William Blaisdell answers questions from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland on Tuesday. Blaisdell, a probate judge in Hancock County, was accused of not paying child support or filing his taxes and faces sanctions or removal by the high court. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Maine’s highest court is considering whether to discipline an elected probate judge in Ellsworth who failed to file three years’ worth of taxes and pay tens of thousands of dollars in child support.

William Blaisdell, 54, was found in contempt of court in Waldo County in March because he was behind on more than $33,000 in child support payments to his ex-wife. He had to pay her $50,000, including attorney fees and interest, to avoid a 90-day jail sentence, according to court records. He also has not filed at least three years of tax returns from 2020 to 2022, records state.

Blaisdell appeared before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland on Tuesday afternoon as the court’s Committee on Judicial Conduct recommended he be removed from office in light of these failures. Because he’s an elected official, only legislative authorities can remove him, not the court.

He told the court he would like to keep his judgeship, and has no plans to resign. He said he’s been in office for a little more than nine years, holding court for at least one day a week and earning $30,000 yearly. His term ends in 2026.

Blaisdell declined to speak with a reporter after the hearing. The high court has no timeline for its decision.

The judicial committee began its investigation into Blaisdell after a district judge in Belfast reported him to the committee and the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. Blaisdell also runs his own law firm in Ellsworth.

John McArdle, a lawyer for the committee, told the justices Tuesday that Blaisdell has also failed to respond to or comply with his group’s review earlier this year.

“Judges are held to higher standards of ethical conduct,” McArdle said during the hearing. “He knows better.”

John McArdle, an attorney for the court’s Committee on Judicial Conduct, speaks about his investigation into Hancock County Probate Judge William Blaisdell. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Blaisdell told the court that he didn’t comply with the committee’s requests because he had been struggling with his physical and mental health. He also mentioned that he was overwhelmed with court-appointed criminal defense and child-custody cases.

Blaisdell was suspended from taking more court-appointed cases on Friday, according to the director of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, which oversees the list of attorneys eligible to take on that work.

The commission’s investigations are not public, but according to a letter of suspension, Executive Director Jim Billings determined that Blaisdell “is no longer qualified to provide quality indigent legal services based on the nature of a complaint or allegation, and on further investigation by the executive director.” Blaisdell is not allowed to take any new court-appointed cases and he has until the end of the week to report his active court-appointed cases, to determine whether he can keep them.

The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar also is considering discipline against Blaisdell but has not yet posted any public decisions.

“I have made mistakes and I have taken full ownership of them,” Blaisdell said.

He said he accepts responsibility for his actions, although the justices repeatedly questioned him on that.

POSSIBLE DISCIPLINE

Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill wondered how effective requesting Blaisdell’s removal would be, given there’s no guarantee that legislative authorities would agree.

“And then wouldn’t we be in the position of having imposed no sanctions at all?” Stanfill asked.

Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill listens as William Blaisdell answers questions on Tuesday. Blaisdbell, a probate judge in Hancock County, is facing sanctions from the high court. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

She also questioned whether the court could issue more than one sanction against Blaisdell. Previous sanctions against Maine judges, although rare, have included suspensions and reprimands. McArdle said he wasn’t aware of any cases in which the court has requested both removal and another sanction.

McArdle argued that stripping Blaisdell of his judgeship was the strongest way of addressing Blaisdell’s misconduct, which he said “undermines the public confidence and the integrity of this judiciary.”

“In the last decade, there has been an erosion of public trust and confidence in various governmental institutions, the rule of law and in the judicial process,” McArdle wrote to the court in May. “This is due, in part, because many people have seen and believe those in positions of authority and power live by a separate set of rules, and they are either above the law and/or are not held fully accountable for their actions.”

Blaisdell suggested censure, or even a “suspended suspension” would be appropriate. Allowing him to remain on the bench would show that judges are human, Blaisdell argued, and deserve second chances.

The justices didn’t seem satisfied with those suggestions.

“Do you think that’s adequate?” asked Associate Justice Rick Lawrence. “Censure?”

District Judge Eric Walker, who oversaw Blaisdell’s child custody and support case with his ex-wife last year, is the one who asked the bar to investigate Blaisdell for potential misconduct.

“Mr. Blaisdell is making a considerable income but has neglected or refused to file his taxes,” Walker wrote in a letter to the board in September.

During that case, Walker had estimated that Blaisdell had a gross personal income in 2023 of $326,000 and increased Blaisdell’s child support payments.

Blaisdell then stopped making those payments. District Judge Patricia Worth in Belfast later found Blaisdell in contempt of court on March 8, after Blaisdell failed to provide court-ordered information on his finances. Worth also found that Blaisdell had failed to pay his child support “despite having the means to do so.”

Blaisdell said Tuesday he had intended to pay his ex-wife the child support that day but was overwhelmed with his work as a lawyer. The court questioned why Blaisdell then waited until March 20 to make the payment.

This story was updated on July 31 to correct the name of Associate Justice Rick Lawrence.