Probate Judge Reprimanded For Delays

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ordered a reprimand of a probate judge who engaged in a pattern of "unacceptable delays" in at least five matters:

The most egregious of those violations involved a delay of nearly five years in the resolution of a matter involving family contact with a child. In several cases, parties waited over
fourteen and sixteen months for judicial decisions in matters that could and should
have been resolved much more expeditiously.

The court declined to impose a suspension, noting the judge's 22 years of honorable service. the misconduct was in part a product of limited resources and the judge's professional isolation in a rural area.

He also has instituted processes to address the issue of delay going forward. (Mike Frisch)