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Maine’s court system is a well-defined structure of courts to hear minor matters, courts that have the power to conduct jury trials and a single appellate court, the Supreme Judicial Court.

Maine's Supreme Court

Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court, with a clerk’s office in the capital city of Portland, is more than just the state’s court of final resort. It is also the governing body for the whole judicial branch of Maine’s government.

The Supreme Judicial Court hears appeals of family, civil and criminal cases from both district and superior courts. It fields appeals of final judgments and decrees from the probate courts, where are county-run. It hears appeals of decisions by the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Workers’ Compensation Board. And, single justices have the power to handle admission to the state bar and to conduct disciplinary proceedings.

Additionally, the court may be asked to make decisions about legislative apportionment, and it will render advisory opinions on matters of law as requested by the governor or legislature.

The court is comprised of seven justices, including a chief, presently Leigh Ingalls Saufley.

The court maintains calendars for both the current session and a tentative calendar for the upcoming fiscal year’s session at its Web site.

Maine's Superior Court

The Maine Superior Court convenes in 17 courtrooms around the state, one in each county except for Aroostook County, which has two Superior Court locations. The Superior Court chief justice, presently Thomas E. Humphrey, serves as administrative head of the court. There are 18 judges overall.

The court has original or exclusive jurisdiction over all criminal and civil matters that are not the exclusive jurisdiction of District Court. Superior Court is the only venue in the state where civil and criminal jury trials are held.

District judges hear both jury and jury-waived trials in adult criminal cases including murder and offenses classified A through E; post-conviction reviews; jury and jury-waived trials in civil matters such as car accident lawsuits; cases in which equitable relief is sought, such as an injunction; and appeals of decisions from state and local administrative agencies, such as the Department of Human Services or a municipal zoning board.

Maine's District Courts

Maine’s broad-based District Court system has locations in 31 courthouses statewide, to hear both civil and criminal matters without a jury. The District Court system employs 36 judges to serve in these locations.

The Family Division of District Court hears all family law matters, from divorce and paternity to child support and child custody matters. District Court also handles child protection cases and serves as Maine’s juvenile court. Actions for protection from abuse or harassment, mental health matters, small claims (valued at $4,500 or less) and other monetary judgments also are filed in District Court.

Traffic violations are primarily processed through a centralized Violations Bureau, which also is part of the District Court system. Hearings contesting traffic or minor civil violations are hard by District Court.

Maine's Drug Courts

Because statistics show that a large percentage of offenders – some studies suggest nearly nine in 10 – are substance-abusers, drug courts are increasing in popularity for their problem-solving approach to crimes committed by addicts. Maine has drug courts for both adults and youths, and even drug court for families.

The mission of Adult Drug Treatment Court is to hold offenders accountable, but also to stop future criminal activity by addressing their drug problems through intensively supervised treatment and rehabilitation.

Similar goals are espoused by the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court, though its focus is on young offenders and addicts, and the Family Treatment Drug Court is designed to address the substance abuse of some family members while also providing support to those individuals, particularly children, who may be suffering the effects of another person’s substance abuse.

Maine's Business and Consumer Courts 

Maine operates a Business and Consumer Court as a statewide docket of selected actions involving business and/or consumer disputes. It is managed by two judges from either trial court as designated by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. 

The goal of Business and Consumer Court is to provide efficient and predictable judicial action in cases involving these types of disputes, to avoid placing an unnecessary burden on the courts and the litigants in each case, and to keep the costs of such litigation under control.

United States District Court - District of Maine

United States Bankruptcy Court - District of Maine

Maine Judicial Branch - Map of Maine Counties and Directory of County Website Links

Maine State Courts - Search Regional Quarterly Court Calendars

Maine Courts - Search the Maine State Courts FAQ

Maine Office of the Revisor of Statutes - Statute Search by title number, section number or keywords.

Maine Judicial Branch - Supreme Court General Information and Supreme Court Calendars

Maine eDemocracy - Search online services available in Maine.

Maine Superior Courts - Directory of Superior Courts and Superior Court Justices, as well as general information.

Maine Courts - Citizen's Court Guide with an over view of the courts, organization, visiting the courts and court publications.