A Washington County probate judge has been sanctioned by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for not dealing with cases fast enough.
Judge Lyman L. Holmes was ordered by justices on Thursday to provide a list of cases taken under advisement for more than 30 days to the executive director of the Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability for every month until next August.
Probate judges are elected. They handle adoptions, wills, guardianships, estates and name changes.
Holmes has been the probate judge in Washington County for 22 years.
The Bangor Daily News reports that the sanction order says some people had to wait years for Holmes to make a decision in cases that should have taken months.
Holmes could not be reached for comment.
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Washington County Probate Judge Sanctioned
6 comments:
My case, like too many others, also took years, which took its toll on me and gave the lawyers, judges and others plenty of opportunity to take advantage of me. This is how the perps operate, and this is another reason why we need laws that will make it simpler to prove right from wrong, especially when it comes down to proving the negligence and unethical conduct of judges and lawyers.
Boy this is an important story. The elderly don't have time to wait. Probate court needs to be on a fast track.
So many judges do this - delay, delay, delay, until you go away.
How many victims die during the litigation, like Dorothy Wilson, for instance?
Sometimes judges let lawyers drag cases out for years and years.
It's not right and I'm glad to see one judge held accountable!
It's about time ......guardianship cases are supposed to be resolved within 30 days not 30 weeks or years to run the bills.
I would think that every court has rules for disposition. The problem is: are they enforcing their rules or not?
And if not, why not?
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