Maine Appeals
Maine Appeals

About

In this blog, we seek to discuss issues relating to appeals and appellate law in Maine, including the activities and decisions of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals relevant to Maine, and other participants in the Maine appellate community.

May 04, 2020

Musings on the Maine Constitution’s Bicentennial, Coronavirus Edition
COVID-19, Law Court, Maine Constitution
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The coronavirus shut-down has been anything but a slow-down for this attorney-blogger, but it hasn’t entirely prevented me from continuing to muse about the Maine Constitution during its now-cancelled bicentennial celebration. So I thought I would give the Constitution a little more of the attention it is due, despite the coronavirus. (A welcome respite to […]

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April 01, 2020

COVID-19 and Appellate Practice: A Maine Update
COVID-19, Law Court, Maine
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I recently wrote about the orders affecting appellate practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the importance of staying up to date with current developments.  While those developments continue at a relentless pace, there was one I thought it particularly helpful to highlight here.  The Maine Supreme Court recently issued a consolidated Pandemic Management Order.  That […]

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March 23, 2020

COVID-19 and Appellate Practice
COVID-19, First Circuit, Law Court, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, US Supreme Court
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Holed up here in my home office like many of you, I thought it would be a helpful time to take stock of the current state of affairs in the courts of appeal during this pandemic. As with most of life, COVID-19 has disrupted normal operations, leaving all of us in a state of uncertainty. […]

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March 03, 2020

The Maine Constitution Turns 200! Does It Still Matter?
Law Court, Maine, Maine Constitution
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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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February 14, 2020

E-Filing is Coming, E-Filing is Coming!
Law Court, Maine
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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 07, 2020

Same Blog, New Author
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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 […]

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February 05, 2020

The Beat Goes On
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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 […]

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December 20, 2019

Ringing out 2019
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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). […]

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December 04, 2019

Judge Grady – Ave Atque Vale
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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 […]

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November 20, 2019

How much is that college degree worth? Maybe not so much.
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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, […]

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