A Maine district attorney has been admonished for meeting with a judge about a case without the defendant's attorney present.
The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar panel said Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, met a Superior Court justice in 2014 at his direction to answer questions about a case involving a child who was sexually assaulted.
The defendant in the trial was convicted, but an appeals court ultimately overturned the conviction after the meeting came to light. A new trial was ordered.
The Kennebec Journal reports that Maloney says she realizes now she should have said no to the request.
Admonishment is a non-disciplinary sanction imposed in cases of minor misconduct. It is unclear whether the judge faces disciplinary action.