AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Senate on Thursday confirmed Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s nominees to the Maine Supreme Court and Superior Court.
The Democratic-led Senate, which returned to Augusta for a one-day session, unanimously approved Justice Jeffrey Hjelm to the Maine Supreme Court and Deputy Attorney General William Stokes to Superior Court.
Hjelm, a superior justice for the Knox County Superior Court, and Stokes, chief of the criminal division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office, were praised for their long and distinguished careers in the law.
“These gentlemen … exemplify all that is good about our judicial system and our criminal justice system,” said Sen. David Burns, a Republican from Whiting and member of the Judiciary Committee, which endorsed the two candidates last week.
Hjelm, a Camden resident, was nominated to the Superior Court by Gov. Angus King in 1998 and was reappointed by Gov. John Baldacci in 2005. He was also an assistant attorney general in the criminal division and has worked for a private law firm.
Stokes, who’s been mayor of Augusta since 2011, served under nine attorneys general since joining the office in 1977. In his role as chief of the criminal division, he has been in charge of drug prosecutors and appellate and corrections attorneys.
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