An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Plea of Not Criminally Responsible by Reason of Mental Disease or Defect in Juvenile Cases
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0071
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SYKES, BARTLETT
Amends: 15 MRSA §3314-C

Legislative Document 
No. 71 
H.P.69 
House of Representatives, January 9, 2007 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Plea of Not Criminally 
Responsible by Reason of Mental Disease or Defect in Juvenile 
Cases 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative SYKES of Harrison. 
Cosponsored by Senator BARTLETT of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
1I'l~ 1??·711~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §3314-C is enacted to read: 
§3314-C. Commitment ofa juvenile acquitted on basis of mental disease or defect 
1. Not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect. When a 
juvenile offender has been adjudicated as not criminally responsible by reason of mental 
disease or defect the verdict and disposition must so state. The court shall order the 
juvenile immediately committed to the custody of the Department of Health and Human 
Services to be placed in an appropriate secure juvenile facility for the seriously mentally 
ill or the mentally retarded for care and treatment until the juvenile is no longer a threat to 
the juvenile or to others or until the juvenile's 18th birthday, when the juvenile must be 
transferred to an adult facility or released. 
A. Six months prior to the 18th birthday of a juvenile committed under this section, a 
member of the State Forensic Service shall examine the juvenile and issue a report to 
the court. The court shall conduct a hearing prior to the juvenile's 18th birthday to 
review the appropriateness of continued institutionalization or release. If release is 
warranted, then the report must contain plans and recommendations for release and 
reintegration into the community. If continued institutionalization is warranted, then 
arrangements for transfer to an adult facility at 18 years of age must commence. 
B. Upon placement in an appropriate secure juvenile facility and in the event of 
transfer from one facility to another of a juvenile committed under this section, notice 
of the placement or transfer must be given by the Department of Health and Human 
Services to the court. 
C. After being placed in an appropriate secure juvenile facility, a juvenile committed 
under this section must continue to attend age-appropriate schooling or job skills 
training. 
D. 
The treatment of a juvenile committed under this section must include 
rehabilitation, including mental health counseling and medication management for 
the juvenile and family counseling as required by the program and staff of the secure 
juvenile facility. 
2. Annual review. A staff psychiatrist of the secure juvenile facility who is treating 
a juvenile committed under this section shall conduct an annual review of the juvenile to 
address issues related to the mental status of the juvenile. The staff psychiatrist shall 
compile a report based on this review. 
A. The report must be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services, 
which shall then forward it to the court. 
B. 
The report must address whether the 
juvenile requires continued 
institutionalization or is ready for release back into the community without likelihood 
that the juvenile will cause injury to the juvenile or to others due to mental disease or 
defect, with reasons supporting the opinion. 
C. The report must outline rehabilitation efforts undertaken on behalf of the juvenile. 
D. The court shall review the report and, if the recommendation is that the juvenile 
may be ready for release, shall immediately set a date for a hearing on the issue of the 
juvenile's readiness for release. The court shall give notice of the hearing and mail a 
copy of the report to the juvenile community corrections officer, the office of the 
district attorney that prosecuted the criminal charges for which the juvenile was 
adjudicated as not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect, the 
office of the district attorney in whose district the release petition was filed or in 
whose district release may occur and the defense attorney. Notice of the hearing 
must be sent to the parents of the juvenile and the victim. If the underlying charge 
would have been murder or a Class A, B or C offense were the juvenile an adult, the 
hearing must be public. At the hearing, the staff psychiatrist treating the juvenile 
shall present testimony in support of the recommendations. Additional testimony 
from a member of the State Forensic Service, testimony of an independent 
psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist who has examined the juvenile and is 
employed by the prosecutor's office and any other relevant testimony must also be 
considered. The victim of the underlying charge must be permitted to give a victim 
impact statement if the victim chooses. 
E. If, after the hearing pursuant to paragraph D, the court finds that the juvenile 
remains a risk to the juvenile or to others due to mental disease or defect, the juvenile 
must remain institutionalized until the juvenile is determined to not be a threat. 
If, after the hearing pursuant to paragraph D, the court finds that the juvenile no 
longer poses a threat to the juvenile or to others, the juvenile may be released. The 
order for release may include conditions agreed upon or ordered by the court, 
including, but not limited to, outpatient treatment and supervision of the juvenile by 
the Department of Health and Human Services. Monitoring of compliance with the 
conditions remains with the court. 
The juvenile must be returned to the secure 
juvenile facility immediately upon the order of the Department of Health and Human 
Services whenever the person fails to comply with other conditions of release ordered 
by the court. 
SUMMARY 
This bill details the procedure by which a juvenile is ordered committed after being 
found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect. The Juvenile 
Court shall order the juvenile committed to the custody of the Department of Health and 
Human Services to be placed in an appropriate facility, and 6 months prior to the 
juvenile'S 18th birthday a report must be issued by the State Forensic Service reviewing 
the appropriateness of continued institutionalization or release. A committed juvenile 
will still attend appropriate schools and job skills training. The treatment for a committed 
juvenile includes rehabilitation, mental health counseling and medication management 
and family counseling. An annual review must be conducted for a committed juvenile, 
and the court may order the juvenile to remain committed or released upon conditions if 
the court finds that the juvenile is no longer a threat to the juvenile or to others.