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Maine Judicial Branch Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill Commemorates "Law Day" 2026
Date: 4/30/2026
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill released this statement commemorating Law Day 2026:
"Law Day is celebrated on May 1 and throughout the month of May in the United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established it in 1958 to celebrate the rule of law in our constitutional democracy. Eisenhower, a former five-star Army general during World War II, saw first-hand what happened when a country rejects the rule of law in favor of indiscriminate rule by dictators.
"It is particularly appropriate to celebrate this day in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, our forefathers listed the 'repeated injuries' suffered from Great Britain, leading to revolution and the beginning of the United States. Among the injuries identified were the Kings refusal to establish an independent judiciary. The Constitution begins with the words: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
"An independent judiciary was thus established as one of the three co-equal branches of government. Our Constitutions - both state and federal - ensure that all people, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated by the Legislature, equally enforced by the Executive, and independently adjudicated by the Judiciary.
"In 1788, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 78 that the limits on the power of the federal government may only be preserved through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing. An independent judiciary, he wrote, is the bulwark against encroachments on individual rights by the other branches of government.
"As Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, I am honored to be entrusted with guarding the independent rule of law essential to maintaining a free society. To all the justices, judges and employees of the Maine Judicial Branch, I thank you for sharing this duty with me. To the people of Maine, you have my word that the Maine State Court System is dedicated to upholding its duty to protect the rule of law and the rights and privileges of the people of this state. This is what we celebrate on Law Day."