Opinion of the Justices

*980OPINION OF THE JUSTICES

To the Honorable Senate of the State of Maine:

In compliance with the provisions of section 3 of Article VI of the Constitution of Maine, we, the undersigned Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, give the following opinion upon the questions propounded to us by the Senate on March 3, 1980.

QUESTION 1: Would S. P. 775, L. D. 1968, “AN ACT to Transfer Probate Jurisdiction to the Superior Court,” if enacted, constitute a violation of the Constitution of Maine, Article V, Part First, Section 8, which excludes the ap*981pointment of “judges of probate” from the Governor’s…