North School Congregate Housing v. Merrithew

HORNBY, Justice.

When a landlord uses Maine’s Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) statute to evict a tenant, is the tenant entitled to a jury trial under the Maine Constitution? The answer to that question requires a review of some 200 years of history. We conclude that, until the 1960’s, jury trials were always available in suits of this general nature and that the Maine Constitution requires them to be available now.

The material facts of the case are simple. The landlord served a notice to quit upon the tenant alleging that she had violated her lease by disruptive behavior. It then brought…