Law Court Maine Maine Constitution
March 3, 2020 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
On March 15, 2020, Maine turns 200 years old. For any Mainer, especially history buffs, the bicentennial is an occasion worth celebrating. For any legal beagle, the bicentennial is worth celebrating for an additional reason: Maine’s Constitution is also celebrating its 200th birthday. The Maine Constitution was adopted at convention on October 29, 1819, approved […]
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Law Court Maine
February 14, 2020 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Spreading the news that e-filing is coming might not have quite the same importance as the message delivered by Paul Revere and his fellow riders in 1775 – but e-filing is still worth noting. I attended the Maine State Bar Association winter meeting in January, which gave Maine practitioners a sneak preview of the state […]
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February 7, 2020 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
As loyal readers of this blog already know, Cathy Connors – the former author of this blog and my former colleague here at Pierce Atwood – has moved on to bigger and better things: an appointment to Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court. My hat is off to her for this well-deserved achievement. Her formidable intellect will […]
February 5, 2020 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
So, as some of my loyal readers may have heard, I am off to other adventures. After 11+ years of beavering away on this blog, commenting on “interesting” decisions emanating from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, it looks like I will now be participating in issuing those “interesting” opinions. Let’s hope those black robes are […]
December 20, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
As our last entry this year before heading off for the holidays, let’s take a look at a recent First Circuit decision in a Maine criminal case with a rare holding that the trial court abused its discretion in an evidentiary ruling, and the error wasn’t harmless. US v. Kilmartin, No. 18-1513 (Dec. 6, 2019). […]
December 4, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
The judge I clerked for, John Grady (ND Ill) died this week. I’ve mentioned him in this blog before (From Ulane to Hively, Woman on a wall). He was a great guy, in many ways. In 2015, when he retired from the bench, his former clerks put together a book of letters we wrote to […]
November 20, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Perusing recent opinions, we came upon a bankruptcy case in the First Circuit of some interest, In re: Palladino 17-1334. Steven and Lori Palladino sent their child, Nicole, to Sacred Heart University, a private Roman Catholic university in Connecticut, whose values, according to its web site, include pursuit of truth, promotion of the common good, […]
October 31, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
We’re back! Oral argument On to a presentation on oral argument from our friend Mark Fleming at WilmerHale – how can practitioners optimize their performances so judges will want arguments? First, the moot. One point Mark made was the usefulness of having someone there to take notes, since if you are being mooted, you may […]
October 28, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
I have just returned from a meeting of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers in my old stomping grounds, Chicago. It was particularly engaging in terms of subject matter (as well as giving me the opportunity to eat a REAL pizza again). Here’s part one of my take-aways. Storied justice The first session was about […]
October 17, 2019 / March 4, 2026 by Pierce Atwood Litigation
Yes, it’s been a while – the combination of summer doldrums on the decision-issuing front and busy-ness and vacation frolicking on the part of yours truly. But the appellate courts are all back in session now with the kick off on the first Monday in October by the Supreme Court. So let’s get back to […]
