This is a comment on Maine’s Law Day (held every May 1 to celebrate the rule of law) by a former legal aid lawyer for the poor.
The “open courts” provision of the Maine Constitution (Article I, Section 19) creates an important civil right. It guarantees that Maine courts will be fully open to every person on an equal basis and that “right and justice shall be administered freely and without sale, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay.”
This inspiring promise is made so that all civil lawsuits, including those that present issues such as summary judgment, res judicata, equitable estoppel, res ipsa loquitur, quo warranto, ultra vires or other legal issues, will be enforced equally in all trials against both parties, whether a party has an attorney or not. So says the highest court in Maine. See Dyer Goodall and Federle, LLC v. Proctor, 2007 ME 145, ¶ 18, 935 A.2d 1123.
Does anyone, except the Maine Law Court, think that this is even possible? Everybody else knows that it is not.
Donald F. Fontaine, Esq.
Falmouth
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