Leigh I. Saufley at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Current assignment
- Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
- Jurisdiction
- Maine · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Leigh I. Saufley
Former Judge · Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1997-present
- In April 2020, Saufley became the eighth Dean of the University of Maine School of Law, later also serving as its President
- She became Maine Law dean in April 2020 and is listed as president and dean
- 2001–2020 – held the role of Chief Justice, a role she held for nearly 19 years
- American jurist best known as the first woman and youngest person to serve as Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (2001–2020) and later as President and Dean of the University of Maine School of Law
- Joined the District Court in 1990, Superior Court in 1993 and Supreme Judicial Court in 1997, serving as chief justice from 2001 to April 2020
- 1997 – Appointed Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court by Governor Angus King
- Practiced at a small Ellsworth firm, briefly worked in the Veterans Administration counsel office and held leadership roles in the Maine attorney general office
Education
- University of Maine School of Law in — J.D. (1980)
- BA in Psychology from the University of Maine (Phi Beta Kappa, 1976)
- Maine Law confirms Leigh I. Saufley graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maine in 1976
Additional information
- Practitioner, 1996-1996
- additionally reports a psychology BA, South Portland High School graduation in 1972 and birth in Portland in 1954.
- Born June 21, 1954, Portland, Maine.
- Date of birth: 1954-06-21
- overseeing Maine’s judicial branch, 35 courthouses, and over 500 staff
- Honors include International Women’s Forum, Maine Women of Achievement, L. Kinvin Wroth alumni and Caroline Duby Glassman awards and an honorary UMaine Presque Isle degree.
- She is recognized for leading the law school’s transition to a stand‐alone institution within the University of Maine System and for shaping legal education with a focus on ethics, public service, and accessibility
- She is celebrated for her pragmatic, reform‐oriented leadership, her role in modernizing Maine’s judiciary, and her mentorship in legal education
- Saufley has received multiple honors, including the Maine Women of Achievement award, the Mary Hartman Award, and the Caroline Duby Glassman Award from the Maine State Bar Association.
- Her judicial leadership included courthouse security, replacement courthouses in Kennebec, Penobscot and Waldo, other renovations, and Conference of Chief Justices work.
- Birth place: Portland
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 ↗