
| 125 | Deborah P. Cashman | West Bath | Sagadahoc | January 26, 2022 | Janet Mills |
| 126 | Julia M. Lipez | Cape Elizabeth | Cumberland | April 5, 2022 | Janet Mills |
| 127 | Patrick Larson | Bangor | Penobscot | February 16, 2023 | Janet Mills |
| 128 | Jennifer Archer | Falmouth | Cumberland | April 18, 2023 | Janet Mills |
| 129 | James Martemucci | Arundel | York | April 20, 2023 | Janet Mills |
Active-retired justices of the Maine Superior Court:
* Roland A. Cole
* Paul A. Fritzsche
* E. Allen Hunter
* Nancy D. Mills
* William R. Stokes
* Thomas D. Warren

## Former justices

The former justices of the court are:
| # | Name | Residence | County | Began service | Ended service | First appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Charles W. Goddard | Portland | Cumberland | February 28, 1871 | November 4, 1871 | Sidney Perham | resigned |
| 2 | Marquis DeLafayette Lane | Portland | Cumberland | November 4, 1871 | September 15, 1872 | Sidney Perham | death |
| 3 | Joseph W. Symonds | Portland | Cumberland | September 28, 1872 | October 16, 1878 | Sidney Perham | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 4 | William Penn Whitehouse | Augusta | Kennebec | February 13, 1878 | April 15, 1890 | Seldon Connor | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 5 | Percival Bonney | Portland | Cumberland | October 16, 1878 | August 4, 1906 | Seldon Connor | death |
| 6 | William M. Robinson | Houlton | Aroostook | March 25, 1885 | July 1, 1893 | Frederick Robie | seat abolished |
| 7 | Oliver G. Hall | Waterville | Kennebec | April 24, 1890 | April 26, 1911 | Edwin C. Burleigh | retired |
| 8 | Levi Turner | Portland | Cumberland | September 21, 1906 | February 19, 1911 | William T. Cobb | death |
| 9 | Joseph E. F. Connolly | Portland | Cumberland | March 2, 1911 | March 2, 1918 | Frederick W. Plaisted | term expired |
| 10 | Fred Emery Beane | Hallowell | Kennebec | April 26, 1911 | May 14, 1924 | Frederick W. Plaisted | retired (active retired) |
| 11 | Henry W. Oakes | Auburn | Androscoggin | July 16, 1917 | March 31, 1928 | Carl Milliken | retired (active retired) |
| 12 | Lauren M. Sanborn | South Portland | Cumberland | March 2, 1918 | March 2, 1925 | Carl Milliken | term expired |
| 13 | Bertram L. Smith | Patten | Penobscot | July 16, 1919 | November 4, 1924 | Carl Milliken | death |
| 14 | William H. Fisher | Augusta | Kennebec | May 21, 1924 | August 31, 1940 | Percival P. Baxter | retired (active retired) |
| 15 | George H. Worster | Bangor | Penobscot | November 25, 1924 | December 21, 1939 | Percival P. Baxter | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 16 | Arthur Chapman | Portland | Cumberland | March 12, 1925 | November 4, 1942 | Owen Brewster | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 17 | Harry Manser | Auburn | Androscoggin | April 1, 1928 | July 18, 1935 | Owen Brewster | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 18 | George L. Emery | Biddeford | York | January 1, 1930 | October 2, 1944 | William Tudor Gardiner | death |
| 19 | James H. Hudson | Guilford | Piscataquis | January 1, 1930 | November 20, 1933 | William Tudor Gardiner | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 20 | Sidney St. F. Thaxter | Portland | Cumberland | January 1, 1930 | October 1, 1930 | William Tudor Gardiner | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 21 | Herbert T. Powers | Fort Fairfield | Aroostook | October 1, 1930 | July 1, 1941 | William Tudor Gardiner | retired |
| 22 | Herbert E. Holmes | Lewiston | Androscoggin | November 20, 1933 | May 6, 1935 | Louis J. Brann | death |
| 23 | Edward P. Murray | Bangor | Penobscot | July 18, 1935 | September 18, 1947 | Louis J. Brann | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 24 | Albert Beliveau | Rumford | Oxford | July 18, 1935 | March 3, 1954 | Louis J. Brann | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 25 | Raymond B. Fellows | Bangor | Penobscot | December 10, 1939 | May 1, 1946 | Lewis O. Barrows | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 26 | Robert A. Cony | Augusta | Kennebec | October 31, 1940 | January 1, 1945 | Lewis O. Barrows | death |
| 27 | Nathaniel Tompkins | Houlton | Aroostook | October 9, 1941 | August 23, 1945 | Sumner Sewall | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 28 | Arthur E. Sewall | York | York | December 17, 1942 | March 3, 1953 | Sumner Sewall | retired (active retired) |
| 29 | Earle L. Russell | Cape Elizabeth | Cumberland | December 27, 1944 | August 5, 1947 | Sumner Sewall | death |
| 30 | Edward F. Merrill | Skowhegan | Somerset | February 1, 1945 | June 2, 1948 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 31 | Robert B. Williamson | Augusta | Kennebec | September 5, 1945 | May 5, 1949 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 32 | Frank A. Tirrell Jr. | Rockland | Knox | May 15, 1946 | March 18, 1953 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 33 | William B. Nulty | Portland | Cumberland | September 18, 1947 | March 16, 1949 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 34 | Percy T. Clarke | Ellsworth | Hancock | October 1, 1947 | June 29, 1955 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 35 | Donald W. Webber | Auburn | Androscoggin | September 1, 1948 | October 8, 1953 | Horace Hildreth | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 36 | Francis W. Sullivan | Cape Elizabeth | Cumberland | April 5, 1949 | October 4, 1956 | Frederick G. Payne | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 37 | Granville C. Gray | Presque Isle | Aroostook | May 18, 1949 | September 2, 1956 | Frederick G. Payne | death |
| 38 | Harold C. Marden | Waterville | Kennebec | March 3, 1953 | December 19, 1962 | Burton M. Cross | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 39 | Randolph Weatherbee | Hampden | Penobscot | March 25, 1953 | December 21, 1966 | Burton M. Cross | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 40 | Cecil J. Siddall | Sanford | York | August 19, 1953 | May 7, 1958 | Burton M. Cross | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 41 | Leonard F. Williams | Auburn | Androscoggin | November 4, 1953 | March 30, 1964 | Burton M. Cross | death |
| 42 | Walter M. Tapley Jr. | Portland | Cumberland | March 3, 1954 | May 5, 1954 | Burton M. Cross | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 43 | Abraham M. Rudman | Bangor | Penobscot | June 9, 1954 | May 30, 1965 | Burton M. Cross | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 44 | F. Harold Dubord | Waterville | Kennebec | June 29, 1955 | October 4, 1956 | Edmund Muskie | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 45 | Charles A. Pomeroy | Portland | Cumberland | October 4, 1956 | July 2, 1969 | Edmund Muskie | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 46 | James Archibald | Houlton | Aroostook | October 4, 1956 | January 27, 1971 | Edmund Muskie | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 47 | Armand A. Dufresne Jr. | Lewiston | Androscoggin | October 4, 1956 | August 24, 1965 | Edmund Muskie | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 48 | John P. Carey | Bath | Sagadahoc | May 7, 1958 | December 10, 1958 | Edmund Muskie | resigned |
| 49 | Thomas E. Delahanty | Lewiston | Androscoggin | December 31, 1958 | September 5, 1973 | Edmund Muskie | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 50 | William S. Silsby | Aurora | Hancock | December 20, 1961 | August 2, 1972 | John H. Reed | retired |
| 51 | James L. Reid | Augusta | Kennebec | December 28, 1962 | September 1, 1975 | John H. Reed | retired (active retired) |
| 52 | Harold J. Rubin | Bath | Sagadahoc | May 20, 1964 | January 15, 1979 | John H. Reed | retired |
| 53 | Alton A. Lessard | Lewiston | Androscoggin | August 24, 1965 | August 2, 1974 | John H. Reed | retired (medical disability) |
| 54 | Lincoln Spencer | Kennebunkport | York | August 24, 1965 | September 1, 1977 | John H. Reed | retired |
| 55 | Albert Knudsen | Portland | Cumberland | May 4, 1966 | December 31, 1973 | John H. Reed | retired |
| 56 | David G. Roberts | Bangor | Penobscot | March 1, 1967 | January 11, 1980 | Kenneth M. Curtis | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 57 | Sidney W. Wernick | Portland | Cumberland | July 2, 1969 | September 30, 1970 | Kenneth M. Curtis | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 58 | William E. McCarthy | Rumford | Oxford | October 8, 1969 | April 8, 1984 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired |
| 59 | Lewis I. Naiman | Gardiner | Kennebec | September 30, 1970 | December 31, 1979 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired |
| 60 | James A. Bishop | Presque Isle | Aroostook | January 27, 1971 | July 16, 1977 | Kenneth M. Curtis | death |
| 61 | Ian MacInnes | Bangor | Penobscot | December 22, 1971 | October 10, 1983 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired (active retired) |
| 62 | Harry P. Glassman | Portland | Cumberland | January 2, 1972 | August 31, 1979 | Kenneth M. Curtis | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 63 | Edward Stern | Bangor | Penobscot | January 3, 1973 | June 20, 1980 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired |
| 64 | Elmer H. Violette | Van Buren | Aroostook | September 5, 1973 | August 31, 1981 | Kenneth M. Curtis | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 65 | Sumner J. Goffin | Portland | Cumberland | October 10, 1983 | December 22, 1984 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired |
| 66 | Robert L. Browne | Bangor | Penobscot | March 20, 1974 | November 26, 1984 | Kenneth M. Curtis | retired (active retired) |
| 67 | Louis Scolnik | Lewiston | Androscoggin | October 10, 1974 | September 7, 1973 | Kenneth M. Curtis | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 68 | David A. Nichols | Lincolnville | Waldo | October 1, 1975 | May 23, 1977 | James B. Longley | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 69 | Stephen L. Perkins | South Portland | Cumberland | September 16, 1977 | April 30, 1993 | James B. Longley | retired (active retired) |
| 70 | Herbert T. Silsby II | Ellsworth | Hancock | September 16, 1977 | February 28, 1992 | James B. Longley | retired |
| 71 | Daniel Wathen | Augustua | Kennebec | September 16, 1977 | August 31, 1981 | James B. Longley | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 72 | Robert W. Clifford | Lewiston | Androscoggin | June 8, 1979 | August 1, 1986 | James B. Longley | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 73 | William E. McKinley | Portland | Cumberland | January 11, 1979 | January 31, 1990 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 74 | Donald G. Alexander | Mount Vernon | Kennebec | February 15, 1980 | September 2, 1998 | Joseph E. Brennan | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 75 | Jessie Briggs Gunther | Milo | Piscataquis | April 11, 1980 | February 1, 1986 | Joseph E. Brennan | resigned |
| 76 | Morton A. Brody | Waterville | Kennebec | July 18, 1980 | July 6, 1990 | Joseph E. Brennan | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 77 | Carl O. Bradford | Yarmouth | Cumberland | October 23, 1981 | August 31, 1998 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 78 | William S. Brodrick | Berwick | York | December 9, 1981 | February 28, 1995 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 79 | Thomas E. Delahanty II | Lewiston | Androscoggin | November 4, 1983 | June 30, 2010 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 80 | Paul T. Pierson | Caribou | Aroostook | January 17, 1984 | June 30, 2001 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired |
| 81 | G. Arthur Brennan | York | York | April 19, 1984 | August 26, 2011 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 82 | Bruce W. Chandler | China | Kennebec | September 21, 1984 | September 30, 1994 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired |
| 83 | Eugene W. Beaulieu | Old Town | Penobscot | January 29, 1985 | January 17, 1992 | Joseph E. Brennan | resigned |
| 84 | Kermit Lipez | South Portland | Cumberland | June 14, 1985 | May 12, 1994 | Joseph E. Brennan | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 85 | Jack O. Smith | Ellsworth | Hancock | March 27, 1986 | September 30, 1992 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired |
| 86 | Paul A. Fritzsche | Pownal | Cumberland | July 31, 1986 | July 2015 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 87 | Roland A. Cole | Wells | York | September 25, 1986 | December 31, 2019 | Joseph E. Brennan | retired (active retired) |
| 88 | Margaret J. Kravchuk | Bangor | Penobscot | March 27, 1990 | January 31, 2000 | John R. McKernan Jr. | resigned |
| 89 | Andrew Mead | Bangor | Penobscot | May 28, 1992 | March 22, 2007 | John R. McKernan Jr. | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 90 | Nancy D. Mills | Cornville | Somerset | February 18, 1993 | December 31, 2019 | John R. McKernan Jr. | retired (active retired) |
| 91 | Leigh Saufley | Portland | Cumberland | April 9, 1993 | October 20, 1997 | John R. McKernan Jr. | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 92 | Francis C. Marsano | Belfast | Waldo | April 9, 1993 | October 9, 2001 | John R. McKernan Jr. | retired |
| 93 | Robert E. Crowley | Kennebunk | York | June 14, 1993 | August 31, 2010 | John R. McKernan Jr. | retired |
| 94 | John R. Atwood | Damariscotta | Lincoln | May 17, 1994 | April 29, 2005 | John R. McKernan Jr. | retired |
| 95 | Donald H. Marden | Waterville | Kennebec | December 8, 1994 | January 1, 2008 | John R. McKernan Jr. | retired (active retired) |
| 96 | Susan W. Calkins | Portland | Cumberland | May 31, 1995 | September 2, 1998 | Angus King | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 97 | S. Kirk Studstrup | Augusta | Kennebec | October 20, 1997 | October 1, 2007 | Angus King | retired (active retired) |
| 98 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Dixmont | Penobscot | September 2, 1998 | August 1, 2014 | Angus King | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 99 | Thomas E. Humphrey | Sanford | York | September 2, 1998 | June 9, 2015 | Angus King | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 100 | Thomas D. Warren | Brunswick | Cumberland | September 2, 1998 | December 31, 2021 | Angus King | retired (active retired) |
| 101 | Ellen Gorman | Durham | Androscoggin | March 30, 2000 | October 1, 2007 | Angus King | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 102 | E. Allen Hunter | Caribou | Aroostook | October 26, 2001 | 2015 | Angus King | retired (active retired) |
| 103 | Joseph Jabar | Waterville | Kennebec | October 26, 2001 | September 1, 2009 | Angus King | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 104 | Joyce A. Wheeler | Kittery | York | June 16, 2005 | April 2015 | John Baldacci | retired (active retired) |
| 105 | Andrew M. Horton | Falmouth | Cumberland | January 30, 2007 | February 4, 2020 | John Baldacci | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 106 | Kevin M. Cuddy | Holden | Penobscot | April 24, 2007 | 2014 | John Baldacci | retired |
| 108 | John C. Nivison | Winslow | Kennebec | October 1, 2007 | January 2014 | John Baldacci | resigned |
| 109 | William R. Anderson | Morrill | Waldo | February 21, 2008 | November 23, 2022 | John Baldacci | retired |
| 116 | William R. Stokes | Augusta | Kennebec | July 31, 2014 | 2023 | Paul LePage | retired (active retired) |
| 117 | Lance E. Walker | South Paris | Oxford | June 10, 2015 | October 17, 2018 | Paul LePage | elevated to D. Me. |
| 119 | Wayne R. Douglas | Biddeford | York | June 10, 2015 | March 10, 2023 | Paul LePage | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |
| 121 | Valerie Stanfill | Wayne | Kennebec | January 8, 2020 | June 8, 2021 | Janet Mills | elevated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court |