Me. Code. Jud. Cond. Coverage and Effective Date

As amended through September 25, 2024

Section - Coverage and Effective Date

I. IN GENERAL

(A) Every justice, judge, family law magistrate, active retired justice, and active retired judge of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Superior Court, and the District Court shall comply with the provisions of this Code from the time the justice, judge, or magistrate takes the oath of office.

(B) A judge of the Probate Courts shall comply with the provisions of this Code, except that a judge of probate:

(1) Is required to comply with Rules 2.10 and 3.2 only while serving as a judge, or as to matters pending in the judge's court; and

(2) Is not required to comply with Rules 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11(B), 3.12, and 4.1(A)(1)-(4). A judge of probate shall not, however, act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto.

II. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Code takes effect on September 1, 2015.

III. TIME FOR COMPLIANCE

All persons to whom this Code is applicable on the effective date, and all persons to whom this Code thereafter becomes applicable, shall comply immediately with all provisions of this Code except Rules 3.6, 3.8, 3.11(B), and 3.11(C), and should comply with these provisions as soon as reasonably possible and shall do so in any event within the period of one year.

IV. TITLE

This Code may be known and cited as the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct.

Me. Code. Jud. Cond. Coverage and Effective Date

Adopted July 1, 2015, effective 9/1/2015.

Advisory Notes - 2015

The Coverage and Effective Date section is similar to Part II, sections 1, 2, and 4 of the 1993 Code, with changes in terminology to reference current judicial officers and applicable sections of the revised Code. It is also drawn from the Application section of the ABA Model Code (2011 ed.), but it is very different from the Application section of the ABA Model Code, which addresses in detail categories of judges that are not relevant to Maine practice.

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