An Act To Improve Juvenile Justice
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0363
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SYKES, CEBRA, ROBINSON
Amends: 15 MRSA §3306-A, 15 MRSA §3307, 15 MRSA §3314, 28-A MRSA §2051

Legislative Document 
No. 363 
H.P.293 
House of Representatives, January 25, 2007 
An Act To Improve Juvenile Justice 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative SYKES of Harrison. 
7J1~frl.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: CEBRA of Naples, ROBINSON of Raymond. 
Printed nn recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §3306-A, first~, as amended by PL 2003, c. 706, Pt. A, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
At the juvenile's first appearance or at aHY !! subsequent appearance before the court, 
the court may order the juvenile's unconditional release, conditional release or detention 
in accordance with section 3203-A. Unless the court orders otherwise, aHY !! juvenile put 
on conditional release by a juvenile community corrections officer remains on conditional 
release until disposition the juvenile commences an informal adjustment pursuant to 
section 3301, subsection 5, paragraph B, the attorney for the State determines that no 
petition will be filed or the juvenile court enters a final dispositional order pursuant to 
section 3314. 
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §3307, sub-§2, ~A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 180, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
Once a petition is filed, the general public may not be excluded from aHY !! 
proceeding on a juvenile crime that would constitute murder or a Class A, Class B or 
Class C crime if the juvenile involved were an adult; from aHY !! proceeding on a 
juvenile crime that would constitute a Class D crime if the juvenile involved were an 
adult and it is the 2nd or subsequent petition filed with the court alleging a Class D or 
higher class crime for that juvenile not arising from the same underlying transaction; 
or from aHY !! subsequent dispositional hearings hearing in such cases. 
Sec. 3. 15 MRSA §3314, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 305, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
3-A. Operator's license suspension for drug offenses. The court may suspend for 
a period of up to 6 months the license or permit to operate, right to operate a motor 
vehicle and right to apply for and obtain a license of aHY !! person who violates Title 17-
A, chapter 45; Title 22, section 2383, unless the juvenile is authorized to possess 
marijuana for medical use pursuant to Title 22, section 2383-B, subsection 5; Title 22, 
section 2389, subsection 2; Title 28-A, section 2051; or Title 28-A, section 2052 and is 
adjudicated pursuant to this chapter to have committed ajuvenile crime. 
The court shall give notice of suspension and take physical custody of an operator's 
license or permit as provided in Title 29-A, section 2434. The court shall immediately 
forward the operator's license and a certified abstract of suspension to the Secretary of 
State. 
Sec. 4. 15 MRSA §3314, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
-
7. Enforcement. After notice and hearing and in accordance with the Maine Rules 
of Civil Procedure, Rule 66, the court may invoke its inherent contempt powers to 
enforce the disposition ordered pursuant to this section. 
A. 
Punitive sanctions for contempt may include imposition of a lawful disposition 
pursuant to this section including a period of confinement that may not exceed 30 
days. A period of confinement may not be ordered for failure to comply with a 
dispositional order upon adjudication for a violation of an offense described under 
section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C. 
The court may not impose a 
disposition of commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional 
facility. 
B. 
Remedial sanctions for contempt may include coercive confinement that may not 
exceed 30 days, except that coercive confinement may not be ordered for failure to 
comply with a dispositional order upon adjudication for a violation of an offense 
described under section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C. 
A period of confinement imposed as a punitive sanction or coercive confinement ordered 
as a remedial sanction must be served in a facility approved or operated by the 
Department of Corrections exclusively for juveniles. If a person has attained 18 years of 
age, the court may order the period of confinement to be served in the adult section of a 
jail or other secure detention facility intended or primarily used for the detention of 
adults. 
In the case of a person who has attained 21 years of age, the period of 
confinement must be served in the adult section of a jailor other secure detention facility 
intended or primarily used for the detention of adults. 
Sec. 5. 28-A MRSA §2051, sub-§2, ~, as amended by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. P, 
§4 and as affected by Pt. X, §2, is further amended to read: 
B. 
The judge, as an alternative to or in addition to the civil fines required by this 
subsection, may assign the minor to perform specified work for the benefit of the 
State, the municipality or other public entity or charitable institution and may suspend 
for a period of up to 6 months the minor's license or permit to operate, right to 
operate a motor vehicle and right to apply for and obtain a license. 
The court shall give notice of suspension and take physical custody of an operator's 
license or permit as provided in Title 29-A, section 2434. 
The court shall 
immediately forward the operator's license and a certified abstract of suspension to 
the Secretary of State. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the Maine Juvenile Code as follows. 
1. 
It provides clarification of when conditions of release imposed by a juvenile 
community corrections officer terminate. 
2. It clarifies that the public may not be excluded from a proceeding involving a 
juvenile petition alleging a second or subsequent crime that would be a Class D or higher 
class crime if the juvenile were an adult. 
3. It provides explicit authority for the Juvenile Court to invoke contempt powers to 
enforce dispositional orders and hold accountable juveniles who fail to comply with such 
orders. 
The bill also authorizes the court to suspend for up to 6 months the license, permit or 
right to operate a motor vehicle of a juvenile adjudicated of illegal possession or 
consumption of liquor by a minor.