Source: http://lukerioux.com/maine-felony-theft-amounts-might-change/
Timestamp: 2017-10-18 09:04:43
Document Index: 436877624

Matched Legal Cases: ['§353', '§353', 'in fine', '§353', '§354', '§354', '§356', '§357', '§358', '§359', '§703', '§708']

Felony Theft Would Require Larger Amount Under Proposed Maine Law
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February 28, 2013 By Luke Rioux Leave a Comment
Felony Theft Would Require Larger Amounts Under Proposed Maine Law
Maine’s Criminal Statute Factory
Senator Roger Katz is sponsoring a bill before the 126th session of the Maine Legislature. The proposed law would increase the dollar amount of stolen property for felony theft charges. The bill is LD 366 “An Act To Adjust the Values of Property That Define the Class of Crime for Theft Offenses”. If it passes, it will fundamentally change the way theft cases are prosecuted in Maine Courts.
Proposed Changes to Maine’s Felony Theft Amounts
Theft by unauthorized taking or transfer is defined by Title 17-A §353. The law provides that the sentencing class of a theft charge increases with the value of the property stolen. The current structure is as follows:
Less than $500 is a Class E Misdemeanor
$500 or more, but less than $1000 is a Class D Misdemeanor
$1,000 or more, but less than $10,000 is a Class C Felony
$10,000 or more is a Class B Felony
The language proposed in LD 366 would modify §353 to change those amounts:
Less than $1000 would be a Class E Misdemeanor
$1,000 or more, but less than $5,000 would be a Class D Misdemeanor
$5,000 or more, but less than $20,000 would be a Class C Felony
$20,000 or more would be a Class B Felony
Maximum Sentences for Theft Charges
Here is a brief rundown of the maximum sentences for Misdemeanor and Felony charges in Maine. You can read the linked article for more detailed information on Maine Criminal Sentencing.
Maximum Sentences for Maine Misdemeanor Crimes
Maximum Sentences for Maine Felony Crimes
Class A Crime: 30 years in prison | 4 years of probation | $50,000 in fines
Probation can be extended for some cases
Some Types of Felony Theft Stay the Same
These new value amounts could have a big impact on the way theft charges are prosecuted. The changes would reduce the number of felonies, the number and length of prison sentences and, since probation is only allowed for felony thefts, they would reduce the load on that agency. It is worth noting however that certain things would not change under the proposed law:
Theft involving any amount is still a class C felony if the person has 2 or more prior convictions for any theft or related offense like burglary, forgery, robbery, or negotiating a worthless instrument (writing bad checks).
Theft of a firearm is still a class B felony regardless of the value.
If the person is armed with a dangerous weapon at the time of the theft, the crime is a class B Felony regardless of value.
Interestingly, LD 366 does not specificity refer to the following criminal charges. These all include the same or similar language to current §353 and increase class of crime with reference to value:
Theft by Deception, 17-A §354
Insurance Deception, 17-A §354-A
Theft of lost mislaid or mistakenly delivered property, 17-A §356-A
Theft of Services, 17-A §357
Theft by Misapplication of Property17-A §358
Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, 17-A §359
Forgery 17-A §703
Negotiating a Worthless Instrument, 17-A §708
Presumably any changes would be applied to these crimes (and to any others I might be missing) so that sentencing class values will be consistent across offenses. We will see if the bill has any chance of passing. As of this writing, the fiscal note has not been prepared. The fiscal note studies the economic impact of proposed legislation; that study will likely show that the changes would save Maine taxpayers a ton of money. Still, being “soft on crime” is never popular, even if it makes sense.
Felony Theft Would Require Larger Amounts Under Proposed Maine Law by Luke Rioux
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