Emily Allen

Press Herald

Emily covers courts for the Press Herald. Before moving to Maine in March 2022, she spent nearly three years in West Virginia, reporting on the southern coalfields, local and state government for West Virginia Public Broadcasting and Mountain State Spotlight, a nonprofit newsroom. Hailing from the upper Midwest, Emily cut her teeth covering city government for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus. When she's not working, Emily's usually reading (and is always on the hunt for good book recommendations).

Latest

Published
July 11, 2023

Former York special education teacher sues district for discrimination

Michele Figueira says the school created a hostile work environment in which she was discriminated against for being gay.
Published
July 11, 2023

Man pleads guilty to murder charge in 2012 Portland shooting

Zachary Phach, 33, will serve 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing Matthew Blanchard.
Published
July 10, 2023

Hollis man indicted on manslaughter charge in fatal motorcycle crash

Ernest Dubeau, 39, told police he did not see Richard Bernard, 47, on his motorcycle before he turned left toward Hodgdon Road in Gorham and Bernard crashed into his truck.
Published
July 9, 2023

Maine’s new public defenders aim to close attorney shortage in rural areas

The five-member Rural Defender Unit is representing people in places like Aroostook and Washington counties, where many cannot afford – or find – a lawyer.
Published
July 7, 2023

Alfred man charged with murder in wife’s killing pleads not guilty

James Crow, who was charged with murder in April, has a long history of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Published
July 6, 2023

New Maine wrongful death law ties cap on damages to inflation, extends time limit to sue

Gov. Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law Thursday without her signature. Another bill that would have extended the statute of limitations on medical negligence claims failed to get support.
Published
July 4, 2023

New state legal defense director wants to bring young attorneys in to do ‘important work’

Jim Billings took over the reins of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services last month, joining the agency that is severely struggling to find enough attorneys to represent poor Mainers.
Published
July 3, 2023

Judge denies request to throw out evidence in decade-old murder trial

Zachary Phach, 33, is scheduled to be tried beginning July 17 on a murder charge in the death of Matthew Blanchard in 2012.
Published
June 28, 2023

Maine AG files complaint against Florida woman accused of making racist threats in Kennebunkport

Police say Vicki Lush, 66, called a Korean woman from Massachusetts a ‘foreigner,’ and told her to go back to ‘your country’ before threatening to hit her with a van.
Published
June 26, 2023

Maine legislative agenda could chip away at lawsuit’s gripes against indigent defense system

A lawsuit against the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services has been quietly pending for more than a year. And while neither group will talk about its progress, a number of pending bills take aim at fixing the system.