{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-collins-king-announce-maine-superior-court-justice-lance-walker-is-confirmed-by-senate-unanimously", "Senators Collins, King Announce Maine Superior Court Justice Lance Walker is Confirmed by Senate Unanimously", "2018-10-11", "2018", "2018-10", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington,\r\nD.C.\r\n U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the Senate\r\nunanimously approved the nomination of Maine Superior Court Justice Lance\r\nWalker, a native of Piscataquis County, to serve on the U.S. District Court for\r\nthe District of Maine.  During\r\nhis nearly two decades of experience as both an attorney in private practice\r\nand as a judge in Maine's judicial system, Justice Walker has demonstrated that\r\nhe has the intelligence, temperament, and integrity required for this important\r\nposition, said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.\r\nJustice Walker has made numerous contributions to Maine's legal community and\r\nwill serve our state well as a federal judge. We are pleased that the\r\nSenate unanimously approved his nomination.  Justice\r\nWalker has served on the Maine Superior Court in Portland since 2015, when he\r\nwas unanimously confirmed by the Maine Senate. He has presided over some\r\nof the state's most complex criminal and civil cases, appeals, post-conviction\r\nreviews, and jury trials.  Prior\r\nto his service on the Maine Superior Court, Justice Walker was appointed and\r\nunanimously confirmed to the Maine District Court bench, where he presided over\r\na wide variety of dockets, primarily in Androscoggin and Oxford Counties. He also worked for more than a dozen years in the Portland law firm Norman,\r\nHanson & DeTroy as an experienced trial and appellate attorney as well as a\r\nlegal consultant specializing in complex litigation and insurance law. He\r\nbecame a partner after six years. Justice\r\nWalker has tried cases before juries and judges across the state and in federal\r\ncourt. He has argued several appeals before the Maine Supreme Judicial\r\nCourt and the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. He has been\r\nselected for recognition in respected peer-reviewed legal publications such as\r\nBenchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. As a\r\njudge, he has spoken with recovering addicts and caregivers on the issue of\r\nopioid addiction and its intersection with the criminal justice system.  Justice\r\nWalker was born in Milo and raised in Dover-Foxcroft, where his parents owned\r\nand operated a hardware store and travel agency. His father was also an\r\nengineer on the Canadian Pacific Railway in Brownville Junction. After\r\ngraduating from Foxcroft Academy in 1990, Justice Walker attended the\r\nUniversity of Maine, earning a B.A. in philosophy, and the University of Maine\r\nSchool of Law, graduating with honors. Justice\r\nWalker lives in Falmouth with his wife, Heidi, and their two daughters, Ava and\r\nDylan. He will be assigned to the U.S. District Court in Bangor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-collins-king-announce-maine-superior-court-justice-lance-walker-is-confirmed-by-senate-unanimously"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8317867070436478, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}