Stephanie Anderson, District Attorney
Dear Residents of Cumberland County:
If you are a victim or have information about a crime, we need you to help us hold the offender accountable by being a witness. We recognize that you have been thrust into this process involuntarily, and that it can be confusing, frustrating, and anxiety–provoking. As stressful as your involvement can be, it is outweighed by helping us to create a safer environment for you, your family and your neighbors.
To make this easier for you, we strive to answer all your questions either on this web site, in our brochure, our letters and through our office. We can tell you what your legal rights and responsibilities are as well as offer a general overview of this office and the court system.
We do everything we can to keep you informed, answer your questions, and help you along the way. We want you to feel informed, heard, respected, and well treated. At the end, we want you to feel that justice was done and that you were a vital part of it. We want you to feel safe and have confidence and trust in the police, this office, and the court system. If we can do anything to help you, we want you to let us know. Thank you very much for your assistance and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Anderson
Cumberland County District Attorney
About District Attorney Anderson
By law, the District Attorney is required to prosecute all criminal cases (except murders, which are handled by the Attorney General) which occur within that district. Maine is divided into eight prosecutorial districts. Cumberland County is District #2, and because Cumberland County has about 260,000 residents, it is a district all by itself.
All District Attorneys are elected by the citizens of their districts, serve four-year terms and are required by law to reside in Cumberland County.
Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson has been elected five consecutive times by the people of Prosecutorial District Number Two. She first took office in January, 1991. In 2001 her office prosecuted over 27,000 cases. Were her office in the private sector, it would be considered the 13th largest law firm in the State of Maine. So far she has accomplished many “firsts” and “onlys” for the county and the state.
- She was the first female District Attorney for Cumberland County
- She is currently the only female District Attorney serving the State of Maine
- She established Maine’s first Drug Treatment Court named Project Exodus.
- She established Maine’s first Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit
A Maine native, her parents are both from Brunswick. From the third grade through high school Anderson lived in Elliot, Maine where she attended the local public school system. Directly from Marshwood High, Anderson attended the University of Maine, Orono.
She attained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1974. Upon graduation she worked as a Marketing Analyst for the State Development Office. For three years Ms. Anderson drafted economic reports aimed to attract out-of-state businesses to Maine. She also acted as a Legislative liaison for economic development bills. She resigned in 1977 to attend law school at the Maine School of Law in Portland, Maine.
Anderson was hired fresh out of law school as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York with 75 other new attorneys. She was a supervisor for a time before being assigned to the Homicide Bureau as a Senior Trial Attorney where she tried one murder case after another. Anderson resigned her position in 1985 to return to Maine.
Upon returning to Maine, Anderson started her own practice in an office on Milk Street in the Old Port. Her practice was immediately successful having garnered a reputation as a tough New York homicide prosecutor. She tried civil cases for other attorneys while representing a long list of criminal defendants. After five years, Anderson won her 1990 bid for District Attorney in a hotly contested race.
As District Attorney Stephanie Anderson’s mission includes “…the prompt, effective and compassionate prosecution of all cases in a manner that protects the constitutional and legal rights of the accused, advocates for the interest of the victim, respects law enforcement agencies, promotes public safety, and responsibly stewards public resources.”
Anderson is or has been affiliated with the following:
- Director, National District Attorney’s Association
- Director, Maine Prosecutor’s Association
- Founder and Director, Project Exodus (Maine’s first drug court program)
- Member, Maine Criminal Justice Commission
- Member, Portland Mayor’s Gang Task Force
- Member, Victim Rights Working Group
- Member, National Advisory Committee of fight Crime: Invest in Kids
- Member, Portland Terrorism Task Force
- Member, Maine Anti-Terrorism Task Force
