The Supreme Judicial Court has adopted amendments to the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, which will become effective on November 1. These rules reflect a significant amount of work by the Maine Appellate Rules Committee, of which I currently have
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Interlocutory Appeals – Navigating the Pitfalls
Generally speaking, under the ‘final judgment rule,’ a party can only appeal a final judgment—a decision that fully decides and disposes of the whole case, leaving no further questions for future consideration. This judicial doctrine, however, is subject to exceptions.…
Legislators, Standing, and the Courts
Disputes between members of different branches of government frequently raise thorny issues—and standing is often one of them. The Maine Law Court tackled the issue of legislator standing in its recent decision in Clardy v. Jackson, its first pronouncement…
Overruling Chevron Changes Everything. Or Not.
As I previously noted on this blog, the end of the Supreme Court’s term brought with it a landmark decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The holding of Loper…
Chevron Is Dead. Does It Still Live in Maine?
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court today overruled Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which held that courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Court held…
Dictionaries and the Law – Hunting, Poaching, and the Right to Food
The Law Court’s recent decision in Parker v. Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is fascinating—it is a rare instance when the Court has been called upon to interpret and apply a new constitutional provision. The Maine Constitution has had…
Proposed Amendments to Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Appellate Rules Committee, of which I am currently chair, has been busy considering various amendments to the rules. The Committee has recommended certain changes, and the Supreme Judicial Court has now proposed amendments to the rules and invited public…
Procedure, Not Politics
Amid the intense coverage of the Colorado ballot exclusion case that was the subject of oral argument before the Supreme Court earlier this month, the Law Court’s decision in Trump v. Secretary of State on a parallel appeal of the…
When Should Prior Precedent Be Overruled?
With debates over the application of stare decisis taking center stage in recent Supreme Cout arguments regarding the viability of Chevron deference—an issue which we will likely revisit in June—it was notable that the Law Court recently engaged in…
The Court as Casino No More: Law Court Ends Stringent Foreclosure Rule
The Law Court has dramatically reshaped foreclosure law in Maine, ending the Court’s outlier position regarding the effect of a defective notice of default. In Finch v. U.S. Bank, N.A., the Court held that, when a lender fails to…