Thomas Delahanty II, former US attorney, dead at 75

FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Thomas Delahanty II, a longtime state judge who twice served as U.S. attorney, has died at 75.

Delahanty first served as U.S. attorney under President Jimmy Carter and then again under President Barack Obama. But he spent the bulk of his career as a state superior court justice in Auburn. His death on Monday was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Maine judiciary.

Former Lewiston Mayor Jim Howaniec, a defense lawyer, called Delahanty a “titan” of the state’s legal profession who had a great sense of humor and enjoyed banter with staff when he was off the bench.

“He could be very difficult during a trial, but beneath the surface, he was always focused on doing the right thing,” Howaniec said Wednesday.

Delahanty was appointed to the superior court in 1983 and served as its chief justice from 1990 to 1995. He left the court in 2010 when he was appointed U.S. attorney by Obama.

Gov. Janet Mills called Delahanty “a champion of justice” and praised him for bringing together law enforcement, education and drug treatment groups to address the opioid epidemic.

He came from a family of attorneys. His grandfather was John David Clifford Jr., a federal judge, and his father, Thomas E. Delahanty, served on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.