AUGUSTA — Evert Fowle, the longtime district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, has been nominated by Gov. Paul LePage to serve as a District Court judge.
Fowle, 54, of Vassalboro, was first elected as district attorney, as a Democrat, in 2002.
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He is one of four judicial nominations announced by LePage in a news release Tuesday.
“I’m very pleased to receive this nomination and, if I’m confirmed, I’ll do my best to be a good judge,” Fowle said Tuesday.
Fowle would say only that he would accept the judge’s post if his nomination is confirmed. He declined to comment further.
The only downside to Fowle’s nomination is that Kennebec and Somerset counties would lose a great district attorney, said Walter McKee, a prominent defense attorney and past president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
“Evert and I have fought many battles over the years — in court, in his office and before the Legislature,” McKee said. “He has always been very firm but also very fair. I can’t think of two better qualities in a judge.”
Prior to his election as district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, Fowle served as an assistant district attorney for the two counties for 17 years.
In 2009, Fowle applied to become Maine’s U.S. attorney and was a finalist for the post that ultimately went to Thomas Delahanty II.
He is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and Syracuse University College of Law.
“I am happy to put forward this strong group of nominees,” LePage said in the release. “When choosing judges, I put people before politics and my focus remains on selecting nominees who will apply the law in the fair and even-handed manner.”
Judicial nominees are subject to review by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee and confirmation by the full Senate. The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold confirmation hearings on the nominees at 1 p.m. Jan. 24, according to the governor’s office.
There are two District Court vacancies to be filled. One vacancy was created by John O’Neil’s confirmation to the Superior Court. The second vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Joseph Field, of Freeport, who has served on the bench since 1990.
Field’s nomination as an active retired judge of the District Court was one of the other nominations announced by LePage Tuesday.
The others were Nancy Carlson as a District Court judge, and Judge E. Paul Eggert for a third term as a District Court judge.
Carlson, of Dixfield, has served as a Family Court Magistrate since 1998. She previously served as director of the Bureau of Child and Family Services in the Department of Human Services for nearly four years under Govs. Angus King and John McKernan.
Eggert, of Portland, was first nominated to the District Court by King in 1997 and for a second term by Gov. John Baldacci in 2004.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
kedwards@centralmaine.com
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