An Act Regarding the Initiation of Cases of Murder and Class A, B and C Crimes in Superior Court by Complaint
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1248
Committee: Judiciary

Legislative Document 
No. 1248 
H.P.866 
House of Representatives, March 15,2005 
An Act Regarding the Initiation of Cases of Murder and Class A, B 
and C Crimes in Superior Court by Complaint 
Reported by Representative PELLETIER-SIMPSON of Auburn for the Criminal Law 
Advisory Commission pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 1354, 
subsection 2. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed under Joint Rule 
218. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Ill~ 
/J?·17Id£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17·A MRSA §9, sub·§3, as amended by PL 1975, c. 740, 
§17, is further amended to read: 
3. 
The District Courts saa** have jurisdiction to try civil 
violationsT and Class D and E cr imesT _and to impose sentence in 
Class A, Band C crimes in which the District Court has accepted 
a plea of guilty 
aBa--t.-&-~i-nd--eyeF-.f-e-£--t-he--~FaBa--j4H"-y--a-1-1--el;aeF 
eF:i:mes. 
Sec. 2. 17·A MRSA §15·A, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
657, §2, is further amended to read: 
1. 
A law enforcement officer who 
has probable cause to 
believe a crime has been or is being committed by a person may 
issue 
or 
have 
delivered 
a 
written 
Sl~mons 
to 
that 
person 
directing that person to appear in the P:i:sI;F:i:el;-Ge~FI; appropriate 
trial 
court 
to 
answer 
the 
allegation 
that 
the 
person 
has 
committed the crime. 
The summons must include the signature of 
the officer, a brief description of the alleged crime, the time 
and place of the alleged crime and the time, place and date the 
person is to appear in court. 
The form used must be the Uniform 
Summons and Complaint. 
A person to whom a summons is issued or 
delivered must give a written promise to appear. 
If the person 
refuses to sign the summons after having been ordered to do so by 
a law enforcement officer, the person commits a Class E crime. 
As soon as practicable after service of the summons, the officer 
shall cause a copy of the summons to be filed with the court. 
Sec. 3. 17·A MRSA §1205.A. sub.§2, as amended by PL 1995, c. 
502, Pt. F, §14, is further amended to read: 
2. 
The preliminary hearing must be held before an official 
designated by the Commissioner of Corrections. 
It must be held 
at a location as near to the place where the violation is alleged 
to have taken place as is reasonable under the circumstances. 
If 
it is alleged that the person violated probation because of the 
commission of a new offense, the preliminary hearing is limited 
to the issue of identification, if probable cause on the new 
offense has been found by the District Court or by the Superior 
Court, or the person has been indicted, has waived indictment or 
has been convicted. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes statutory changes to the Maine Criminal Code 
in light of recent amendments to the Maine Rules of Criminal 
Procedure that eliminate the need for 
a 
bind-over hearing by 
starting a case that involves murder or at least one Class A, 
Page I-LR2196(1) 
--
to 
• 
Class B or Class C crime, accompanied or unaccompanied by related 
Class D or Class E crimes, in the Superior Court rather than the 
District Court. 
Such a case is commenced by filing a criminal 
complaint directly in the Superior Court, unless an indictment 
has already been returned or an information filed, except as to a 
murder 
charge. 
The 
Superior 
Court will 
be 
responsible 
for 
conducting probable cause determinations to comply with County of 
Riverside v. McLaughlin, 
U.S. 
(1991) in these cases as 
well .