Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

AUGUSTA

Governor's district judge nominee approved

Hallowell resident earns unanimous approval

By Susan M. Cover scover@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media State House Writer

AUGUSTA -- A Hallowell resident who is Gov. John Baldacci's chief legal counsel earned unanimous support Wednesday from the Legislature's Judiciary Committee in his bid to become a District Court judge.

Patrick Ende, who spent more than 20 years working on behalf of low-income residents before taking a job in the governor's office, will now have his name forwarded to the Senate for consideration. If confirmed, he will be eligible to serve a seven-year term as a judge.

A native of New York, Ende came to Presque Isle to work for Pine Tree Legal in the early 1980s after earning a law degree at New York University.

He later moved to the Augusta branch and, in 1998, became litigation director for Maine Equal Justice. He came to work for Baldacci in 2004 as a senior policy adviser, and became his chief legal counsel in 2008.

"I believe I have the temperament and the integrity to do this," he told the committee.

Committee members said they did extra digging into Ende's resume because they did not want his nomination to be perceived as merely a political appointment.

"I didn't want you to think you would get a free pass because of your background," said Rep. Jarrod Crockett, R-Bethel.

Crockett said he and others had private meetings with Ende prior to Wednesday's hearing.

Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, asked Ende how much time he had spent in a courtroom. "You're going back to the trenches of family law, criminal law and mental health law," he said.

Ende said that, while at Pine Tree Legal, he spent time in District Court representing clients facing evictions, foreclosures, domestic relations problems and divorce. He also served as a lawyer when the group sued the state in federal court over policies they felt were unfair.

Several people spoke in favor of the nomination, including Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Brenda Harvey, who worked closely with Ende when he was a liaison to the governor's office handling matters related to human services. Others included Attorney General Janet Mills, Dan Stevens of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and Preti Flaherty lawyer Charles Dingman.

Mills said she's spent "hundred of hours" with Ende poring over legal matters.

She acknowledged that some lawmakers might be concerned about Ende's background with Pine Tree Legal.

"I know what I'd say if I was sitting on your side of the horseshoe," said Mills, a former member of the Judiciary Committee. "I'd be saying bleeding heart, bleeding heart, bleeding heart."

But she said those in the attorney general's office have come to "treasure his advice."

"He's seen good judges, he's seen bad judges," she said. "I know he will grow in the job. He won't put on a black robe and say I've reached the pinnacle."

Others praised Ende's optimism, his intellect and his work ethic, which often leads him to send e-mails at all hours of the day and night, said his colleague Karla Black, Baldacci's deputy legal counsel.

No one testified in opposition to Ende's nomination.

The full Senate will consider his nomination on Wednesday, along with more than 70 other recommended appointments to other groups such as the ethics commission, Public Utilities Commission, and state board of corrections.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@mainetoday.com