--- title: "Valerie Stanfill | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/valerie-stanfill-chief-justice-maine-supreme-judicial-court-me" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Valerie Stanfill Maine Supreme Judicial Court · Chief Justice ## Profile - Court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court - State: Maine - Role: Chief Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-08-22 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - The current Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, appointed in 2021 and serving until 2028, with a career spanning judicial, academic, and legal aid roles - Chief Justice, Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2021-present - Valerie Stanfill became Maine Supreme Judicial Court chief justice in 2021, succeeding Leigh Saufley and becoming the second woman in the position - Chief Justice: Nominated by Governor Mills on May 10, 2021, to replace Chief Justice Leigh Saufley; confirmed unanimously by the Maine Senate on June 3, 2021, and sworn in June 8, 2021 - District Court service began in 2007 following nomination by John Baldacci in late 2006; she moved to Superior Court in 2020 and to chief justice in 2021 - She clerked for Superior Court Chief Justice Robert Clifford, practiced at Berman Simmons for fifteen years and held the role of acting director of Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and visiting professor at Maine Law, establishing a domestic-violence clinic in 1999 - The second woman to serve as Chief Justice of Maine’s highest court - Access to justice: Noting ongoing issues with indigent defense representation ### Education - University of Maine School of Law in — J.D. (1985) - Bryn Mawr College in — B.A. (1979) - Bryn Mawr College and the University of Maine School of Law ### Additional information - Committee work included civil-procedure rules, State–Federal Judicial Council and the 2019 pretrial-justice task force. - cites Bryn Mawr B.A. in history (1979) and Maine Law J.D. (1985). - She emphasized the need to maintain judicial impartiality, noting that judges appointed by different political parties must remain “meaningless” in partisan labels - After law school, she clerked, worked at the law firm Berman Simmons, P.A., and held the role of Acting Director of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and a visiting professor at the University of Maine School of Law - While on the trial courts, Stanfill served on multiple judicial advisory committees, including the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure, the State–Federal Judicial Council, and the Judicial Branch Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence and Protection Orders ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### cameras audio recording Scope: statewide Maine Administrative Order JB-05-15 bars cameras and audio recording equipment in the courtroom unless coverage has been authorized under the order. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.courts.maine.gov/adminorders/jb-05-15.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### judicial discretion Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.courts.maine.gov/adminorders/jb-05-15.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/justices.html) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/justices.html) - [State of Maine Judicial Branch official judicial roster](https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/justices.html) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/16208/valerie-stanfill/) - [JB-05-15 Cameras and Audio Recording in the Courts](https://www.courts.maine.gov/adminorders/jb-05-15.pdf) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/16208/valerie-stanfill/) - [Wikidata: Valerie Stanfill](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106834448) - [justices.html](https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/sjc/justices.html) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/valerie-stanfill-chief-justice-maine-supreme-judicial-court-me", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/valerie-stanfill-chief-justice-maine-supreme-judicial-court-me", "name": "Valerie Stanfill | KnowJudges", "description": "Valerie Stanfill, Maine Supreme Judicial Court. 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Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.courts.maine.gov/adminorders/jb-05-15.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.