United States District Court for the District of Maine
Encyclopedia
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
s, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789
Judiciary Act of 1789
The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 was a landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the U.S. federal judiciary...
, even though Maine was not a separate state from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
until 1820. The court is headquartered in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
and has a second courthouse in Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine represents the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in criminal and civil litigation before the court. The current United States Attorney is Thomas E. Delahanty II
Thomas E. Delahanty II
-Early life and education:Delahanty is a graduate of Saint Michael's College in Vermont in 1967 and the University of Maine School of Law in 1970.-Career:...
.
Appeals from the District of Maine are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Maine* District of Massachusetts...
(except for patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act
Tucker Act
Through the Tucker Act , the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits....
, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...
).
History
The District of Maine was one of the thirteen original districts created on September 24, 1789, by the Judiciary Act of 1789Judiciary Act of 1789
The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 was a landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the U.S. federal judiciary...
, Stat. 73. At the time, Maine was part of the state of Massachusetts. As with other jurisdictions of the time, the District of Maine was originally assigned a single judgeship. Not being assigned to a judicial circuit, it was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit court
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...
, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts. The circuit court jurisdiction of the District of Maine was repealed on February 13, 1801 by 2 Stat. 89, and restored on March 8, 1802 by 2 Stat. 132. On March 30, 1820, shortly after Maine entered the Union, the District of Maine was assigned to the First Circuit and its internal circuit court jurisdiction was again repealed by 3 Stat. 554. A second judgeship was authorized on October 20, 1978, by, 92 Stat. 1629, and a third was authorized on December 1, 1990, by 104 Stat. 5089.
Current composition of the court
, the judges on the court are:The current Magistrate Judges for the District of Maine are Magistrate Judge Rich in Portland and Magistrate Judge Kravchuk in Bangor.
List of former judges
See also
- Courts of MaineCourts of MaineCourts of Maine include:State courts of Maine*Maine Supreme Judicial Court**Maine Superior Court***Maine District Courts***Maine Problem-Solving CourtsFederal courts located in Maine*United States District Court for the District of Maine...
- List of United States federal courthouses in Maine
- Maine Supreme Judicial CourtMaine Supreme Judicial CourtThe Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in Maine's judicial system. Known as the Law Court when sitting as an appellate court, it is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate...