Title 4, Title 4

With the approval of the Chief Justice and within the limits of appropriations made therefor, the State Court Administrator may appoint assistants and other employees and purchase or lease equipment, services and facilities needed for the performance of the duties of the administ…

The State Court Administrator, subject to the supervision and direction of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, is responsible for administration and management of the court system. The State Court Administrator shall: [PL 1993, c. 675, Pt. C, §2 (AMD).] 1. Continuous…

1. Informational publications and record searches. The State Court Administrator may establish a fee schedule to cover the cost of printing and distribution of publications and forms, the procedures for the sale of these publications and forms and record searches performed by Jud…

The State Court Administrator may accept, use, expend and dispose of, on behalf of the State, funds, equipment, supplies, materials and property from any agency of the United States or from any private foundation or other private source. [PL 1997, c. 11, §1 (NEW).]Revisor's Note:…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Judicial Department may sublease real property that it holds in the Town of York as tenant to any other government agency for a period of 5 years or less.

The State Court Administrator may establish fees on lawyers, guardians ad litem, interpreters, mediators and other professionals who routinely participate in court proceedings to cover the costs of training, orientation, continuing education, background investigations, entry scre…

1. Creation of fund. The Maine Civil Legal Services Fund, referred to in this section as the "fund," is established as a nonlapsing fund to support civil legal services to persons who otherwise are not able to pay for these services. A. Money in the fund not needed to meet curren…

1. Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service. There is established within the Administrative Office of the Courts a Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service to provide alternative dispute resolution, referred to in this section as "ADR," services in the courts throughout t…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court may by order divide the State into judicial regions for administrative and venue purposes, each judicial region to contain one or more counties, but in no event may counties be divided for the creation of judicial regions.

Whenever the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or, in the event of the Chief Justice's disability, any associate justice thereof has reason to believe that any Justice of the Supreme Judicial or Superior Court is totally and permanently disabled by reason of physical or…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court may assign a Justice or Active Retired Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to sit in the Superior Court or the District Court, and when so directed the justice has authority and jurisdiction in the Superior Court or the District C…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall plan and implement arrangements for the collection of overdue fines and fees due the state courts, the costs of which may be paid from money collected. These arrangements may include but are not limited to: Employing special p…

Beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1976, the Legislature shall appropriate funds for the expenses of the Judicial Department.

The Supreme Judicial Court shall prescribe by rule a personnel classification plan for all courts in the Judicial Department.

The State Court Administrator shall, subject to the approval of the Chief Justice, prepare biennially a consolidated operating budget for all courts in the State to be known as the Judicial Department operating budget. The administrator may be assisted in this task by the Chief J…

The Judicial Department shall compensate each county for those reasonable costs related to salaries and expenses as agreed upon between the Judicial Department and the respective county. The compensation may be only for the number of court security officers requested to serve the…

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Judicial Department shall use the services of and be included in any systems established and maintained by the bureaus within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services and is subject to the same rules that apply to the Executi…

1. Generally. The State Court Administrator shall enter into an agreement with the State Tax Assessor by which the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services may collect on the Judicial Department's behalf fees, fines, costs and penalties, the…

The judicial branch may credit 6%, up to a maximum of $800,000 per fiscal year, of fee revenue collected pursuant to administrative orders of the court to a nonlapsing Other Special Revenue Funds account to support the capital expenses of the judicial branch. If the fee revenue f…

No vacancy in the Supreme Judicial or Superior Court caused by the death or expiration of the term of said incapacitated justice shall be filled, if thereby the number of justices qualified and capable of acting would be in excess of that otherwise provided by law as constituting…

It is declared to be the public policy of the State and it is the purpose of this subchapter to promote the continued improvement of the relationship between the Judicial Department and its employees by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of judicial employees to …

1. Collective bargaining. The Supreme Judicial Court may propose appropriate procedures for defining and implementing the collective bargaining rights of Judicial Department employees, including, without limitation, definition of employees and appropriate subjects of collective b…

1. Chief justice; salary. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court is entitled to receive a salary, for fiscal year 1998-99 and thereafter, of $111,000, to be paid biweekly. 2. Associate justice; salary. Each Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall receive a …

When sitting as a Law Court to determine questions of law arising in any civil or criminal action or proceeding, the Supreme Judicial Court must be composed as provided by rules adopted by that court and shall hear and determine such questions by the concurrence of a majority of …

A justice may not sit in the law court upon the hearing of any cause tried before that justice or take any part in the decision of that cause.

For the purpose of appellate review by the Supreme Judicial Court sitting as a law court, the State shall constitute one district. The number of sessions of the law court in each year and the method of determining the time and place thereof shall be in accordance with rules promu…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall appoint a clerk of the law court to serve at the Chief Justice's pleasure and shall, from time to time, designate one or more of the clerks of court or some competent person or persons to act as additional clerks of the law co…

The clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court shall preserve 2 complete sets of briefs in all cases decided in the Supreme Judicial Court sitting as the Law Court. The clerk shall provide complete sets of the briefs to the law library of Cumberland County and to the Law and Legislative…

The following cases only come before the court as a court of law: Cases on appeal from the District Court, the Superior Court or a single Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or from the probate courts; questions of law arising on reports of cases, including interlocutory orders…

1. Creation of fund. The Courthouse Security Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is created under the jurisdiction and control of the Supreme Judicial Court. 2. Source of fund. The fund consists of all money appropriated or allocated for inclusion in the fund, from w…

Any Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, who has retired from the court under this chapter in effect prior to December 1, 1984, or any Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court who retires or terminates service on the court in accordance with chapter 27, except for a disability ret…

An Active Retired Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court may be assigned by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to sit in the Superior Court in any county, and when so directed the Active Retired Justice has authority and jurisdiction in that county as if the Active Re…

Any Active Retired Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court who performs judicial service at the direction and assignment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court must be compensated for those services at the rate of $350 per day or $200 per 1/2 day, as long as the total c…

The Supreme Judicial Court may exercise its jurisdiction according to the common law not inconsistent with the Constitution or any statute, and may punish contempts against its authority by fine and imprisonment, or either, and administer oaths. It has general superintendence of …

The Supreme Judicial Court has the power to prescribe, by general rules, for the Probate, District and Superior Courts of Maine, the forms of process, writs, pleadings and motions and the practice and procedure in civil actions at law. Said rules may neither abridge, enlarge nor …

The Supreme Judicial Court may prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify rules or orders: [PL 1981, c. 241 (NEW).] 1. Records. To establish retention and disposition schedules for the fiscal, managerial and court records of all the judicial courts of the State, and to authorize …

1. Nondisclosure of certain identifying information. The Supreme Judicial Court may prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify rules or orders providing for a procedure in all courts through which a party is given the right to request that certain identifying information not be d…

1. Rules and orders; processes and procedures. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Supreme Judicial Court may adopt rules and issue orders to permit or require the use of electronic forms, filings, records, e-mail and electronic signatures whenever paper forms, filing…

The Supreme Judicial Court shall have the power and authority to prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify rules of pleading, practice and procedure with respect to any and all proceedings through final judgment, review and post-conviction remedy in criminal cases before justice…

The Supreme Judicial Court shall have the power and authority to prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify rules of evidence with respect to any and all civil actions or other proceedings, and any and all proceedings in criminal cases before justices of the peace, District Court…

The Supreme Judicial Court has the power and authority to prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify rules relating to a committee to receive complaints, make investigations and make recommendations to the Supreme Judicial Court in regard to discipline, disability, retirement or …

For civil cases brought pursuant to Title 14, section 6001 or 7481, the following court records are accessible by the public only at a courthouse: [PL 2021, c. 644, §1 (NEW).] 1. Resolution by agreement of the parties. Court records that are part of a court case in which the part…

The term of appointment of a judicial officer appointed pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article V, Part First, Section 8 begins on the date that the judicial officer is sworn into office.

The provisions of Title 5, section 6 do not apply to judicial officers appointed pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article V, Part First, Section 8.

The Superior Court, as established, consists of 18 justices and such Active Retired Justices as may be appointed and serving on the court, learned in the law and of sobriety of manners. The Chief Justice of the Superior Court shall assign the Justices of the Superior Court to pre…

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall designate one of the Justices of the Superior Court as the Chief Justice of the Superior Court. The Justice so designated serves at the pleasure and under the supervision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and …