Lance Edward Walker (born March 13, 1972) is the chief United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of ...

. He was formerly a justice of the

Maine Superior Court The Maine Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the Maine state court system. All state jury trials are held in the Superior Court. The court is located in each of Maine's 16 counties (with two locations in Aroostook Cou ...

Education

Walker was born on March 13, 1972, in

Milo, Maine Milo is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2020 census. Milo includes the village of Derby. The town sits in the valley of the Piscataquis, Sebec and Pleasant Rivers in the foothills of the Lo ...

.Lawyer Central Profile
/ref> His father was an engineer for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. When Walker was in fifth grade, his family moved to

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine Dover-Foxcroft is the largest town in and the seat of Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,422 at the 2020 census. The town is located near the geographic center of the state. History Dover-Foxcroft was originally t ...

, where his parents owned a hardware store and travel agency. In 1990, Walker graduated from

Foxcroft Academy Foxcroft Academy is a private preparatory high school located in Dover-Foxcroft, Piscataquis County, Maine. Foxcroft Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and a member of the Independent School Associa ...

. He earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in philosophy from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

and obtained a

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 ...

with honors 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 ...

."United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees"

Career

From 1996 to 1997 he was a salesperson for Nemer Ford in

Queensbury, New York Queensbury is a town in Warren County, New York, United States. The population was 29,169 at the 2020 census.US Census 2020 Report, QUickFacts Queeensbury town https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/queensburytownwarrencountynewyork It contains the c ...

. From 1998 to 1999 he was a sales clerk for Riverside Exxon in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

and later a teaching assistant at the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Gorham and Portland, Maine, United States. It is the southernmost university in the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Go ...

. In 1999 he was in private practice in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. Upon graduation from law school, Walker served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Justices Atwood, Marden, and Studstrup of the

for one year. Before his nomination to the bench by

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 ...

Paul LePage Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 20 ...

, he worked in private practice at the

, law firm of Norman Hanson & DeTroy. For approximately thirteen years he handled

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an Injury (law), injury to the body, mind, or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law, common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the ...

and

products liability Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has br ...

claims for insurance companies. He tried twenty cases to verdict.

State judicial service

Walker was nominated to the state district court by Governor

on February 7, 2014, and his appointment was unanimously confirmed by the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

soon thereafter. Walker was sworn into office on May 2, 2014. On May 26, 2015, Walker was nominated to the

by Governor

. He was unanimously confirmed by the Maine Senate. He was sworn in on June 17, 2015. Walker's service on the state bench terminated when he became a federal judge.

Federal judicial service

Walker was recommended to the White House for a federal judgeship by U.S. Senators

Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of ...

and

Angus King Angus Stanley King Jr. (born March 31, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician who has served since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Maine. A Independent politician, political independent, h ...

of Maine. On April 10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

nominated Walker to serve as a United States district judge of the

. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge

John A. Woodcock Jr. John Alden Woodcock Jr. (born July 6, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine. Education and career Born in Bangor, Maine, Woodcock received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowd ...

, who assumed senior status on June 27, 2017. On June 6, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. On June 28, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. On October 11, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by

. He received his judicial commission on October 17, 2018. Walker became chief judge on March 18, 2024. Walker rejected challenges to Maine's

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-wi ...

system by former Republican U.S. Representative

Bruce Poliquin Bruce Lee Poliquin (; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Maine's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Poliquin ...

, who was seeking to have ranked-choice voting declared unconstitutional in order to initiate a new election after narrowly losing his seat to

Jared Golden Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2018 ...

Memberships

On his Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire, Walker reported being a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

(1997–2002), the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(2001–present), the Woodlands Club (2007–2010), Scarborough Fish & Game Club (2012–2015), and the Maine

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

(2010–2015).

Political activities

He was appointed by Governor Paul LePage in 2012 to serve on the Board of the Combat Sports Authority of Maine. He served on the board from 2012 to 2013.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Lance Edward 1972 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maine Justices of the Maine Superior Court Maine state court judges People from Piscataquis County, Maine Lawyers from Portland, Maine Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump University of Maine alumni University of Maine School of Law alumni University of Maine School of Law faculty