Judicial panel recommends judges’ appointments

AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously recommended the appointments of Morton A. Brody of Waterville as a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and Andrew M. Mead of Bangor as a judge of the Maine District Court.

The state Senate will vote on confirming Brody and Mead to their respective judicial appointments later this month.

Both Brody and Mead, who were nominated by Gov. John R. McKernan, won high praise during the confirmation hearings.

Brody will fill a supreme court vacancy created by the elevation of D. Brock Hornby to the U.S. District Court in Bangor. Mead will serve in the District Court in Bangor, filling a vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Margaret Kravchuk to the Superior Court.

Brody, 56, has been chief justice of the Maine Superior Court for the past four years and a Superior Court justice for 10 years in all. For almost 20 years before that, he practiced law in Waterville.

Brody graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn, Bates College and the University of Chicago Law School.

“I would like to commend Gov. McKernan for this nomination,” said Sen. N. Paul Gauvreau, D-Lewiston. “I cannot think of anyone more qualified to sit on the Law Court.”

Brody told lawmakers, “As a judge and lawyer, I’ve always tried to do the right thing. I have made an attempt over the years to come out from behind the robes, so to speak, to demystify the process for the public.”

Brody, whom several speakers praised as being unpretentious, said he tried to follow the advice of another judge who said, “Judges are appointed, not anointed.”

Brody said legislators could help courts interpret laws better if they provided a more specific record of legislative intent when they made new laws.

Brody also said it was not unreasonable to expect that state supreme courts might offer state residents a higher level of constitutional protections than the minimum protections set down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brody said he always had been an advocate of allowing electronic media, including television cameras, into Maine courtrooms.

“The more media exposure we have, the better,” he said.

William Cotter, president of Colby College, said of Brody, “It is hard for me to imagine a more fair-minded, compassionate judge than Judge Brody.”

Brody also was praised by David Crook, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties; state Treasurer Samuel Shapiro; Dean L. Kinvin Wroth of the University of Maine School of Law; and by a former law clerk who said Brody had been an excellent teacher.

Mead, 38, has been a partner in the Bangor law firm of Mitchell and Stearns since 1981. Before that, he practiced with the firm of Paine, Lynch and Weatherbee. He has been a judge of the Penobscot Tribal Court for 10 years.

Mead is president of the Maine Bar Association. A New Jersey native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1973 and from New York Law School in 1976.

“I’m very honored. The bench is the highest accomplishment to which a lawyer can aspire,” Mead told lawmakers.

Mead described himself as open-minded, sensitive to individual rights and prone to looking for innovative solutions to judicial problems.

Attorney John Ballou of Mitchell and Stearns said of Mead, “He is a star in our legal firm and I know he will make an excellent judge.”

Attorney Dana Devoe said Mead would bring “decency, patience and understanding” to the District Court bench.

Also praising Mead were attorneys Francis Marsano, Marvin Glazier, Norman Minsky and Linda Smith-Dyer.