AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The chief justice of the Maine Supreme Court delivered her annual report on how Maine's court system is faring Thursday morning.
In her State of the Judiciary speech, Chief Justice Leigh Saufley covered a number of issues including courthouse security, domestic violence initiatives, and progress in moving towards an electronic records system.
Chief Justice Saufley said increasing security at Maine courthouses should be a top priority, and converting court documents from a paper-based system to an electronic database would improve access to court records and make the judicial system more efficient.
Saufley also said there have been improvements in prosecuting domestic violence cases, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
"The attorney general reports that in 2012, there were 25 unlawful homicides in Maine, and of those, the attorney general classifies 11 as domestic violence related," "Chief Justice Saufley said. "It will be a good year when I can stand here and report that the attorney general says no lives were taken as a result of domestic violence."
Chief Justice Saufley urged lawmakers to work together to make the best use of resources and to fine-tune laws to try to reduce domestic violence.
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