BANGOR, Maine — U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. will take active senior status in the summer of 2017, according to a press release issued Thursday by the federal court.
That will create a vacancy on the federal court bench in Maine that most likely will not be filled until after a new president and Congress are sworn in next year, according to a joint statement issued late Thursday by the representatives of Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King.
“Judge Woodcock has served our nation well, and Senators Collins and King appreciate the ample notice he has provided of his intention to assume senior status in June of 2017,” it said. “Senators Collins and King intend to assemble a judicial screening panel next year in the months prior to Judge Woodcock assuming senior status and look forward to recommending a slate of well-qualified candidates for consideration.”
Woodcock, 66, of Hampden was nominated in March 2003 by President George W. Bush after U.S. District Judge Gene Carter assumed senior status at the age of 66.
He will relocate his chambers from Bangor to Portland but will continue to hear cases throughout the state. How many cases Woodcock handles per year will be up to him.
Judges are allowed to move to active senior status after they have reached the age of 65 and been on the bench for 15 years.
U.S. District Judges D. Brock Hornby and George Z. Singal are on active senior status.
Woodcock is a native of Bangor and practiced law for 25 years before being sworn to the federal bench in June 2003. Before becoming a judge, he was a partner at the Bangor law firm of Weatherbee, Woodcock, Burlock and Woodcock.
He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, the London School of Economics and the University of Maine School of Law. He served as chief district judge from 2009 to 2015 when he oversaw extensive building renovations to courthouses in Bangor and in Portland.
Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen said in the press release that Woodcock’s intellect, integrity, experience and work ethic have earned him have earned him the admiration and respect of his colleagues and of the bar.
His move to active senior status will create a vacancy on the federal bench in Bangor.
After Woodcock moves to active senior status, Torresen, U.S. District Judge Jon Levy and Woodcock’s replacement will be the active federal judges in Maine.
The names of potential federal nominees are sent to the White House by members of Maine’s congressional delegation who are in the same party as the sitting president. The president chooses a nominee from those names.
The nominee appears at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which makes a recommendation to the full Senate. Senators then vote on whether the nominee should be confirmed.