An Act To Amend Deferred Disposition under the Maine Juvenile Code
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1599
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Amends: 15 MRSA §3311-A, 15 MRSA §3311-B, 15 MRSA §3311-C

Legislative Document 
No. 1599 
H.P. 1206 
House of Representatives, December 14, 2011 
An Act To Amend Deferred Disposition under the Maine Juvenile 
Code 
Reported by Representative PLUMMER of Windham for the Criminal Law Advisory 
Commission pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 1354, subsection 2. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 12, 2011.  Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 218. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §3311-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 384, §1, is amended to 
read: 
§3311-A.  Eligibility for deferred disposition 
A juvenile who has entered an admission to a juvenile crime that would be a Class C, 
Class D or Class E crime or a civil offense violation if committed by an adult and who 
consents in writing to a deferred disposition is eligible for a deferred disposition pursuant 
to section 3311-B. 
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §3311-B, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 384, §2, is 
amended to read: 
1.  Imposition.  Following the acceptance of an admission of commission of a 
juvenile crime for which a juvenile is eligible for a deferred disposition under section 
3311-A, the court may order disposition deferred to a date certain or determinable and 
impose requirements upon the juvenile to be in effect during the period of deferment that 
are considered by the court to be reasonable and appropriate to meet the purposes of the 
Maine Juvenile Code.  The court-imposed deferment requirements must include a 
requirement that the juvenile refrain from conduct that would constitute a juvenile crime, 
crime or civil offense violation.  Unless the juvenile crime is one under section 3103, 
subsection 1, paragraph B or C, the court-imposed deferment requirements may include 
that the juvenile abide by specific conditional release requirements under supervision by a 
juvenile community corrections officer. In exchange for the deferred disposition, the 
juvenile shall abide by the court-imposed deferment requirements.  Unless the court 
orders otherwise, the department deferment requirements are immediately in effect.  
Sec. 3.  15 MRSA §3311-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 384, §2, is 
amended to read: 
2.  Amendment of requirements.  During the period of deferment and upon 
application by the juvenile granted deferred disposition pursuant to subsection 1 or by the 
attorney for the State or upon the court's own motion, the court may, after a hearing upon 
notice to the attorney for the State and the juvenile, modify the requirements imposed by 
the court, add further requirements or relieve the juvenile of any requirement imposed by 
the court that, in the court's opinion, imposes an unreasonable burden on the juvenile.  If 
the requirements proposed for amendment are conditional release requirements, the 
juvenile community corrections officer must also receive notice of the hearing.  In 
addition, the juvenile community corrections officer may make an application under this 
subsection for an amendment of conditional release requirements. 
Sec. 4.  15 MRSA §3311-C, sub-§§2 and 6, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 384, §3, 
are amended to read: 
2.  Violation of deferment requirement.  If during the period of deferment the 
attorney for the State has probable cause to believe that a juvenile who was granted 
deferred disposition pursuant to section 3311-B has violated a court-imposed deferment 
requirement, the attorney for the State may move the court to terminate the remainder of 
the period of deferment and impose disposition. Following notice and hearing, if the 
attorney for the State proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the juvenile has 
inexcusably failed to comply with a court-imposed deferment requirement, the court may 
continue the running of the period of deferment with the requirements unchanged, modify 
the requirements, add further requirements or terminate the running of the period of 
deferment and conduct a dispositional hearing and impose a disposition authorized for the 
juvenile crime to which the juvenile entered an admission.  If the court finds that the 
juvenile has not inexcusably failed to comply with a court-imposed deferment 
requirement, the court may order that the running of the period of deferment continue or, 
after notice and hearing, take any other action permitted under this chapter.  If the alleged 
violation is of a conditional release requirement, the juvenile community corrections 
officer must receive notice of the hearing. 
6.  Warrant for arrest.  If during the period of deferment the attorney for the State 
has probable cause to believe that a juvenile who was granted deferred disposition 
pursuant to section 3311-B has violated a court-imposed deferment requirement, the 
attorney for the State may apply for a warrant for the arrest of the juvenile.  If the alleged 
violation is of a conditional release requirement, the juvenile community corrections 
officer must receive notice of the application.  In addition, if the alleged violation is of a 
conditional release requirement, the provisions of section 3203-A, subsection 9 apply. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the juvenile deferred disposition provisions to make it clear that the 
deferment requirements may include conditional release supervised by a juvenile 
community corrections officer.  The bill changes the term "civil offense" to "civil 
violation" in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 3311-A and section 3311-B, 
subsection 1 and corrects clerical errors in section 3311-B, subsection 1.