Summary History of Courts in Maine

Justice in Maine during the two centuries that preceded Statehood in 1820 was administered by courts held between 1639 and 1677 when part of the present State existed as an independent province under the Gorges Patent granted by Charles I; from 1677 to 1780 while it was governed as a province of Massachusetts; and from 1780 to 1820 when it was administered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the District of Maine.

The earliest court in Maine was the Commissioners Court, composed of a Deputy Commissioner and six Associates, which was established under the Gorges Patent at Saco on March 21, 1636. The court was reconstituted in 1639, under a confirmation of the patent, as a Council consisting of a Deputy Governor and six Councilors, with executive, legislative and judicial powers. In 1652, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay claimed part of Maine under its charter; and pursued the claim until 1677 when it obtained a release of the Gorges interest in the Province of Maine which became a province of Massachusetts.

A new charter was granted by the crown in 1691 which united the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies, the Province of Maine and Nova Scotia as the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England. The charter established a Superior Court of Judicature, composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, as the highest court in Massachusetts.

The Province of Maine constituted the County of York until 1760 when Cumberland County and Lincoln County were incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court. No term of court was held in Maine under the Massachusetts charter until 1699 when one was authorized and operated in Kittery until 1743 when it was relocated to York.

The Superior Court of Judicature was changed to the Supreme Judicial Court under the Constitution that Massachusetts adopted in 1780, though the court was otherwise continued as it was previously constituted with a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. The Court held sessions in every county for jury trials and law matters from 1780 to 1800.

In 1805, the nisi prius system was adopted in Massachusetts so that jury terms were held by single justices rather than by the full court. Law terms, under the new practice, were held by not fewer than three justices of the court.

This page updated December 8, 2005

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Summary History of Courts in Maine