Month: February 2020

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed district court judge Guilford’s ruling that delays of one day do not violate the First Amendment. Courthouse News Serv v. Yamasaki, 950 F.3d 640 (9th Cir. 2020) (reversing, Courthouse News Serv v. Yamasaki, Courthouse News Serv. v. Yamasaki, 312 F. Supp. 3d 844 (C.D. Cal. 2018).

Ninth Circuit Order: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/17-56331/17-56331-2020-02-24.html

Judge Andrew Guilford’s Order: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.668466/gov.uscourts.cacd.668466.186.0.pdf

Portland Press Herald 2/18/2020

These measures would largely apply to nonviolent and low-level felonies and would exclude any crimes against a child or person over age 65.

QUESTION: IF court records are expunged after the records have been posted on the Internet–is there a way to expunge records from all online sources (e.g., facebook, google).

SHORT ANSWER: NO. Once court records go online, they live forever.

Here is a link to the Press Herald story about LD 1897

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/02/18/maine-legislature-considers-bill-to-expunge-some-convictions-from-public-records/

Pierce Atwood’s Joshua D. Dunlap, Esq. posted a blog summarizing his observations about the Maine State Bar Association’s interesting and informative sneak preview of the new user-friendly streamlined system.

Dunlap opined that the tools would be helpful for appellate practitioners, but that all lawyers will need to pay attention to the system and to remember their obligations to supervise their assistants and ensure compliance with all filing requirements.

Additionally, he explained that in addition to the roll out in the first judicial region, the court is also considering including Law Court appeals and Business and Consumer Docket Cases in in the initial implementation.

His full blog appears on his firm’s website at:

On January 31, 2020 Maine lawyers began learning about e-filing. Highlights included learning that the system would be easy to use from remote locations, but that only lawyers (not their administrative staff) would be responsible for filing. ALSO the system will roll out in one judicial district, but that any lawyers/parties called into that district will be required to comply with the e-filing rules that have not yet been issued by the court. Most troubling–with rare exception, the court will require all parties will file electronically—there will be limited assistance available for those who cannot understand the system or must file in paper format.