Superior court justice nominated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court

Feb. 28—Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that she had nominated Julia Lipez, a superior court justice in Augusta, to serve on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

The nomination comes days after Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill said in her annual State of the Judiciary address that the judicial branch is struggling with vacancies, including a spot on the high court that has been open for more than a year. A spokesperson for Mills said after the address that she planned to proceed with an appointment as soon as possible.

Lipez, of Cape Elizabeth, has served on the Maine Superior Court since 2022 and was previously an assistant U.S. Attorney for Maine.

“I am delighted to nominate Justice Julia Lipez to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court,” Mills said in a statement. “Throughout her service to Maine people — first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and presently as a Justice of the Maine Superior Court — Justice Lipez has earned deep respect for her fairness, intellect, and commitment to the rule of law. Maine is lucky to have a jurist of Justice Lipez’s caliber as a nominee for the Supreme Judicial Court.”

Lipez was nominated last year by President Biden to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, but was one of four appellate nominees that senators agreed not to confirm as part of a deal between Democrats and Republicans so they could quickly confirm other nominees before the change in administration.

Prior to becoming a superior court justice, Lipez worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 2011-2022, leading prosecutions of human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, narcotics and violent crimes, according to Mills’ office. She was promoted to chief of the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney Office in Maine in 2019.

A graduate of Stanford Law School, Lipez also worked as a private lawyer at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in New York. She also clerked for a federal appellate judge in New York in 2006, after receiving her law degree from Stanford Law School.

Lipez said she is “deeply honored” by Mills’ nomination.

“If confirmed, I will serve the people of Maine as I have throughout my career in law and public service — with a commitment to fairness and justice and equality before the law,” she said in a statement.

Last year, Joseph Jabar, a longtime justice for the state’s highest court said he was passed over for reappointment by the governor. He was first appointed to the court in 2009 and reappointed by then-Gov. Paul LePage, who later accused Jabar of reneging on an agreement to retire after he reached 20 years of legislative and judicial service.

Jabar said in an interview last year that he had expressed interest in another seven-year term, but was told by legal counsel for Mills that the administration wanted to diversify the court. He has since returned to private practice in Waterville.

Mills also announced nominations for the Maine Superior Court and Maine District Court.

Darcie McElwee of Scarborough, who this month was terminated from her role as Maine’s U.S. attorney by the Trump administration, was nominated for justice for the superior court.

Amy Dieterich of Auburn, a practicing attorney for 16 years, was nominated to be a judge for Maine District Court.

Judge Matthew Tice was nominated for reappointment to the Maine District Court, where he has served since 2018. Prior to that appointment, he was an assistant district attorney in Cumberland County for more than two decades.

All of the nominations will be reviewed by the legislature’s Judiciary Committee and confirmed by the Maine Senate. After the confirmation process, the judicial branch will determine the areas that each nominee will serve.

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