A Maine Superior Court Justice has ruled that despite a pending appeal, hearings will begin to be scheduled for low-income criminal defendants who have not yet been provided an attorney by the state. This would likely lead to the release of defendants in custody without counsel.
Although the State of Maine sought to delay these proceedings in light of their pending appeal, Kennebec County Justice Michaela Murphy ruled last week that she will not wait.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Justice Murphy has said she expects to hold two initial sessions of hearings in June and July.
WGME reports that criminal defendants facing murder charges are exempt from these Habeas Corpus hearings.
Under a March 8 order issued by Murphy, criminal defendants in Maine must be released from jail if a lawyer is not provided within 14 days, and charges must be dropped for those who have been incarcerated for more than 60 days without receiving legal representation.
Those who are released from jail under this new order will be subject to conditions of release similar to those who are granted bail.
At the end of January, Justice Murphy heard arguments in a lawsuit filed two years ago by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Maine alleging that the state was doing irreparable harm by failing to provide legal representation in a timely manner.
In this case, the ACLU asked that defendants be released if a lawyer is not provided within 7 days and to have charges dropped if representation is not granted within 45 days.
The Maine Commission on Public Defense Services argued at the time that newly created public defender offices were the solution to this problem, but that they need more time to expand the system.
About a year ago, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a bipartisan bill — approved unanimously by state lawmakers — into law that created two new public defender offices serving Aroostook, Penobscot, and Piscataquis counties and added ten new public defense attorneys.
This legislation increased the total number of public defenders statewide from 15 to 25.
[RELATED: Janet Mills Signs Bill Adding Ten New Public Defenders Across Rural Maine]
“Access to justice should not depend on how much money a person has,” ACLU of Maine Chief Counsel Zach Heiden said in response to Murphy’s order, according to a report from the Bangor Daily News that originally broke this story.
“If you can’t afford an attorney, the state is required to provide one for you,” said Heiden. “This order brings us closer to making that promise a reality for the people of Maine.”
Murphy argued in the order that because Maine has not provided legal representation to all indigent defendants, the state is “in violation of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
“Each [criminal defendant] is still presumed to be innocent under the Maine and United States Constitutions,” the court order said. “And yet many of them remain in custody, without counsel.”
Murphy has indicated that there were 49 defendants in being held in custody without legal representation as of April 25.
An appointee of Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, Murphy has served on the Maine Superior Court since October 2007.
