Daniel Everett "Dan" Wathen (born November 4, 1939, in

Easton, Maine Easton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. History In 1851, the first known residence in the Easton wilderness was built by Henry Wilson, who had taught school in Presque Isle. When ...

) is an American lawyer and politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. He was Chief Justice of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...

from March 1992 until October 2001, when he resigned to

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

for

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

as a Republican. He was replaced as chief justice by

Leigh Saufley Leigh Ingalls Saufley (born June 21, 1954) is an American lawyer who is the dean of the University of Maine School of Law. She was previously Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Saufley grew up in South Portland, Maine, and atten ...

. At the time of his gubernatorial campaign announcement, many pollsters and academics did not believe Wathen would factor into the 2002 gubernatorial election. He ultimately dropped out of the race the next month. Wathen is a native of Easton in

Aroostook County, Maine Aroostook County ( ; ) is the northernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maine. It is located along the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 67,105. The county ...

. He graduated from

Ricker College Ricker College was a small college located in Houlton, Maine, United States. It opened in and closed in . It began as Houlton Academy in 1848, before being subsequently renamed Ricker Classical Institute in 1887. It became Ricker Junior Colleg ...

in Houlton and earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is a Public university, public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Ma ...

. He also holds a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. As of 2010, Wathen oversaw court-ordered improvements in mental health services. Wathen testified before the Health and Human Services committee of the

Maine legislature The Maine State Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. ...

that cuts to mental health services would be "illusory" and the proposed cuts would be spent elsewhere, such as in prison services for mentally ill people. Attorney General

Janet Mills Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2019 as the 75th governor of Maine. She previously served as Maine Attorney General. A member of the Democratic Party, Mills was first elected a ...

defended Governor

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he also served in the United States House of Representatives from 199 ...

's plan to cut mental health services. As of 2011, Wathen was the board chairman of the

Maine Turnpike Authority Interstate 95 (I-95) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Miami, Florida to Houlton, Maine. The highway enters Maine from the New Hampshire state line in Kittery and runs for to the Canada–United Sta ...

. Since 2002, he has served as

Of Counsel Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...

for

Pierce Atwood LLP Pierce Atwood LLP is an American law firm based in New England. It is the third largest firm in Maine and one of the largest in northern New New England. The firm has offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Boston, Mas ...

, a law firm which has an office based in

Augusta, Maine Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...

.Pierce Atwood LLP profile
/ref> In April 2013, Governor Paul R. LePage nominated him to serve as co-chair of the Maine Unemployment Investigation Commission. Following a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in 2023, committed by a mentally disturbed Army reservist, Governor

appointed Wathen to chair a seven-member independent commission to investigate the tragedy. The commission concluded that both police and the Army Reserve missed opportunities to prevent the shooting.Army and police missed opportunities to potentially stop Maine mass shooter, report says
CBS News (August 20, 2024).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wathen, Daniel 1939 births Living people People from Aroostook County, Maine Maine lawyers Ricker College alumni University of Maine School of Law alumni Chief justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court University of Virginia School of Law alumni Justices of the Maine Superior Court