Veteran judge nominated to be chief justice of Maine’s high court
Valerie Stanfill has most recently served as a Superior Court justice for Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties.
By Staff Report
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Superior Court Justice Valerie Stanfill has been nominated to become the next chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Superior Court Justice Valerie Stanfill has been nominated to be chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Gov. Janet Mills announced the nomination Monday. If confirmed by the Legislature, Stanfill will replace Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, who stepped down last year to serve as dean of the University of Maine School of Law. She would be the second woman to serve as chief justice.
Updated April 28
Former Maine trooper pleads guilty to domestic violence assault
Justin ‘Jay’ Cooley s ex-wife said Maine State Police supervisors were reluctant to pursue criminal charges despite her reports of abuse.
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A former Maine State Police trooper pleaded guilty Wednesday to domestic violence assault in a case that ended his career and raised questions about whether the trooper’s supervisors failed to immediately investigate his criminal behavior after they received reports of abuse from his ex-wife.
Former Trooper Justin “Jay” Cooley is pictured in 2014.
Courtesy of the Maine State Police Facebook page
Justin “Jay” Cooley, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of domestic violence assault for hitting his ex-wife, Amy Burns, in May 2019 at their home in Wales. Cooley admitted to the assault in a text message that Burns provided to police and prosecutors.
Ex-trooper who was never disciplined pleads guilty to abuse
April 29, 2021
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An ex-Maine state police trooper pleaded guilty to domestic violence assault, though he was never disciplined after his ex-wife informed his supervisor of the abuse, according to call logs and reporting by the Portland Press Herald.
Justin “Jay” Cooley, 50, pleaded guilty to the charge Wednesday as prosecutors dropped two other charges related to domestic violence, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Superior Court Justice Valerie Stanfill gave Cooley a suspended sentence of almost one year and two years probation. She ordered him to attend a 48-week batterer’s intervention course, not to drink alcohol or use drugs and not to have contact with his ex-wife Amy Burns or her adult son.
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