Maine Supreme Court

The present Supreme Judicial Court of Maine was established under Article VI of the Constitution adopted by the Constitutional Convention which met at Portland on October 11, 1819 to frame a constitution for Maine. The article was implemented at the first session of the Legislature in 1820 which enacted “AN ACT establishing a Supreme Judicial Court within the State,” approved June 24, 1820. The law provided for a court composed of three members, a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, to hold office during life or good behavior but not beyond the age of seventy years.
The court, as established, had original, concurrent or appellate jurisdiction of all causes, civil or criminal, and supervisory power over all inferior courts. On July 1, 1820, Prentiss Mellen of Portland was appointed as Chief Justice, and William Pitt Preble of Portland and Nathan Weston, Jr. of Augusta, were appointed as Associate Justices. The First term of the Supreme Judicial Court was held at York on August 8, 1820. The Court sat both as a nisi prius and as a law court consistent with the earlier practice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

The tenure of the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court was reduced to seven years or good behavior under a constitutional amendment which became effective in 1840. The membership of the Court continued unchanged until 1847 when it was increased by the Legislature to four. Terms of the Supreme Judicial Court were held by the full court at least once a year in each of the counties for jury and law cases, though certain terms might be held by a single Justice for jury trials. Questions of law were continued from such terms to be considered by the full Court when it returned to sit in the county. The number of Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court was increased during the reorganization of the court system in 1852 from four to seven. The practice of single justices holding nisi prius terms in all the counties was instituted in 1852 with law terms held by the full court.

The number of Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court was increased from seven to eight by the Legislature in 1855. The Court was divided into two divisions of four members each, one constituting the Law Court, to have jurisdiction over questions of law and equity and capital cases, and to hold four terms a year; the other, to hold nisi prius terms only and to have no part in the law work of the Court. The divisions of the Court were abolished by the Legislature in 1856 which reduced the number of Justices to seven after a vacancy, and directed that the Law Court should be held by a majority of the Justices. The act provided that opinions of the Law Court were to be concurred in by at least four of the Justices. The number of Justices was restored to eight in 1857 where it remained until 1879 when it was reduced by the Legislature to seven when a vacancy should occur. The number was restored to eight in 1880 where it remained until the general reorganization of the court system in 1929 when it was reduced to six.

The Present membership of the Court, consisting of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, was established by the Legislature in 1975. The Supreme Judicial Court, as presently constituted, has general administrative and supervisory authority over the Judicial Department; and has jurisdiction under the Constitution to apportion the Legislature should it fail to make the apportionment. Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court are “obliged to give their opinion upon important questions of law, and upon solemn occasions, when required by the Governor, Senate or House of Representatives.

The Supreme Judicial Court, as the Law Court, is the court of final appeal in the State. Three members of the Supreme Judicial Court serve as the appellate Division for the Review of sentences. Justices of the court may sit in the Superior Court to hear non-jury civil actions, except divorce or annulments of marriage; and have jurisdiction over post conviction habeas corpus, admissions to the bar and bar disciplinary proceeding. The number, time and places of the terms of the Supreme Judicial Court are determined by the court.

Page updated Decembere 8, 2005

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Maine Supreme Court