Maine confirms new chief justice for highest court
June 3, 2021
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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Senate on Thursday confirmed a veteran district court judge as the new chief justice of the state s highest court.
Valerie Stanfill will take over as chief of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and oversee operations in the Maine Judicial Branch. She has served as a Maine Superior Court justice since last year and served as a judge on the Maine District Court bench for 13 years previous to that.
Stanfill got unanimous support from the 34 senators who were present on Thursday, the Portland Press Herald reported. She also received a unanimous committee endorsement earlier in the week.
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FARMINGTON The Maine Judicial Branch advised Monday that there has been at least one report of a scammer making telephone calls and identifying themselves as a Franklin County court employee and seeking personal information.
The branch issued a written warning “that no one should provide personal identity information over the telephone, and is reminding the public that employees of the Maine courts do not call and request personal information over the telephone,” according to Amy Quinlan, director of communications, government and media counsel for the Maine Judicial Branch.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint Thursday that a person received a call Wednesday from a woman who identified herself as Tara Brown and saying she worked at the Farmington District Court, Lt. David Rackliffe of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. There is no one who works for the Franklin County courts named Tara, he said.
Lawmakers consider bill to prohibit prosecuting anyone younger than 12
The measure would also eliminate the minimum stay for youths committed to the state s only youth detention center, and would commit no one younger than age 14.
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In 2019, 16 children under the age of 12 were charged with a crime in Maine, three of them younger than 10. In 2020, eight children under 12 faced criminal charges. While some were serious crimes such as arson, most would be misdemeanors for adults, such as assault or theft.
Legislators are considering a proposal that would bring those numbers to zero by setting the minimum age of criminal prosecution at 12 years old. As of last year, Maine would be one of only three states to do so, according to data from the National Juvenile Defender Center.
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