Maine Supreme Court Justice Catherine Connors speaks during testimony in a session at Lewiston High School in October. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court remanded a report back to a judicial review committee, saying it must be more specific in recommending disciplinary action against a justice.

The Committee on Judicial Conduct recommended sanctions against Justice Catherine Connors in October. The committee said that Connors, a former attorney who represented banks, violated the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct by failing to recuse herself from two cases that weakened protections for homeowners facing foreclosure.

The committee, which conducts ethics proceedings in secret, filed its decision on Oct. 11. It came after Thomas A. Cox, a foreclosure attorney based in Yarmouth, filed a complaint against Connors in January, arguing that she had a conflict of interest.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court sent the decision back to the committee Thursday, writing that the committee did not recommend specific formal disciplinary action or clearly outline its findings.

The committee must decide if it wants to recommend specific action before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court can act on the recommendation, the justices wrote.

In the two foreclosure cases in question – Finch v. U.S. Bank,. N.A. and J.P. Morgan Chase Acquisition Corp v. Camille J. Moulton – the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of banks, with Connors in the majority. The cases overturned precedent established in a series of 2017 cases that protected homeowners by deeming mortgages unenforceable if lenders failed to meet the requirements for notices of default.

Connors has a long history of representing banks and filed briefs representing banks and banking interests in the precedent-setting cases.

If specific discipline is recommended, it is likely that Connors’ fate would be up to her fellow justices. However, Thursday’s order noted that the justices are open to alternatives that would not require them to weigh an ethics complaint against a colleague. Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill and Justice Andrew Mead have already recused themselves from the matter, the order said.

It’s uncommon for judges in Maine to be sanctioned. Maine does not allow its top court to remove a judge for unethical conduct – that power is reserved for the Legislature – so it is unlikely that Connors will receive more than a slap on the wrist if she is formally disciplined.