Donald G. Alexander at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Current assignment
- Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
- Jurisdiction
- Maine · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Donald G. Alexander
Former Judge · Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1998-present
- Donald Gilbert Alexander is an American lawyer and former justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, serving from September 2, 1998, until his retirement on January 31, 2020
- His judicial path began in 1978 as a District Court judge, followed by a Superior Court appointment in 1980
- Earlier roles included assistant to Senator Edmund Muskie, legislative counsel for the National League of Cities and Maine deputy attorney general
Education
- Bowdoin College — B.A.
- University of Chicago Law School — J.D.
- His academic qualifications include a Bowdoin BA and University of Chicago JD.
Additional information
- The collected biographical information identifies that Donald Gilbert Alexander, born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1942 and raised in Nahant, served on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1998 until retirement in January 2020.
- Appointed by Governor Angus King and joined the court September 2, 1998.
- legis, 1997-1997
- prof, 1997-1997
- He also taught at Maine Law and Harvard’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, with the latter affiliation reported from 1980, and held the role of court liaison to procedural advisory committees.
- Joined the District Court in 1978 and Superior Court in 1980 before Governor Angus King appointed him to the Supreme Judicial Court.
- Born March 28, 1942, Lowell, Massachusetts.
- Date of birth: 1942
- Before joining the highest court, he served on the Maine Superior Court and Maine District Court, and as Deputy Attorney General of Maine.
- Retired after 41 years and 26 days on the Maine judiciary, the state’s second-longest-serving judge after William Penn Whitehouse.
- Known for practical jurisprudence, including a famous case where he introduced live roosters into the courtroom to resolve a cockfighting dispute prosecuted by then-Attorney General Janet Mills
- His publications include the Maine Jury Instruction Manual and Maine Appellate Practice; he edited commentary on Maine civil procedure.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
Maine Administrative Order JB-05-15 bars cameras and audio recording equipment in the courtroom unless coverage has been authorized under the order.
No cameras or audio recording equipment shall be allowed in the courtroom unless coverage of any events or proceeding has been authorized pursuant to this order.JB-05-15 Cameras and Audio Recording in the Courts ↗
Judicial Discretion
Statewide
Maine authorizes trial and appellate judicial officers to consider camera and recording coverage and permit it in their sole discretion if court integrity will not be adversely affected.
authorized to consider camera and recording coverage, and to permit it in their sole discretion if the integrity of the court proceedings will not be adversely affected.JB-05-15 Cameras and Audio Recording in the Courts ↗
Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
Maine Supreme Judicial Court current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
View Maine Supreme Judicial Court current judicial profile ↗JB-05-15 Cameras and Audio Recording in the Courts
Statewide source · PDF · Source checked July 26, 2026
View JB-05-15 Cameras and Audio Recording in the Courts ↗