Latest news with #MichaelaMurphy
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine judge will start releasing people from jail, won't wait for ruling
May 13—A Maine judge says she will not wait for the state supreme court to rule on an appeal before she moves forward with releasing people from jail and dropping charges against those who have unconstitutionally gone too long without a lawyer. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy also agreed to declare that the entire state, not just its public defense agency, is at fault for these Sixth Amendment violations, as the American Civil Liberties Union has alleged in its lawsuit. "[I]t is the State's obligation to provide indigent criminal defendants with representation," Murphy wrote in an order last week. "Or as counsel for the MCPDS defendants put it very early in this litigation: it is the State of Maine that is the 'real party in interest in this matter.'" Murphy wrote that she plans to resume the process soon. No date was scheduled with the Kennebec County Superior Court, where the case is being heard, as of Tuesday morning. Murphy first ruled in January that the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services was liable for not providing continuous legal representation to hundreds of poor, criminally charged Mainers. She announced in March that she intended to start holding a series of hearings in April to identify and release anyone who has waited more than two weeks without a lawyer. She also planned to dismiss charges against defendants who had waited more than 60 days for a lawyer. Once released, they would still be on strict bail conditions. Any charges dropped could be filed again once a lawyer is available, Murphy said. Advocates for Maine crime victims said these plans will put at risk the safety of victims whose perpetrators are in jail. The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence said in January that "victims of crime are bearing the consequences" of the state's constitutional failures. A lawyer for the state urged Murphy to wait for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's opinion on more procedural grounds, arguing that Murphy was using the wrong legal procedure for this kind of case. The state also said the habeas process can't legally be applied to felony-level charges. Murphy, however, disagreed. She said Maine technically doesn't recognize "felonies," and that the criminal code instead using a series of "classes" for sentencing. View this document on Scribd Murphy's hearings will follow the "writ of habeas corpus" process. Habeas cases are typically filed on behalf of individual defendants who say they're being jailed illegally — in this case, the law's application would be unprecedented because it will potentially provide habeas relief to a large, yet-to-be-determined number of people, all at once. "Where a writ has been granted, the purpose of habeas corpus — to swiftly secure the liberty of a person wrongfully detained — would be defeated if the delays resulting from an appeal could pause the discharge of a wrongfully detained person," Murphy wrote in her most recent order. The ruling results from a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine first filed against the state's indigent defense system in 2022, which has been amended several times to account for a growing crisis of defendants who are entitled to lawyers, but don't have them. An emergency law recently took effect, allowing the state to hire more public defenders and judges to appoint more private attorneys to cases that need them. The Maine Commission on Public Defense Services also filed a court-ordered plan in April, laying out how they intend to identify unrepresented defendants and get them lawyers. "This order shows the court recognizes the urgency of this crisis because no person should be incarcerated or dragged through months of criminal legal proceedings without an attorney," said ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan in a statement. "The court's decision underscores the importance of habeas corpus protections, which entitle people to a speedy process to challenge unlawful restraints on their liberty. Any time the state chooses to restrict a person's freedom, it is the state's responsibility to ensure a fair and speedy process. That constitutional requirement cannot be indefinitely put on hold because the state has filed an appeal." A spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which is representing the state and the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, said it doesn't comment on pending litigation. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine judge won't wait for supreme court to start releasing people from jail
May 13—A Maine judge says she will not wait for the state supreme court to rule on an appeal before she moves forward with releasing people from jail and dropping charges against those who have unconstitutionally gone too long without a lawyer. In doing so, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy said the state would have one more week to find jailed defendants a lawyer before they get released. Murphy wrote in her order this month that she plans to resume the process soon, but no date was scheduled with the Kennebec County Superior Court, where the case is being heard, as of Tuesday morning. Murphy ruled in January that the state's public defense agency is violating the Sixth Amendment by not providing Mainers with criminal charges with continuous legal representation. She announced in March that she intended to start holding a series of hearings in April to identify and release anyone who has waited more than two weeks without a lawyer. She also planned to dismiss charges against defendants who had waited more than 60 days for a lawyer. Once released, they would still be on strict bail conditions. Any charges dropped could be filed again once a lawyer is available, Murphy said. Advocates for domestic violence survivors and other crime victims have shared their concerns with this latest development, saying it puts many at risk. A lawyer for the state urged Murphy to wait for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's opinion on more procedural grounds, arguing that Murphy was using the wrong legal procedure for this kind of a case. Murphy's hearings will follow the "writ of habeas corpus" process. Habeas cases are typically filed on behalf of individual defendants who say they're being jailed illegally — in this case, the law's application would be unprecedented because it will potentially provide habeas relief to a large, yet-to-be-determined number of people, all at once. "Where a writ has been granted, the purpose of habeas corpus — to swiftly secure the liberty of a person wrongfully detained — would be defeated if the delays resulting from an appeal could pause the discharge of a wrongfully detained person," Murphy wrote in her most recent order. The ruling results from a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine first filed against the state's indigent defense system in 2022, which has been amended several times to account for a growing crisis of people who are entitled to a lawyer but don't have them. An emergency law recently took effect, allowing the state to hire more public defenders and judges to appoint more private attorneys to cases that need them. "This order shows the court recognizes the urgency of this crisis because no person should be incarcerated or dragged through months of criminal legal proceedings without an attorney," said ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan in a statement. "The court's decision underscores the importance of habeas corpus protections, which entitle people to a speedy process to challenge unlawful restraints on their liberty. Any time the state chooses to restrict a person's freedom, it is the state's responsibility to ensure a fair and speedy process. That constitutional requirement cannot be indefinitely put on hold because the state has filed an appeal." A spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which is representing the state and the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, said they don't comment on pending litigation. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine's public defense agency files a plan to solve constitutional crisis
Apr. 3—Maine's public defense agency says it will redirect several employees at its central office who oversee billing and training to instead work on finding lawyers for criminal defendants who have spent weeks or months waiting for an attorney. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy had given the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services one month to share how they can increase representation after finding the state agency was violating Mainers' Sixth Amendment rights to representation as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. (The ACLU said it's still waiting to see if Murphy will find the entire state liable.) Murphy suggested last month that the state's new public defenders, particularly those who are more experienced, should take on more cases. She also criticized the commission for relying on a messy spreadsheet compiled by court clerks, instead of tracking criminal defendants themselves. As of Monday, there were approximately 400 pre-trial criminal defendants who needed an attorney, according to a list maintained by the courts. Roughly 140 had been on the list for more than two months. And at least 70 were in jail, with about 25 having been in custody for more than two weeks. The commission agreed Thursday to reassign some administrative staff to focus on tracking and finding counsel for the state's unrepresented cases. As a result, some training will be placed on hold and staff will "adjust the level of scrutiny given to vouchers" submitted by attorneys seeking reimbursement for public defense work. The new plan also suggested offering new incentives for private attorneys to join the commission's rosters, and emergency discussions on altering "perceived barriers" to the application process. (Some observers, including Gov. Janet Mills, have criticized the commission's caseload limits and eligibility requirements. The commission has previously disputed these are to blame.) Much of the plan included only short-term commitments as the commission hopes to get more funding so it can increase its public defense presence throughout Maine, a state that relied exclusively on private, court-appointed lawyers until 2022. Today, four of the state's five criminal public defense offices are less than a year old and still ramping up. Several counties in the Midcoast and southern Maine still don't have public defenders. RELEASE, DIMISSAL DEADLINES The commission wrote in court records that the number of defendants who need attorneys continues to drop, demonstrating their attention to the crisis. On March 7, when Murphy issued her last order, there were 85 defendants who were in jail and needed lawyers. A month later, only six of those defendants are still in jail without an attorney, the commission stated. The reduction "resulted from the continuing efforts" of their staff and public defenders to representing their clients, the commission wrote. The filing also contains several exhibits, including letters to prosecutors requesting they reevaluate some of the cases that have been languishing the longest and the commission's budget requests. The plan submitted Thursday was part of a larger order issued by Murphy last month. It includes an April 7 hearing, for the judge to lay out her process for releasing anyone from jail who has been unrepresented for at least 14 days, unless the state can find them an attorney within the following week. She said she would drop charges against anyone who has waited more than 60 days for a lawyer (charges could be re-filed when an attorney is available.) The potential release of those defendants has frightened victims' rights advocates, lawmakers and the governor. Civil rights advocates who have been following Maine's crisis from other states say Murphy's deadlines aren't unusual, and similar timelines have been ordered in Oregon and Missouri. "It's not just about funding lawyers to help guilty people get free — it's about funding our system so that the system works in as fair and accurate a way as possible. And that benefits all of us," said Daniel Medwed, a former public defender and professor at Northeastern University's School of Law. EMERGENCY LEGISLATION Meanwhile, lawmakers agreed Thursday afternoon to advance emergency legislation attempting to address the crisis. LD 1101 would allow judges to appoint and pay an attorney who hasn't been approved by the commission — but only if no approved lawyers are available. Lawmakers made several changes to the bill Thursday to address concerns the commission's director raised last month, questioning how these lawyers could be held accountable or paid accurately. The commission's Director Jim Billings said it would be premature for him to comment on the bill before the rest of the Legislature votes on it. The bill now comes with a Feb. 1, 2026, sunset, and also clarifies that these non-rostered lawyers still have to have three years of related experience. Judges also can't appoint and pay anyone who has previously been disqualified by the commission and these attorneys have to use the same reimbursement voucher process as everyone else doing public defense. The same bill includes more than $3 million for the commission to hire five new public defenders and additional support staff. Despite the bill's bipartisan support — it was introduced by Democrats and endorsed by Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart — the governor has not weighed in on the latest version and has previously opposed the commission's requests for more funding until the organization rolls back its eligibility requirements and caseload limits. The governor's office didn't not respond to an email, seeking her reaction to the amended version of the bill. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine to drop charges, release people from jail over public defense failures
Mar. 7—Maine will start releasing people from jail in April if they have waited more than two weeks for a lawyer, a judge ruled Friday. Additionally, charges other than murder will be dropped against anyone who has waited more than two months for a lawyer. Those charges could be brought again once an attorney is available. These unprecedented remedies were ordered by Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy after she recently found that the state has violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of criminal defendants who are constitutionally entitled to a lawyer because they can't afford one on their own. But before any of this can take place, Murphy is giving the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, the quasi-state agency in charge of finding lawyers for those who can't afford their own, a month to develop a plan to "provide continuous representation as required by the Sixth Amendment." "The Court cannot and does not expect miracles," Murphy wrote. "The Defendants can only do what is possible. But it is clear that the Defendants have not been prioritizing finding or providing counsel for the incarcerated Plaintiffs ... who are waiting for MCPDS to do just." 'SIGNIFICANT IMPACT' The commission has been locked in a lawsuit since 2022 with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. "This is an order that's going to have a very significant impact for this case that's been going on for more than three years," ACLU Chief Counsel Zachary Heiden said in a phone call Friday. "And in that time, the number of people without counsel has grown significantly." Neither the attorney representing the commission, nor its director nor its chair responded to requests on Friday to discuss Murphy's order. Murphy wrote that the public interests in this case are "significant" and include "the public interest in a fair, functional, and stable criminal justice system; the public interest in the protection of the liberty interests for all the citizens of Maine who are charged with crimes punishable by incarceration; and the public interest in ensuring that the presumption of innocence is meaningfully protected against the power of the state through the effective assistance of counsel." View this document on Scribd She has scheduled a hearing for April 7 to meet with the various parties, and to begin considering the case of any entitled defendant who is still in jail without a lawyer. At that hearing, Murphy will order the release of anyone who has been unrepresented for at least 14 days, unless the state can find them an attorney within the following week. They will be released with court-enforced conditions to ensure public safety, she said. Anyone charged with murder will not be eligible. And she will order charges be dropped against anyone who has waited more than 60 days for a lawyer, with the clock starting Friday. Victims' rights advocates are concerned about the possible repercussions of Murphy's ruling, especially those in domestic violence cases. Roughly 26% of the state's unrepresented cases as of Wednesday were DV-related. Andrea Mancuso, policy director for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, said she finds it unlikely the commission will solve the crisis in the next 30 days when it's failed to do so for several years. "Victims of crime will bear the consequences of that failure," she said. "This is dangerous for victims. More victims of domestic violence will experience the criminal justice system as unable to help them be safe. This was all completely foreseeable." DATA IS CHANGING There were at least 480 criminal cases without an attorney as of Wednesday, according to a list regularly updated by the courts. Roughly 45% of those defendants, in and out of custody, had been on the list for at least two months. About 110 were in jail, and nearly 40% of those people had been waiting at least 14 days. During a meeting on Feb. 27, the commission's director, Jim Billings, said this number was "gross and unacceptable," but that it still pales to the increase in open cases that a dwindling number of defense attorneys have been handling since before the pandemic. There are currently about 6,000 more pending cases than six years ago, according to court data. "Even though we have about six hundred people without a lawyer in the state who are otherwise entitled to a lawyer ... that is 10% of this 6,000 number," Billings said. "Which means that the rostered number of attorneys in our program are carrying 90% of those extra cases. I don't think that gets talked about enough." "It's a wonder that we don't have two or three thousand people unrepresented in our system as it is currently constituted," he said. Some have complained that there aren't enough lawyers taking cases because the commission's eligibility standards are too strict. Gov. Janet Mills has urged the commission to roll back its regulations, which the commission says were put in place to ensure quality representation. The ACLU of Maine's lawsuit has actually been divided into two phases, the second of which relates to effective representation. Murphy plans to address those claims later on. The number of unrepresented defendants has also declined since Murphy heard testimony from the commission in late January. Some say that's a testament to the impact Maine's new public defenders are already having on the crisis. Toby Jandreau is the supervising "district defender" for the Aroostook County office, where there were only 22 unrepresented defendants as of Wednesday, down from roughly 80 in late December. "We're seeing fewer of them," Jandreau said at the meeting. "I think with time, it's going to get better." Defense attorney Robert Ruffner, who represents many of these people temporarily for first appearances, said he's also noticed the decrease. But he doesn't think the commission will suddenly solve a crisis that "has been building for years," and he's sure there will still be people who need to be released or their charges dropped in a month. "I do not expect that the need for this remedy is going to go away, in the next several months," Ruffner said Friday. "And certainly, the fact that the framework is in place should be ample reason for those in power to ensure that we never end up here again." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine to drop charges, release people from jail in April over public defense failures
Mar. 7—Maine will start releasing people from jail in April if they have waited more than two weeks for a lawyer, a judge ruled Friday. Charges other than murder will also be dropped against anyone who has waited more than two months for a lawyer. Those charges could be brought again once an attorney is available. These unprecedented remedies were ordered by Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy after she recently found that the state has violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of criminal defendants who are constitutionally entitled to a lawyer because they can't afford one on their own. But before any of this can take place, Murphy is giving the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, the quasi-state agency in charge of finding lawyers for those who can't afford their own, a month to develop a plan to "provide continuous representation as required by the Sixth Amendment." "The Court cannot and does not expect miracles," Murphy wrote. "The Defendants can only do what is possible. But it is clear that the Defendants have not been prioritizing finding or providing counsel for the incarcerated Plaintiffs ... who are waiting for MCPDS to do just." 'SIGNIFICANT IMPACT' The commission has been locked in a lawsuit since 2022 with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. "This is an order that's going to have a very significant impact for this case that's been going on for more than three years," ACLU Chief Counsel Zachary Heiden said in a phone call Friday. "And in that time, the number of people without counsel has grown significantly." Neither attorney representing the commission, its director nor its chair responded to requests on Friday to discuss Murphy's order. Murphy wrote that the public interests in this case are "significant" and include "the public interest in a fair, functional, and stable criminal justice system; the public interest in the protection of the liberty interests for all the citizens of Maine who are charged with crimes punishable by incarceration; and the public interest in ensuring that the presumption of innocence is meaningfully protected against the power of the state through the effective assistance of counsel." View this document on Scribd She has scheduled a hearing for April 7 to meet with the various parties, and to begin considering the case of any entitled defendant who is still in jail without a lawyer. At that hearing, Murphy will order the release of anyone who has been unrepresented for at least 14 days, unless the state can find them an attorney within the following week. They will be released with court-enforced conditions to ensure public safety, she said. Anyone charged with murder will not be eligible. And she will order charges be dropped against anyone who has waited more than 60 days for a lawyer, with the clock starting Friday. Murphy's ruling has victims' rights advocates are concerned about the possible repercussions, especially those in domestic violence cases. Roughly 26% of the state's unrepresented cases as of Wednesday were DV-related. Andrea Mancuso, policy director for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, said she finds it unlikely the commission will solve the crisis in the next 30 days when it's failed to do so for several years. "Victims of crime will bear the consequences of that failure," she said. "This is dangerous for victims. More victims of domestic violence will experience the criminal justice system as unable to help them be safe. This was all completely foreseeable." DATA IS CHANGING There were at least 480 criminal cases without an attorney as of Wednesday, according to a list regularly updated by the courts. Roughly 45% of those defendants, in and out of custody, had been on the list for at least two months. About 110 were in jail, and nearly 40% of those people had been waiting at least 14 days. During a meeting on Feb. 27, the commission's director Jim Billings said this number was "gross and unacceptable," but that it still pales to the increase in open cases that a dwindling number of defense attorneys have been handling since before the pandemic. There are roughly 6,000 more pending cases now than six years ago, according to court data. "Even though we have about six hundred people without a lawyer in the state who are otherwise entitled to a lawyer ... that is 10% of this 6,000 number," Billings said. "Which means that the rostered number of attorneys in our program are carrying 90% of those extra cases. I don't think that gets talked about enough." "It's a wonder that we don't have two or three thousand people unrepresented in our system as it is currently constituted," he said. Some have complained that there aren't enough lawyers taking cases because the commission's eligibility standards are too strict. Gov. Janet Mills has urged the commission to roll back its regulations, which the commission says were put in place to ensure quality representation. The ACLU of Maine's lawsuit has actually been divided into two phases, the second of which relates to effective representation. Murphy plans to address those claims later on. The number of unrepresented defendants has also declined since Murphy heard testimony from the commission in late January. Some say that's a testament to the impact Maine's new public defenders are already having on the crisis. Toby Jandreau is the supervising "district defender" for the Aroostook County office, where there were only 22 unrepresented defendants as of Wednesday, down from roughly 80 defendants in late December. "We're seeing fewer of them," Jandreau said at the meeting. "I think with time, it's going to get better." Defense attorney Robert Ruffner, who represents many of these people temporarily for first appearances, said he's also noticed the decrease. But he doesn't think the commission will suddenly solve a crisis that "has been building for years," and he's sure there will still be people who need to be released or their charges dropped in a month. "I do not expect that the need for this remedy is going to go away, in the next several months," Ruffner said Friday. "And certainly, the fact that the framework is in place should be ample reason for those in power to ensure that we never end up here again." Copy the Story Link
