The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, even though Maine was not a separate state from Massachusetts until 1820. The court is headquartered at the Edward T. Gignoux United States Courthouse in Portland, Maine, and has a second courthouse in Bangor, Maine.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Maine represents the United States in criminal and civil litigation before the court. , the U.S. attorney is Andrew B. Benson.
Appeals from the District of Maine are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
History The District of Maine was one of the thirteen original districts created on September 24, 1789, by the Judiciary Act of 1789, .U.S. District Court of Maine, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center (accessed July 5, 2009). At the time, Maine was part of the state of Massachusetts. As with other jurisdictions of the time, the District of Maine was originally assigned a single judgeship. Not being assigned to a judicial circuit, it was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit court, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts. The circuit court jurisdiction of the District of Maine was repealed on February 13, 1801, by 2 Stat. 89, and restored on March 8, 1802, by . On March 30, 1820, shortly after Maine entered the Union, the District of Maine was assigned to the First Circuit and its internal circuit court jurisdiction was again repealed by . A second judgeship was authorized on October 20, 1978, by, , and a third was authorized on December 1, 1990, by .
Current judges :
Magistrate judges
John C. Nivison
Karen Frink Wolf
Vacancies and pending nominations Seat Prior judge's duty station Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Date of nomination 2 Portland Nancy Torresen Senior status October 11, 2025
Former judges
Chief Judges
Succession of seats
U.S. Attorneys
William Lithgow Jr. 1789-96 Daniel Davis 1796–1801 Silas Lee 1801–14 William Pitt Preble 1814–20 Ether Shepley 1820–33 John Anderson 1833–37 Joseph Howard 1837–41 John Holmes 1841–43 Gorham Parks 1843–45 Augustine Haines 1845–48 George F. Shepley 1848–49 Thomas A. Deblois 1849–53 George F. Shepley 1853–61 George F. Talbot 1861–70 Nathan Webb 1870–78 Wilbur F. Lunt 1878–85 George E. Bird 1886–90 Issac W. Dyer 1890–94 Albert W. Bradbury 1894–98 Issac W. Dyer 1898–1906 Robert T. Whitehouse 1906–14 Stephen C. Perry 1914–15 John F. A. Merrill 1915–22 Frederick R. Dyer 1922–33 John D. Clifford 1933–47 Edward J. Harrington 1947 Alton A. Lessard 1947–53 Peter Mills 1953–61 Alton A. Lessard 1961–65 William E. McKinley Jr. 1965 Lloyd P. LaFountain 1966–69 Peter Mills 1969–77 George J. Mitchell 1977–79 James W. Brannigan Jr. 1979–80 Thomas E. Delahanty II 1980–81 Richard S. Cohen 1981–93 Jay P. McCloskey 1993–2001 Paula D. Silsby 2001-2010 Thomas E. Delahanty II 2010–2017 Halsey Frank 2017–2024 Darcie N. McElwee 2021–2025 Craig M. Wolff 2025 Andrew B. Benson 2025-Present
See also Courts of Maine List of current United States district judges List of United States federal courthouses in Maine Maine Supreme Judicial Court
References
External links United States District Court for the District of Maine