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Chief Justice Valerie Stanfield outlines staffing crunch, e‑court rollouts and courthouse rebuild plans
Summary
In a State of the Judiciary address to a joint session, Chief Justice Valerie Stanfield said the Maine judicial branch has made progress on staffing and technology but still faces courthouse closures and staffing shortfalls; she outlined e‑court rollouts, bond‑funded courthouse projects and pilot efforts to reduce criminal case delays.
Chief Justice Valerie Stanfield told a joint convention of the Maine Legislature on Feb. 10 that the state’s judicial branch is making “progress” but still needs more staff, modern technology and safer courthouses to provide timely access to justice.
Stanfield said the branch’s work rests on “three key components” — sufficient staffing, reliable technology and safe, accessible courthouses — and told lawmakers the National Center for State Courts had recommended adding about 54 court‑clerk positions to meet current needs. “We have been understaffed,” she said, and praised recent reclassification efforts that have reduced vacancies in some roles.
The chief justice described an accelerated technology rollout that replaced makeshift “Zoom carts,” upgraded courtroom recording software known as For the Record, and expanded Maine eCourts and e‑filing. After pilot deployments in Region 3, the branch went live for all case types in Region 4 (Augusta, Waterville and Skowhegan) in early February; Stanfield said Region 1 (the York Judicial Center) is scheduled for March 30 and that the goal is to complete rollouts across trial courts over the next year.
Stanfield also outlined facility challenges: mold discoveries forced temporary closures and relocations at Lincoln and Newport district courts, and some leased sites could not be remediated. To address aging facilities, she said the branch is planning three new courthouse projects funded by bonds authorized by the legislature in 2024 — the Hancock Judicial Center (groundbreaking expected this spring), a consolidated Somerset County Judicial Center in Skowhegan (construction hoped for fall 2026) and the Andrew Scoggin Judicial Center in Lewiston (targeted for 2027).
On caseloads, Stanfield said criminal dockets are still elevated — running “about 25 to 30%” higher than pre‑pandemic levels — while civil backlog has mostly returned to pre‑pandemic norms. To test reforms, the branch hosted a MacArthur Foundation‑funded New England conference on criminal case processing and launched a Bangor pilot on Jan. 1 to try new procedures.
Stanfield reported improvement in constitutionally required appointed‑counsel cases: roughly 1,150 matters lacked counsel a year ago; current counts are about 225 criminal cases, about 30 trial protective matters and about 30 appeals pending appointment at any given time, though she cautioned the numbers fluctuate. “Every case matters,” she said.
She closed by warning of rising threats to judges, quoting U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on four illegitimate activities that threaten judicial independence — violence, intimidation, disinformation and refusal to follow lawful judgments — and urged protection of the judiciary to preserve rule‑of‑law institutions.
The convention dissolved after the address; Stanfield’s remarks were largely framed as operational updates and requests for continued legislative support for staffing, technology and facility funding.
