March 19, 2012
PORTLAND – The ACLU of Maine Foundation will present the 2012 Justice Louis Scolnik Award to Walt McKee on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. A reception for event sponsors will take place immediately preceding the dinner at 6:00 p.m.
“Walt combines a passionate sense of justice with a legendary work ethic,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the ACLU of Maine. “We are proud to recognize him for his extraordinary commitment to improving our criminal justice system.”
McKee chairs the Legislative Committee of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL), appearing regularly before the Maine Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee as a civil liberties volunteer advocate on criminal justice legislation. He has testified on numerous critical criminal justice bills. On many issues, McKee and the ACLU of Maine are the only voices advocating the civil liberties position.
“It takes a lot of courage to advocate for criminal justice reform,” says Bellows. “Walt’s by the book and straightforward style has made him a respected voice on issues that are often controversial.”
As an attorney, McKee has tried over 150 criminal and civil jury trials. His cases have often involved groundbreaking legal issues, such as those in his successful defense of a high profile medical marijuana advocate and a civil lawsuit against a county jail and the medical services contractor over the suicide of an inmate. In 2011, McKee collaborated with the ACLU of Maine on the successful case of State of Maine v. Ronald LaPlante, a critical Fourth Amendment case upholding important limits on the ability of law enforcement to stop motorists.
McKee is in private practice at McKee Law in Augusta. He is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars throughout the state and a regular contributor to legal publications on trial practice and procedure. He has taught criminal legislative changes for most of the past decade at the Maine State Bar Association’s Legal Year in Review and the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Annual CLE. He also chairs the state's Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.
McKee lives in Hallowell with his wife, Kristin Aiello, and their children.
The Scolnik Award, established in 1989, honors members of Maine’s legal community who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the protection of civil liberties. The award is named for former Maine Supreme Court Justice Louis Scolnik. Justice Scolnik was a founder and the first president of the ACLU of Maine.
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