An Act To Improve Juvenile Correctional Services
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0793
Committee Amendment CA_A_H80 (House)
Amends: 15 MRSA §3103, 15 MRSA §3105-A, 15 MRSA §3201, 15 MRSA §3203-A, 15 MRSA §3205, 15 MRSA §3307, 15 MRSA §3310, 15 MRSA §3314, 15 MRSA §3314-A, 30 MRSA §6209-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 542, L.D. 793, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve Juvenile Correctional Services" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 2 and 3 (page 1, lines 7 to 33 in L.D.) 
and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §3103, sub-§I, ~, as amended by PL 1995, c. 470, §3, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 3. 15 MRSA §3105-A, sub-§2, ~C, as amended by PL 2005, c. 87, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
C. 
A prosecution for conduct specified in section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B, 
C, g, E, F or H must be commenced within one year after it is committed. 
Sec. 4. 15 MRSA §3201, sub-§I, as amended by PL 2005, c. 328, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Warrantless arrests. Arrests without warrants of juveniles for juvenile crimes 
defined by section 3103, subsection 1, paragraphs A, g, E, F, G and H by law 
enforcement officers or private persons must be made pursuant to the provisions of Title 
17-A, sections 15 and 16. For purposes of this section, a juvenile crime defined under 
section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph l)...ef H is deemed a Class D or Class E crime. A 
law enforcement officer or private person may not arrest a juvenile for a juvenile crime 
defmed by section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C. 
Sec. 5. 15 MRSA §3203-A, sub-§7, ~A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 507, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
A juvenile may be detained in a jailor other secure detention facility intended 
for use or primarily used for the detention of adults only when the serving facility: 
(1) Contains an area where juveniles are under direct staff observation at all 
times, in a separate section for juveniles that complies with mandatory sight and 
sound separation standards established by the Department of Corrections 
pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1208; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
\\. ~~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 542, L.D. 793 
(2) Provides for no regular contact between the juveniles with the adult detainees 
or inmates; and 
(3) 
Has an adequate staff to provide direct observation and supervise the 
juvenile's activities at all times during emergency detention. 
Juveniles detained in adult-serving facilities may be placed only in the separate 
juvenile sections that comply with mandatory separation standards established by the 
Department of Corrections pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1208, unless the detainee 
must be detained '.vith adults as a result of having attained 21 years of age or unless 
the court orders that the person be detained with adults for any period of detention 
occurring after the detainee has attained 18 years of age or unless the juvenile is held 
in an adult section of a facility under section 3205, subsection 2 or is bound over as 
an adult and held in an adult section of a facility pursuant to court order.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following: 
'Sec.5. 15 MRSA §3203-A, sub-§7, 6[8-5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 328, §11, 
is further amended to read: 
B-5. 
If the juvenile community corrections officer who ordered the detention or the 
attorney for the State who ordered the detention determines there is no reasonable 
alternative, a juvenile may be detained in a jailor other secure detention facility 
intended or primarily used for the detention of adults for up to 48 hours, excluding 
Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays ... if: 
(1) The facility meets the requirements of paragraph A; 
(2) The facility is not located in a standard metropolitan statistical area and 
meets the statutory criteria contained in the federal Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974,42 United States Code, Section 5601; and 
(3) 
The juvenile is detained only to await a detention hearing pursuant to 
subsection 5 or section 3314, subsection 2, transfer to an appropriate iuvenile 
facility, or transport to another iurisdiction. 
Sec. 6. 15 MRSA §3205, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2007, c. 196, § 1, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
2. Exception. Subsection 1 applies to any person who has not attained 18 years of 
age or is considered a juvenile by virtue of section 3101, subsection 2, paragraph D 
except that: 
A. If the person has attained 18 years of age, or has been convicted as an adult in 
another jurisdiction, any detention pursuant to section 3203-A and any confmement 
pursuant to section 3314, subsection 1, paragraph H or section 3314, subsection 7 
may be, upon the order of a court, in an adult section of a jailor other secure 
detention facility intended or primarily used for the detention of adults and may 
extend beyond the time limits set out in section 3203-A; and 
B. If the person has attained 21 years of age or has been convicted as an adult in 
another jurisdiction and has attained 18 years and 6 months of age, any detention 
pursuant to section 3203-A and any confinement pursuant to section 3314, subsection 
COMMI 
EE AMENDMENT 
\ 
\ 
:1:' 
) 
) 
) 
r 
I:! 
H 
~ ... 
~~. 
, 
(~-"" 
i' 
l3 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 542, L.D. 793 
1, paragraph H or section 3314, subsection 7 must be in an adult section of a jailor 
other secure detention facility intended or primarily used for the detention of adults 
and may extend beyond the time limits set out in section 3203-A. 
Sec. 7. 15 MRSA §3307, sub-§2, ~, as amended by PL 1995, c. 470, §7, is 
further amended to read: 
B. 
The general public is excluded from all other juvenile hearings and proceedings, 
except that a juvenile charged with a juvenile crime that would constitute murder or a 
Class A, Class B or Class C offense and with a juvenile crime that would constitute a 
juvenile's first Class D offense or Class E offense or with conduct described in 
section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B, C,.-f) or E, arising from the same underlying 
transaction may elect to have all charges adjudicated in one hearing, and, when a 
juvenile does so elect, the general public is not excluded from that hearing. 
Sec. 8. 15 MRSA §3310, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2005, c. 87, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
4. Standard of proof. If the court finds that the elements of the juvenile crime as 
defmed in section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph A, f), E, F, G or H are not supported by 
evidence beyond a reasonable doubt or that the elements of a juvenile crime as defined in 
section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C are not supported by a preponderance of the 
evidence, the court shall order the petition dismissed and the juvenile discharged from 
any detention or restriction previously ordered. The juvenile's parents, guardian or other 
legal custodian must also be discharged from any restriction or other temporary order. 
Sec. 9. 15 MRSA §3310, sub-§5, -UA, as amended by PL 2005, c. 87, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
If the court finds that the allegations of the petition alleging a juvenile crime as 
defmed in section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph A, f), E, F, G or H are supported by 
evidence beyond a reasonable doubt or that the allegations of a petition alleging a 
juvenile crime as defmed in section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B or C are 
supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall adjudge that the 
juvenile committed a juvenile crime and shall, in all such adjudications, issue an 
order of adjudication. 
Sec. 10. 15 MRSA §3314, sub-§l, GUG, as amended by PL 2005, c. 507, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
G. 
Except for a violation of section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph -9-ef H, the court 
may impose a fine, subject to Title 17-A, sections l301 to l304, except that there is 
no mandatory minimum fine amount. For the purpose of this section, juvenile 
offenses defined in section 3103, subsection 1, paragraphs Band C are deemed Class 
E crimes. 
Sec. 11. 15 MRSA §3314-A, as amended by PL 1993, c. 354, §10, is further 
amended to read: 
§3314-A. Period of probation; modification and discharge 
The period of probation of a juvenile, its modification and discharge, is as provided 
by Title 17-A, section 1202, except thatthe period of probation of ajuvenile convicted of 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~r!.~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 542, L.D. 793 
a juvenile crime as defined by section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B, C,--l) or E may 
not exceed one year. The period of probation may extend beyond the juvenile's 21st 
birthday. 
Sec. 12. 30 MRSA §6209-A, sub-§I, 6[8, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 388, §6 and 
affected by §8, is amended to read: 
B. 
Juvenile crimes against a person or property involving conduct that, if 
committed by an adult, would fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe under paragraph A, and juvenile crimes, as defined in Title 15, 
section 3103, subsection 1, paragraphs B te--f) and C, committed by a juvenile 
member of either the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the Penobscot Nation on the 
reservation of the Passamaquoddy Tribe;' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SITMMARY 
This amendment repeals the provision in current law that establishes that a violation 
of a court order relating to drug and alcohol infractions constitutes a new and distinct 
juvenile crime. The provision is seldom used, and juveniles may be held accountable 
through the contempt powers of the court. 
The amendment clarifies under what conditions a person who is over 18 years of age 
but is considered a juvenile because the offense was committed before the person attained 
years of age may be detained in a jail. The amendment also specifies the conditions 
under which a person convicted of an adult offense in another jurisdiction that would be a 
juvenile offense here may be detained and housed with juveniles in the State and under 
what conditions a juvenile detained in the State for a new offense can be housed after 
previously being convicted as an adult in another jurisdiction. 
Finally, the amendment specifies that ajuvenile may be held for over 6 hours, but not 
more than 48 hours, in a separate juvenile section of a rural jail. The conditions of 
detention are consistent with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
of 1974. The amendment also corrects cross-references. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
') 
"' 
'( 
i( 
J 
) 
) 
)