Andrew Lizotte, currently an assistant U.S. attorney in Bangor, is on track to become a District Court judge in Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties.

A public hearing on Lizotte’s appointment is scheduled for March 6. District Court judges are appointed by the governor but are reviewed by a legislative judiciary committee and must be confirmed by the state Senate.

On Thursday, Lizotte said he was unable to comment on the nomination and directed a reporter to materials provided by the governor’s office, which included two applications.

Lizotte, of Dover-Foxcroft, first applied for the role in 2021. A resubmitted application in January is shorter and focuses on providing an update on his experience since.

Lizotte began his career at legal practices in New York but has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Maine since 2014, first in Portland and then in Bangor. In his original application, the nominee noted he was possibly the first person in his role at the Portland office to take their career northward.

“Colleagues reacted to my move with some surprise. But my primary reason for doing so was simple, ” Lizotte wrote. “I understand how special it is to live and work here. I have a deep, bordering on protective, affinity for this area and its people. … As a federal prosecutor who lives and works in the Maine Highlands, I think I have a unique understanding of the area’s challenges.”

While he focused on federal law in his current role, Lizotte wrote in his 2021 application that his work in Maine has resulted in plenty of experience with state laws, noting that “it should be directly transferable to the bench.”

In his January application, he said he has since “further developed expertise in state law matters common to the District Court.”

“For me, the principle that ‘public service is a public trust’ is not an abstraction,” Lizotte’s most recent application concludes. “To continue that service as a member of the District Court bench would be a great privilege.”