AUGUSTA, Maine — A district attorney and a family court magistrate have been tapped by Gov. Paul LePage for appointment to Maine’s District Court bench.
The governor on Tuesday announced the nominations of Evert Fowle of Vassalboro and Nancy Carlson of Dixfield.
Fowle, a Democrat, is serving his third term as district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties. Carlson has been a family court magistrate since 1998 and before that served as director of the state Bureau of Child and Family Services and as an assistant attorney general.
“I’m very pleased to receive this nomination by Gov. LePage and, if confirmed, I’ll do my best to be a good judge,” Fowle said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon.
Fowle served as assistant district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties for 17 years before becoming district attorney for both counties in 2002. He is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and Syracuse University College of Law. In 2009 he was a finalist for the position of U.S. Attorney for Maine. President Barack Obama ultimately chose Thomas E. Delahanty II of Lewiston for the post.
Also Tuesday, LePage nominated E. Paul Eggert for a third term as District Court judge and Joseph Field as an active retired judge of the District Court.
“I am happy to put forward this strong group of nominees,” said LePage. “When choosing judges, I put people before politics and my focus remains on selecting nominees who will apply the law in the fair and even-handed manner.”
R. Christopher Almy, district attorney for Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, said Fowle would make an “excellent judge” and that he was pleased the Republican governor had nominated a Democrat for the judiciary.
“I have to compliment … the governor for being bipartisan,” said Almy.
The two vacancies on the District Court bench were created by John O’Neil’s confirmation to the Superior Court and by the retirement of Field and his planned move to active retired status.
Eggert, a resident of Portland, was first nominated to the District Court by Gov. Angus King in 1997 and was nominated for a second term by Gov. John Baldacci in 2004. Before he became a judge, he was in private practice in Portland for nearly 20 years. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and the University of Maine School of Law.
Field, who lives in Freeport, has served on the bench since 1990. He was first nominated to the District Court in 1990 by Gov. John McKernan and was subsequently nominated for additional terms by Govs. King and Baldacci. Before being nominated to the bench, he practiced law for 14 years, including more than 10 years in private practice and more than three years as a prosecutor. Field is a Coast Guard veteran, having served four years on active duty and 19 years in the Reserves, retiring at the rank of commander. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Maine School of Law.
Judicial nominees must be reviewed by the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary and confirmed by the full Senate. The Judiciary Committee is expected to hold confirmation hearings on the nominees at 1 p.m. Jan. 24.
BDN writer Judy Harrison and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Governor LePage nominates a Democrat to the District Court Bench. So what will be the justification for excoriating the Governor this time?
“Governor LePage nominates a Democrat to the District Court Bench. So what will be the justification for excoriating the Governor this time?” Definition of excoriating: 1. to denounce or berate severely; flay verbally: He was excoriated for his mistakes.
Ooooh big words big boy. What did it cost us all when this Democrat made the dirty deal with the Penguin? You think we’re all stupid?? Does it bother us that people are jumping ship? Some party members go both ways.
I agree with Chris Almy.
in 5 days your neighborhood creeps will be
setting off fireworks…your local cops will tell
you ‘nothing we can do,they are now legal’
who remembers votin to legalize fireworks???
You want us to believe you live in Maine?? Your neighbors have been setting off fireworks for years. Most of them never stopped. In 1970 when the kids on the corner down town were throwing M80s at us in our Chrysler Imperial we closed the windows, put on the AC, and turned on the reverberator. That was before “Consumer Fireworks” were banned in Maine. I can’t think of anybody who stopped using them between then and now. Last year one of my cousins set off $500 worth of fireworks. Don’t pass laws unless you plan to enforce them or you confuse everybody.
He must of phoned these in from his home state of Florida, or his home country of Canada, where is Paul Lepage?