An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Intergovernmental Pretrial Justice Reform Task Force
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1639
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 15 MRSA §1023, 15 MRSA §1025-A, 15 MRSA §1026, 15 MRSA §1051, 15 MRSA §1073, 15 MRSA §1073-A, 17-A MRSA §1205-C, 17-A MRSA §1302, 17-A MRSA §1304

Legislative Document 
No. 1639 
S.P. 666 
In Senate, March 8, 2016 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the 
Intergovernmental Pretrial Justice Reform Task Force 
Reported by Senator BURNS of Washington for the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary 
pursuant to Joint Order 2016, S.P. 650. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §1023, sub-§4, ¶D, as amended by PL 2013, c. 519, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
D.  Set preconviction or post-conviction bail for a violation of condition of release 
pursuant to section 1092, except as provided in section 1092, subsection 4; or 
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §1023, sub-§4, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 341, §2, is 
amended to read: 
E.  Set preconviction bail using a condition of release not included in every order for 
pretrial release without specifying a court date within 8 weeks of the date of the bail 
order.; 
Sec. 3.  15 MRSA §1023, sub-§4, ¶¶F and G are enacted to read: 
F.  Set preconviction bail for crimes involving allegations of domestic violence 
without specifying a court date within 5 weeks of the date of the bail order; or 
G.  Notwithstanding section 1026, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraph (9-A), 
impose a condition of preconviction bail that a defendant submit to random search 
with respect to a prohibition on the possession, use or excessive use of alcohol or 
illegal drugs. 
Sec. 4.  15 MRSA §1023, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2009, c. 23, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
5.  Fees.  A bail commissioner is entitled to receive a fee not to exceed $60 for the 
charges pursuant to which the defendant is presently in custody.  The bail commissioner 
shall submit such forms as the Judicial Department directs to verify the amount of fees 
received to be paid under this subsection.  The sheriff of the county in which the 
defendant is detained may create a fund for the distribution by the sheriff or the sheriff's 
designee for the payment in whole or in part of the $60 bail commissioner fee for those 
defendants who do not have the financial ability to pay that fee The Judicial Department 
shall pay the bail commissioner's fee. 
Sec. 5.  15 MRSA §1025-A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 541, §1, is amended to 
read: 
§1025-A.  County jail employees 
If a court or a bail commissioner issues an order that a defendant in custody be 
released, pending trial, on a personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured 
appearance bond, whether or not accompanied by one or more conditions under section 
1026, subsection 3, an employee of the county jail having custody of the defendant, if 
authorized to do so by the sheriff, may, without fee, prepare the personal recognizance or 
bond and take the acknowledgement of the defendant. 
Sec. 6.  15 MRSA §1026, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 374, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
1.  In general.  At the initial appearance before a judicial officer of a defendant in 
custody for a crime bailable as of right preconviction, the judicial officer may issue an 
order that, pending trial, the defendant be released: 
A.  On personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond 
under subsection 2-A; 
B.  On a condition or combination of conditions under subsection 3; or 
C.  On personal recognizance or execution of an unsecured appearance bond, 
accompanied by one or more conditions under subsection 3. 
Every order for the pretrial release of any defendant must include a waiver of extradition 
by the defendant and the conditions that the defendant refrain from new criminal conduct 
and not violate any pending protection from abuse orders pursuant to Title 19, section 
or Title 19-A, section 4011. 
Sec. 7.  15 MRSA §1026, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 374, §5, is 
amended to read: 
2-A.  Release on personal recognizance or appearance bond.  The judicial officer 
shall order the pretrial release of the defendant on personal recognizance or upon 
execution of an unsecured appearance bond in an amount specified by the judicial officer, 
unless, after consideration of the factors listed in subsection 4, the judicial officer 
determines that: 
A.  The release would not reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant as 
required; 
B.  The release would not reasonably ensure that the defendant would refrain from 
any new criminal conduct; 
C.  The release would not reasonably ensure the integrity of the judicial process; or 
D.  The release would not reasonably ensure the safety of others in the community. 
Sec. 8.  15 MRSA §1026, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 227, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
A.    If, after consideration of the factors listed in subsection 4, the judicial officer 
determines that the release described in subsection 2-A will not reasonably ensure the 
appearance of the defendant at the time and place required, will not reasonably ensure 
that the defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, will not reasonably 
ensure the integrity of the judicial process or will not reasonably ensure the safety of 
others in the community, the judicial officer shall order the pretrial release of the 
defendant subject to the least restrictive further condition or combination of 
conditions that the judicial officer determines will reasonably ensure the appearance 
of the defendant at the time and place required, will reasonably ensure that the 
defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, will reasonably ensure the 
integrity of the judicial process and will reasonably ensure the safety of others in the 
community.  These conditions may include that the defendant: 
(1)  Remain in the custody of a designated person or organization agreeing to 
supervise the defendant, including a public official, public agency or publicly 
funded organization, if the designated person or organization is able to 
reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant at the time and place required, 
that the defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, the integrity of the 
judicial process and the safety of others in the community.  When it is feasible to 
do so, the judicial officer shall impose the responsibility upon the defendant to 
produce the designated person or organization.  The judicial officer may 
interview the designated person or organization to ensure satisfaction of both the 
willingness and ability required.  The designated person or organization shall 
agree to notify immediately the judicial officer of any violation of release by the 
defendant. If the judicial officer imposes this condition, the State shall reimburse 
the designated organization for costs of supervision of the defendant; 
(2)  Maintain employment or, if unemployed, actively seek employment; 
(3)  Maintain or commence an educational program; 
(4)  Abide by specified restrictions on personal associations, place of abode or 
travel; 
(5)  Avoid all contact with a victim of the alleged crime, a potential witness 
regarding the alleged crime or with any other family or household members of 
the victim or the defendant or to contact those individuals only at certain times or 
under certain conditions; 
(6)  Report on a regular basis to a designated law enforcement agency or other 
governmental agency; 
(7)  Comply with a specified curfew; 
(8)  Refrain from possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon; 
(9)  Refrain from the possession, use or excessive use of alcohol and from any 
use of illegal drugs.  A condition under this subparagraph may be imposed only 
upon the presentation to the judicial officer of specific facts demonstrating the 
need for such condition; 
(9-A)  Submit to: 
(a) A random search for possession or use prohibited by a condition imposed 
under subparagraph (8) or (9); or 
(b) A search upon articulable suspicion for possession or use prohibited by a 
condition imposed under subparagraph (8) or (9); 
(10)  Undergo, as an outpatient, available medical or psychiatric treatment, or 
enter and remain, as a voluntary patient, in a specified institution when required 
for that purpose; 
(10-A)  Enter and remain in a long-term residential facility for the treatment of 
substance abuse; 
(11)  Execute an agreement to forfeit, in the event of noncompliance, such 
designated property, including money, as is reasonably necessary to ensure the 
appearance of the defendant at the time and place required, to ensure that the 
defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, to ensure the integrity of 
the judicial process and to ensure the safety of others in the community and post 
with an appropriate court such evidence of ownership of the property or such 
percentage of the money as the judicial officer specifies; 
(12)  Execute a bail bond with sureties in such amount as is reasonably necessary 
to ensure the appearance of the defendant at the time and place required, to 
ensure that the defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, to ensure 
the integrity of the judicial process and to ensure the safety of others in the 
community; 
(13)  Return to custody for specified hours following release for employment, 
schooling or other limited purposes;  
(14)  Report on a regular basis to the defendant's attorney; 
(15)  Notify the court of any changes of address or employment; 
(16)  Provide to the court the name, address and telephone number of a 
designated person or organization that will know the defendant's whereabouts at 
all times; 
(17)  Inform any law enforcement officer of the defendant's condition of release 
if the defendant is subsequently arrested or summonsed for new criminal 
conduct;  
(18)  Satisfy any other condition that is reasonably necessary to ensure the 
appearance of the defendant at the time and place required, to ensure that the 
defendant will refrain from any new criminal conduct, to ensure the integrity of 
the judicial process and to ensure the safety of others in the community; and 
(19) Participate in an electronic monitoring program, if available. 
Sec. 9.  15 MRSA §1051, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A.  Violation of probation; standards.  This subsection governs bail with respect 
to a motion to revoke probation. 
A.  A judge or justice may deny or grant bail. 
B.  In determining whether to admit the defendant to bail and, if so, the kind and 
amount of bail, the judge or justice shall consider the nature and circumstances of the 
crime for which the defendant was sentenced to probation, the nature and 
circumstances of the alleged violation and any record of prior violations of probation 
as well as the factors relevant to the setting of preconviction bail listed in section 
1026. 
Sec. 10.  15 MRSA §1073, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 1997, c. 543, §18, is further 
amended to read: 
The judge or justice may absolve the person of responsibility to pay all or part of the 
bond or may order the return of cash bail, except that a person may not be absolved of the 
responsibility to pay all or part of the bond, or receive any cash deposited as bail, if, prior 
to terminating the agreement, the defendant has failed to appear as required or, if the 
precondition in section 1073-A has been satisfied, the defendant has failed to comply 
with each condition of release.  Nothing in this section may be construed to relieve or 
release a person of the responsibility for the appearance of the defendant, notwithstanding 
the termination of the agreement, until the defendant is in the custody of the sheriff of the 
county in which the case is pending, new or substitute sureties have appeared, new cash 
bail has been deposited or the defendant has otherwise been admitted to bail. 
Sec. 11.  15 MRSA §1073-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 543, §19, is repealed. 
Sec. 12.  17-A MRSA §1205-C, sub-§§4 and 5, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 246, 
§3, are amended to read: 
4.    At the initial appearance, the court shall advise the probationer of the contents of 
the motion, the right to a hearing on the motion, the right to be represented by counsel at 
a hearing and the right to appointed counsel.  If the probationer can not afford counsel, 
the court shall appoint counsel for the probationer.  The court shall call upon the 
probationer to admit or deny the alleged violation.  If the probationer refuses to admit or 
deny, a denial must be entered.  In the case of a denial, the court shall set the motion for 
hearing and may commit the person probationer, with or without bail, pending hearing.  If 
the probationer is committed without bail pending hearing, the date of the hearing must 
be set no later than 45 days from the date of the initial appearance unless otherwise 
ordered by the court. 
5.    In deciding whether to set bail under this section and in setting the kind and 
amount of that bail, the court must be guided by the standards of post-conviction bail in 
Title 15, section 1051, subsections 2 and 3 subsection 2-A.  Appeal is governed by Title 
15, section 1051, subsections 5 and 6.  Bail set under this section is also governed by the 
sureties and other forms of bail provisions in Title 15, chapter 105-A, subchapter IV 4 
and the enforcement provisions in Title 15, chapter 105-A, subchapter V 5, articles 1 and 
3, including the appeal provisions in Title 15, section 1099-A, subsection 2. 
Sec. 13.  17-A MRSA §1302, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may suspend all or a portion 
of a minimum fine under section 1301, subsection 6 or under section 207, subsection 3 or 
under Title 29-A, section 2412-A, subsection 3, and the court may impose a fine other 
than the mandatory fine if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there 
are exceptional circumstances that justify imposition of a lesser financial penalty.  In 
making a finding of exceptional circumstances, the court may consider: 
A.  Reliable evidence of financial hardship on the part of the offender and the 
offender's family and dependents; 
B.  Reliable evidence of special needs of the offender or the offender's family and 
dependents; 
C.  Reliable evidence of the offender's income and future earning capacity and the 
offender's assets and financial resources from whatever source; 
D.  Reliable evidence regarding any pecuniary gain derived from the commission of 
the offense; and 
E.  The impact of imposition of the mandatory fine on the offender's reasonable 
ability to pay restitution under chapter 54. 
Sec. 14.  17-A MRSA §1304, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 568, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  Unless the offender shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the default 
was not attributable to an intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or 
to a failure on the offender's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds 
required for the payment, the court shall find that the default was unexcused and may: 
(1)  Commit the offender to the custody of the sheriff until all or a specified part 
of the fine is paid.  The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused 
default must be specified in the court's order and may not exceed 6 months.  An 
offender committed for nonpayment of a fine is given credit toward the payment 
of the fine for each day of confinement that the offender is in custody at the rate 
specified in the court's order, which may not be less than $25 or more than $100 
of unpaid fine for each day of confinement.  The offender is also given credit for 
each day that the offender is detained as the result of an arrest warrant issued 
pursuant to this section. An offender is responsible for paying any fine remaining 
after receiving credit for confinement and detention.  A default on the remaining 
fine is also governed by this section; or 
(2)  If the unexcused default relates to a fine imposed for a Class D or Class E 
crime, as authorized by chapter 53, order the offender to perform community 
service work, as authorized in chapter 54-C, until all or a specified part of the 
fine is paid.  The number of hours of community service work must be specified 
in the court's order and the offender must receive a credit against the unpaid fine 
of no less than $25 for every 8 hours of community service work completed, 
which may not exceed one hundred 8-hour days at a rate equal to the current 
hourly minimum wage.  An offender ordered to perform community service work 
pursuant to this subparagraph is given credit toward the payment of the fine for 
each 8-hour day of community service work performed at the rate specified in the 
court's order.  The offender is also given credit toward the payment of the fine for 
each day that the offender is detained as a result of an arrest warrant issued 
pursuant to this section at a rate specified in the court's order that is up to $100 of 
unpaid fine per day of confinement.  An offender is responsible for paying any 
fine remaining after receiving credit for any detention and for community service 
work performed.  A default on the remaining fine is also governed by this 
section. 
SUMMARY 
This bill implements the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Pretrial Justice 
Reform Task Force.  The bill does the following. 
1.  It specifies that a bail commissioner may not set preconviction bail for crimes 
involving domestic violence without specifying a court date within 5 weeks of the date of 
the bail order. 
2.  It specifies that, notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 
1026, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraph (9-A), a bail commissioner may not 
impose as a condition of preconviction bail that a defendant submit to random search with 
respect to a prohibition on the possession, use or excessive use of alcohol or illegal drugs. 
3.  It authorizes a properly trained county jail employee to prepare and execute a 
personal recognizance bond when a bail commissioner orders bail. 
4.  It eliminates the availability of unsecured bail bonds for bail. 
5.  It amends standards for release on preconviction bail to include language in the 
conditions that specifies that a defendant refrain from the possession of alcohol and 
illegal drugs, in addition to the current condition that prohibits use or excessive use of 
alcohol or any drugs.  The bill also specifies that this condition be imposed only if 
specific facts are provided to the judicial officer to support the imposition of the 
condition. 
6.  It adds to the standards for release on preconviction bail language that a defendant 
be required to submit to a random search or a search upon articulable suspicion for 
possession of firearms or other dangerous weapons or possession or use of alcohol or 
illegal drugs. 
7.  It amends post-conviction bail to specify standards for bail with respect to a 
motion to revoke probation.  A judge or justice may deny or grant bail and, in 
determining whether to admit the defendant to bail, the judge or justice shall consider the 
nature of the circumstances of the crime for which the defendant was sentenced to 
probation and the nature of the alleged violation of and any records of prior violations of 
probation. 
8.  It repeals Title 15, section 1073-A, which provides that if a defendant violated a 
condition of bail then the person who posted the bail or the surety must have the bond 
released or all of the money returned, unless the person previously acted as surety for the 
same defendant and the defendant previously failed to comply with conditions. 
9.  It requires that in an initial proceeding on a probation violation for which a person 
is committed without bail pending hearing, the date of the hearing must be set no later 
than 45 days from the date of the initial appearance unless otherwise ordered by the court. 
10.  It allows the court to suspend all or part of the minimum mandatory fine for 
assault, certain drug crimes and operating a motor vehicle while a person's license is 
suspended or revoked, and it lists criteria that a court may consider in making the 
decision to suspend the fine. 
11.  It amends the amount of payment for community service that may be credited 
against the unpaid fine for offenders who have been sentenced to pay a fine and who have 
defaulted from no less than $25 for every 8 hours to a rate equal to the current hourly 
minimum wage. 
12.  It specifies that bail commissioners' fees must be paid for by the Judicial 
Department, instead of being paid for by the defendant seeking bail or by a county fund 
that may be created for defendants who cannot pay the fee. 
13.  It specifies that if a defendant is released on preconviction bail and the judicial 
officer imposes a condition that the person remain in the custody of a designated 
organization agreeing to supervise the defendant, the State is required to reimburse the 
designated organization for the costs of the supervision of the defendant.