Warren Silver

From Judgepedia

Warren M. Silver is a current justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He joined this court on July 29, 2005^[1] after an appointment by Governor John Baldacci, a Democrat. His current term expires in 2012.^[2][3]

Biography

Justice Silver was born on February 4, 1948 in Presque Isle, Maine. He received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 1970 and his Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1973.^[4][3]

Legal career

Silver began his legal career working in the General Counsel’s Office of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare and in the General Counsel’s Office of the Election Authority of the District of Columbia. He then worked as a private practice lawyer from 1977. One of his former clients was famous fiction author Steven King. Warren Silver was appointed to the Maine Supreme Court in 2005. ^{[4] [3]}

Associations and Committees

Justice Silver served on the Board of Governors of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and also served as its President, and as Chairman of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's Civil Rules Committee, and the Governor's Judicial selection Committee.^[4][3]

Notable Cases

Moore v. Abbott

Can government officials "pass" on Freedom of Access laws by delegating chores to others?

Dennis Dechaine, an Aroostook County native of the St. John Valley, was convicted in 1989 for the murder of Sarah Cherry in the lower part of the state. Friends and family who thought Dennis was innocent organized a group and called it Trial and Error.^[5]. Though Dennis had a jury trial, the prosecutor from the attorney general's office kept evidence out of trial which would have helped Dennis... and the state's evidence was circumstantial. Dennis' guilt was never proven by that famous standard "beyond a shadow of a doubt."

In 2005, legislation changing Maine's post-conviction DNA statutes were passed, which took effect in September of 2006. Around that time, Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe, pressured by allegations of a flawed investigation and trial, ordered an investigation. He chose two attorneys (one with the last name Abbott) and a retired judge to perform the investigation; they were named the "Beaulieu Commission." When the investigation was completed in the autumn of 2006, the Commission's finding of "no wrongdoing" was reported to the public. James Moore - a retired Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent and the author of books about the murder case - made Freedom of Access requests to obtain the information the Commission had relied on to form its opinion. After his requests were denied, James Moore filed a lawsuit... and subsequently an appeal of the Cumberland County Superior Court decision^[6]. The Maine Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus curaie in support of petitioner, Moore. The Maine Supreme Court upheld the ruling^[7]. Justices Alexander, Gorman, and Silver made up the majority, which felt since the Commission members volunteered their services, they were not subject to Maine's Freedom of Access laws. From Justice Levy's dissent, in which Justice Mead joined:

"The investigatory panel organized by the Attorney General was clearly performing a traditional government function—the internal investigation of allegations of prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct"... and thus concluded that "the records of the investigatory panel organized by the Attorney General are subject to the Freedom of Access Act, 1 M.R.S. §§ 401-412 (2007)."

Before his trial in 1989, Dennis asked to have his DNA tested and offered to pay the cost, but his request was denied. Supporters believe that a jury of reasonable persons could come to a different conclusion based on new evidence, or evidence previously withheld from the jury^[5]Dennis' attorney filed a motion for a new trial in August of 2008.^[8].

External links

• Biographies of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court justices
• Trial and Error website
• Moore v. Abbott (2008 ME 100)
• Dechaine case - Motion for New Trial

References

v • d • e Maine Supreme Court Current Chief: Saufley • Alexander • Clifford • Gorman • Levy • Mead • Silver Former Parris • Hornby • Fox • Carter • Lipez • Brody • Mellen