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Supreme Judicial Court Calendar

Oral arguments are at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland unless otherwise indicated. Additional dates may be scheduled to accommodate workload.

Caution: This schedule is subject to change. The case summaries are prepared by Court staff for the convenience of the public and are not to be construed as statements of the Court.

Oral Arguments: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Briefs
11:00 a.m.	Som-25-264	Amy B. Beem v. Nancy M. Temple	Michael T. Bigos; Joseph G.E. Gousse; John R. Veilleux; Samuel G. Johnson	Personal injury; Equine Activities Act Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		The District Court extended an extreme risk protection order, also known as a weapons restriction order, against T. T. appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to show that he posed a likelihood of foreseeable harm, as that term is defined in 34-B M.R.S. § 3862-A, given that the court's relied on hearsay from unidentified declarants and an assessment of T. by a nurse practitioner who had not met with T. or reviewed any medical records and based her assessment solely on reports from law enforcement and unidentified sources.
1:00 p.m.	BCD-25-296	John Veneziano v. Bernard J. Saulnier et al.	Kyle M. Noonan; Shannon R. Linnehan; Jeffrey Bennett	Uniform Public Expression Protection Act; protection of testimony in deposition and court Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

1:50 p.m.	BCD-25-193	John Veneziano v. Bernard Saulnier	William J. Gallitto, III; Jana L. Kenney; Jeffrey Bennett	Enforcement of Money Judgments Act; imputation of income Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

2:20 p.m.	And-25-127	State of Maine v. Trevor Averill	Katie Sibley; Walter F. McKee; Kurt C. Peterson	Manslaughter of infant; admission in evidence of autopsy photos, video of victim receiving emergency medical treatment, and victim's fractures that did not occur on date of alleged offense; sufficiency of the evidence surrounding diagnosis of abusive head trauma; prosecutorial error; consideration in sentencing of exercise of right to a jury trial and of victim's prior injuries; improper analysis of aggravating and mitigating factors in sentencing Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

2:20 p.m.	Han-25-125	State of Maine v. Jason J. Follette	Justine T. Barry; Donald F. Brown	Gross sexual assault; burglary of a motor vehicle; statute of limitations; speedy trial; "John Doe" complaint Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

2:20 p.m.	Som-24-325	State of Maine v. Raymond Ellis Jr.	Timothy Snyder; Rory A. McNamara	Robbery; criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon; theft; jury instruction on missing witness; use of firearm as aggravating factor in sentencing for crime that has an element that the actor was "armed with a dangerous weapon" Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

Oral Arguments: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Briefs
9:50 a.m.	BCD-25-259	Mantagu Reid Hankin et al. v. Sarah B. Sewall et al.	Elizabeth A. Germani; Jeffrey T. Piampiano; Oliver Mac Walton; Joseph G. Talbot; Emily A. Arvizu; Shea H. Watson	Topics and briefs will be posted soon

10:40 a.m.	PUC-25-51	Berwick Solar, LLC v. Public Utilities Commission	Edward W. Gould; Dennis Duffy; Rikka E. Strong; Amy B. Mills; Carlisle Tuggey	Interconnection agreement between solar generating facility and Central Maine Power; Small Generator Interconnection Rules; imposition of additional charges to generating facility after expiration of time for "final accounting"; Commission's reversal of position; arbitrary and capricious actions Appellant's brief Appellee PUC's brief Appellee CMP's brief Appellant's reply brief

11:30 a.m.	Yor-24-569	Towd Point Mortgage Trust 2019-4 v. Leslie Bodwell et al.	Reneau J. Longoria; Stanley Greenberg	Foreclosure; death-knell exception to final judgment rule; authority of court upon abandonment of property by mortgagor; order permitting sale of property upon abandonment; sufficiency of court's findings of fact and conclusions of law Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

1:30 p.m.	Pen-24-535	Dorothy Poole et al. v. Hancock County et al.	Scott J. Lynch; Peter T. Marchesi; Michael D. Lichtenstein	Suicide by inmate at county jail; courts' jurisdiction in cases of simultaneous actions in state and federal courts; death-knell exception to final judgment rule; governmental immunity and proof of absense of insurance; immunity from actions for professional negligence; county jail employees as "health care providers" for purposes of the Maine Health Security Act Appellant's brief Appellees' (and cross-appellants') brief Appellant's reply brief Appellees' surreply brief

2:20 p.m.	Pen-25-245	State of Maine v. Joshua Martin	Jason Horn; N. Laurence Willey Jr.; Ezra A.R. Willey	Trafficking of scheduled drugs; search and seizure; authority of court to reconsider order granting motion to suppress Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		The District Court terminated Danielle H.'s parental rights to her child. Danielle H. appeals, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the court's finding of parental unfitness and that the court abused its discretion in determining that it was in the child's best interest to terminate her parental rights because the court did not adequately consider a permanency guardianship as an alternative to termination and because the guardian ad litem did not provide a reliable recommendation to the court.
3:10 p.m.	Som-22-182	State of Maine v. Nicholas W. Norris	Jason Horn; James M. Mason	Topics and summary to be announced
		.

Oral Arguments: Thursday, January 8, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Briefs
9:50 a.m.	Ken-24-450	Andrew Robbins et al. v. Maine Commission on Public Defense Services et al.	Carol J. Garvan; Zachary L. Heiden; Anahita D. Sotoohi; Kevin P. Martin; Jordan Bock; Samantha Jandl; Andrea Goodman; Matt Warner; Alex Harriman; Paul E. Suitter	Right to court-appointed counsel; declaratory judgments; sovereign immunity; standing; final judgment rule Appellant's brief Appellees' brief Appellant's reply brief

10:40 a.m.	Cum-25-196	Robert J. Hutchinson v. Rosanna Paola Cordoba Gomez	Michael E. Saucier; Michael J. Donlan; Jonathan M. Dunitz	Divorce; premarital agreements; jurisdiction of divorce court over claim for breach of contract; attorney fees Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

11:30 a.m.	Yor-25-269	Constance L. Beane v. Village on Great Brooke LLC et al.	Patrick S. Bedard; Benjamin E. Ford	Breach of contract; occurrence of condition precedent after the deadline provided in the contract; waiver of condition precedent Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		The trial court denied Dennis Winchester’s petitions for post-conviction review of his convictions for various burglaries and thefts. On appeal, Winchester argues that his attorneys in the original criminal proceedings provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to pursue speedy-trial claims in the trial court and on appeal. This Court invited amicus briefs to address whether Winchester’s right to a speedy trial was violated under article 1, section 6 of the Maine Constitution or under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1:30 p.m.	Aro-25-177	State of Maine v. Jayme Schnackenberg	Leanne Robbin; Jeremy Pratt; Ellen Simmons	Murder; exclusion from evidence of toxicology test results on victim; dwelling exception to duty to retreat in self-defense justification; admission in evidence of photographs of victim's skull Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		The Superior Court granted summary judgment and awarded damages to the State of Maine in its suit against Moosehead Mountain Resort that sought to enforce covenants on a ski area once owned by the state and now owned by Moosehead, to ensure that the land remained available to the public. Moosehead appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the deed to a predecessor-in-interest of Moosehead’s required that the land be maintained in a certain way; (2) a covenant can run with the land without a benefited parcel, (3) there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding whether a certain parcel retained by the State was a benefitted parcel or whether the defense of latches applied, (4) the ambiguities in the deed regarding the covenants must be resolved in favor of the state, (5) the covenant requiring that the land be available for “public use” is reasonable, and (6) the state was not required to give notice of its interpretation of the public-use covenant before suing Moosehead.
1:30 p.m.	Was-25-276	State of Maine v. Nakoma V. Polches	Paige Bebus; Rory A. McNamara	Gross sexual assault; video of Child Advocacy Center interview as evidence; remote testimony of child where positive identification of defendant required Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of Francis and Maryann Janusz on their complaint for foreclosure against Eric Bacon. Bacon appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the parties had completed mediation, which is a statutory prerequisite to a judgment of foreclosure; and (2) Bacon received proper notice of the motion for summary judgment even though the Januszes did not mail a copy of the motion to Bacon’s address of record.
3:10 p.m.	Lin-22-85	Michael Zani et al. v. Medora Zani et al.	Laura P. Shaw; Christopher K. MacLean; Marie Mueller; George T. Dilworth; Amy K. Olfene; Andre G. Duchette
		In 2018, while she was the subject of a guardianship and conservatorship, Patricia Spofford executed a will that was admitted to probate upon her death. Spofford’s sons, Michael Zani and Peter Zani, filed suit in the Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that their mother lacked testamentary capacity when she executed the 2018 will and the imposition of a constructive trust on Spofford’s property, and alleging wrongful interference with an expectancy of inheritance against a beneficiary of the will and fraud against a witness to the will. The Superior Court entered summary judgment against the Zanis on all counts. The Zanis appeal, arguing that the Superior Court erred in determining that there was no dispute of material fact regarding Spofford’s testamentary capacity on the date that she executed the 2018 will given that there was evidence of Spofford’s lack of testamentary capacity both before and after that date.

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at Falmouth High School, Falmouth

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Summary
9:00 a.m.	Yor-24-503	State of Maine v. Randal J. Hennessey	Katie Sibley; Rory A. McNamara	Murder; imperfect self-defense; expert testimony on psychology of decision-making; prosecutorial error; rebuttal testimony regarding blood spatter when witness not disclosed pretrial as expert; admissibility of evidence that defendant was prohibited from possessing firearm; propriety of sentencing Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

10:00 a.m.	Pen-24-401	State of Maine v. Austin W. Davis	Kaitlin L. Cook; Christopher Northrop	OUI; voluntariness of breath test taken after threat of jail if refused Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

11:00 a.m.	Yor-25-46	Tabarek TH Aldarraji v. Tareq I Alolwan	Colin W.B. Chard; Mehron D. Buerger	Validity of marriage from religious ceremony held remotely; constitutionality of statute that permits marriage ceremony from two religious sects but not other religions Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief
		At Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland
2:00 a.m.	Lin-25-56	Patricia M. Minerich et al. v. Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District et al.	Kristin M. Collins; David Kallin	Citizen petition; severability of articles/questions presented by petition Appellants' brief Appellees' brief Appellants' reply brief

2:50 p.m.	Cum-25-109	Shark Tank Strategies, LLC et al. v. Town of Scarborough	Gordon R. Smith; Grady R. Burns; Philip Saucier	Applicability of amendment of ordinance while application for permit pending Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief


3:10 p.m.	Pen-21-362	State of Maine v. Damien Osborn	Jason Horn; Timothy E. Zerillop

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Summary
2:00 p.m.	Lin-25-56	Patricia M. Minerich et al. v. Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District et al.	Kristin M. Collins; David Kallin	Citizen petition; severability of articles/questions presented by petition Appellants' brief Appellees' brief Appellants' reply brief

2:50 p.m.	Cum-25-109	Shark Tank Strategies, LLC et al. v. Town of Scarborough	Gordon R. Smith; Grady R. Burns; Philip Saucier	Applicability of amendment of ordinance while application for permit pending Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief

11:30 a.m.	Aro-21-312	Dennis F. Winchester v. State of Maine	Lawrence C. Winger; Todd R. Collins
		The trial court denied Dennis Winchester’s petitions for post-conviction review of his convictions for various burglaries and thefts. On appeal, Winchester argues that his attorneys in the original criminal proceedings provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to pursue speedy-trial claims in the trial court and on appeal. This Court invited amicus briefs to address whether Winchester’s right to a speedy trial was violated under article 1, section 6 of the Maine Constitution or under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1:30 p.m.	Ken-22-53	State of Maine et al. v. Moosehead Mountain Resort et al.	Lauren E. Parker; Elliott R. Teel; Jonathan M. Flagg
		The Superior Court granted summary judgment and awarded damages to the State of Maine in its suit against Moosehead Mountain Resort that sought to enforce covenants on a ski area once owned by the state and now owned by Moosehead, to ensure that the land remained available to the public. Moosehead appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the deed to a predecessor-in-interest of Moosehead’s required that the land be maintained in a certain way; (2) a covenant can run with the land without a benefited parcel, (3) there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding whether a certain parcel retained by the State was a benefitted parcel or whether the defense of latches applied, (4) the ambiguities in the deed regarding the covenants must be resolved in favor of the state, (5) the covenant requiring that the land be available for “public use” is reasonable, and (6) the state was not required to give notice of its interpretation of the public-use covenant before suing Moosehead.
2:20 p.m.	Was-22-75	Francis Janusz et al. v. Eric Bacon et al.	William N. Palmer; Jonathan E. Selkowitz
		The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of Francis and Maryann Janusz on their complaint for foreclosure against Eric Bacon. Bacon appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the parties had completed mediation, which is a statutory prerequisite to a judgment of foreclosure; and (2) Bacon received proper notice of the motion for summary judgment even though the Januszes did not mail a copy of the motion to Bacon’s address of record.
3:10 p.m.	Lin-22-85	Michael Zani et al. v. Medora Zani et al.	Laura P. Shaw; Christopher K. MacLean; Marie Mueller; George T. Dilworth; Amy K. Olfene; Andre G. Duchette
		In 2018, while she was the subject of a guardianship and conservatorship, Patricia Spofford executed a will that was admitted to probate upon her death. Spofford’s sons, Michael Zani and Peter Zani, filed suit in the Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that their mother lacked testamentary capacity when she executed the 2018 will and the imposition of a constructive trust on Spofford’s property, and alleging wrongful interference with an expectancy of inheritance against a beneficiary of the will and fraud against a witness to the will. The Superior Court entered summary judgment against the Zanis on all counts. The Zanis appeal, arguing that the Superior Court erred in determining that there was no dispute of material fact regarding Spofford’s testamentary capacity on the date that she executed the 2018 will given that there was evidence of Spofford’s lack of testamentary capacity both before and after that date.

Video Stream

Time	Docket Number	Case Name	Attorneys	Topics & Summary
9:00 a.m.	Pen-24-36	State of Maine v. Richard Kelley	Jason Horn; Katie Sibley; Hunter J. Tzovarras	Aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs; search and seizure; standing to challenge warrant authorizing tracking device on car that defendant was frequently a passenger in Appellant's brief Appellee's brief Appellant's reply brief Appendix
		After a bench trial, Zachary Borg was convicted of domestic violence aggravated assault (Class B), domestic violence reckless conduct (Class D), and endangering the welfare of a child (Class D). The victim was a child who ingested fentanyl that she found in the house after Borg and some guests of his used fentanyl in the house and one of the guests lost some of the fentanyl. Borg appeals, challenging the conviction for assault and arguing that (1) the court failed to make the necessary findings that the State had proved that Borg had the required mental state as to his conduct; (2) before a court may convict a person of assault, the State must prove that the person engaged in the “use” of “force” against the victim, and Borg did not use any force against the victim and (3) the conduct that the court found that Borg committed was not legally sufficient to cause the required resulting harm.
10:00 a.m.	Pen-23-502	State of Maine v. Debbie Anderson	Mark A. Rucci; Michelle R. King	OUI; de minimus offenses; Appellant's brief and appendix Appellee's brief
		The Town of Eliot’s Zoning Board of Appeals reversed the decision of the town’s Planning Board approving Odiorne Lane Solar, LLC’s application to install ground-mounted solar arrays on land owned by the Estate of Lillian H. Cromwell. Odiorne sought review by the Superior Court, which reversed the decision of the Board of Appeals, thereby permitting the project to proceed. Jay Meyer, whose property abuts the Estate’s land, appeals, arguing that (1) the Planning Board erred in determining that Odiorne’s application was for a “public utility facility,” which is permitted in any zone in the town; (2) the Superior Court erred in determining that he had waived any challenge to the project based on the town’s back-lot ordinance; and (3) the proposed solar array violates the back-lot ordinance because the land does not have access to a public road through an adequate right-of-way.
11:00 a.m.	Cum-24-82	Peter Masucci et al. v. Judy's Moody, LLC, et al.	Orlando E. Delogu; Lauren E. Parker; Scott W. Boak; Keith P. Richard; Benjamin Ford; Sandra Guay; Joseph G. Talbot; Emily A. Arvizu; Camerin M. Rivera; David P. Silk; Gordon R. Smith	Ownership and use of intertidal land See high-profile-case page for complete information and all filings in this appeal.
		Roger Ouellette entered a conditional guilty plea to OUI. Ouellette appeals from the denial of his motion to suppress, arguing that the trooper who charged him was not permitted to enter the curtilage of his home at night either to summons him for a traffic violation or for the purposes of an “OUI investigation” after seeing him drive partially in the lane for opposing traffic on a two-lane road, drive up a private road to a garage, and then, ten minutes later, cross the two-lane road, drive down another private road, and stop in front of a house.
1:30 p.m.	Ken-22-53	State of Maine et al. v. Moosehead Mountain Resort et al.	Lauren E. Parker; Elliott R. Teel; Jonathan M. Flagg
		The Superior Court granted summary judgment and awarded damages to the State of Maine in its suit against Moosehead Mountain Resort that sought to enforce covenants on a ski area once owned by the state and now owned by Moosehead, to ensure that the land remained available to the public. Moosehead appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the deed to a predecessor-in-interest of Moosehead’s required that the land be maintained in a certain way; (2) a covenant can run with the land without a benefited parcel, (3) there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding whether a certain parcel retained by the State was a benefitted parcel or whether the defense of latches applied, (4) the ambiguities in the deed regarding the covenants must be resolved in favor of the state, (5) the covenant requiring that the land be available for “public use” is reasonable, and (6) the state was not required to give notice of its interpretation of the public-use covenant before suing Moosehead.
2:20 p.m.	Was-22-75	Francis Janusz et al. v. Eric Bacon et al.	William N. Palmer; Jonathan E. Selkowitz
		The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of Francis and Maryann Janusz on their complaint for foreclosure against Eric Bacon. Bacon appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that (1) the parties had completed mediation, which is a statutory prerequisite to a judgment of foreclosure; and (2) Bacon received proper notice of the motion for summary judgment even though the Januszes did not mail a copy of the motion to Bacon’s address of record.
3:10 p.m.	Lin-22-85	Michael Zani et al. v. Medora Zani et al.	Laura P. Shaw; Christopher K. MacLean; Marie Mueller; George T. Dilworth; Amy K. Olfene; Andre G. Duchette
		In 2018, while she was the subject of a guardianship and conservatorship, Patricia Spofford executed a will that was admitted to probate upon her death. Spofford’s sons, Michael Zani and Peter Zani, filed suit in the Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that their mother lacked testamentary capacity when she executed the 2018 will and the imposition of a constructive trust on Spofford’s property, and alleging wrongful interference with an expectancy of inheritance against a beneficiary of the will and fraud against a witness to the will. The Superior Court entered summary judgment against the Zanis on all counts. The Zanis appeal, arguing that the Superior Court erred in determining that there was no dispute of material fact regarding Spofford’s testamentary capacity on the date that she executed the 2018 will given that there was evidence of Spofford’s lack of testamentary capacity both before and after that date.

Future Dates

Oral arguments	Consideration on briefs
January 6, 7, and 8, 2026, at Portland	Week of January 19, 2026
February 3, 4, and 5, 2026, at Portland	Week of February 16, 2026
March 3, 4, and 5, 2026, at Portland	Week of March 16, 2026
April 7, 8, and 9, 2026, at Augusta	Week of April 20, 2026
May 6, 7, and 8, 2026, location to be announced	Week of May 18, 2026
June 2, 3, and 4, 2026, location to be announced	Week of June 16, 2026
[No oral arguments will be held in July or August 2026]	[No on-briefs consideration will be held in July or August 2026]

Maine.gov

State of Maine Judicial Branch

Supreme Judicial Court Calendar

Oral Arguments: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Oral Arguments: Thursday, January 8, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at Falmouth High School, Falmouth

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Future Dates

Maine.gov

Supreme Judicial Court Calendar

Oral Arguments: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Video Stream

Oral Arguments: Thursday, January 8, 2026 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025 at Falmouth High School, Falmouth

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Future Dates

Oral Arguments: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Thursday, January 8, 2026
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at Falmouth High School, Falmouth

Oral Arguments: Thursday, October 9, 2025
at the Cumberland County Courthouse, Portland