An Act To Strengthen Crime Victims' Rights
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1705
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: HERBIG, VOLK, GOLDEN, NADEAU, PERRY, ZEIGLER, JACKSON, ROSEN, THIBODEAU
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1173-A, 17-A MRSA §1175

Legislative Document
No. 1705
H.P. 1185
House of Representatives, December 22, 2017
An Act To Strengthen Crime Victims' Rights
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 19, 2017.  Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HERBIG of Belfast.  (BY REQUEST)
Cosponsored by Senator VOLK of Cumberland and
Representatives: GOLDEN of Lewiston, McCREA of Fort Fairfield, NADEAU of Winslow, 
PERRY of Calais, ZEIGLER of Montville, Senators: JACKSON of Aroostook, ROSEN of 
Hancock, President THIBODEAU of Waldo.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §1173-A is enacted to read:
§1173-A.  Public trial proceedings
A victim may be present at all trial proceedings that are public unless the court 
determines that the fair administration of justice requires that the victim be excluded 
pursuant to the Maine Rules of Evidence, Rule 615.
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §1175, as amended by PL 2017, c. 128, §§1 to 3, is further 
amended to read:
§1175.  Notification of defendant's release or escape
Upon complying with subsection 1, a victim of a crime of murder or of a Class A, 
Class B or Class C crime or of a Class D crime under chapters 9, 11 and 12 for which the 
defendant is committed to the Department of Corrections or to a county jail or is 
committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Health and Human Services either 
under Title 15, section 103 after having been found not criminally responsible by reason 
of insanity or under Title 15, section 101-D after having been found incompetent to stand 
trial must receive notice of the defendant's unconditional release and discharge from 
institutional confinement upon the expiration of the sentence or upon release from 
commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon discharge under Title 15, section 
104-A and; must receive notice of any conditional release of the defendant from 
institutional confinement, including probation, supervised release for sex offenders, 
parole, furlough, work release, funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community 
confinement, home release monitoring or similar program, administrative release or 
release under Title 15, section 104-A; and must receive notice of the defendant's escape 
from the Department of Corrections, the state mental health institute or the county jail to 
which the defendant is committed.  For purposes of this section, "victim" also includes a 
person who has obtained under Title 19-A, section 4007 an active protective protection 
order or approved consent agreement against the defendant.
1.    A victim who wishes to receive notification must file a request for notification of 
the defendant's release or escape with the office of the attorney for the State.  The 
attorney for the State shall forward this request form to the Department of Corrections, to 
the state mental health institute or to the county jail to which that defendant is committed.  
Notwithstanding this subsection, a victim who wishes to receive notification regarding a 
defendant who is committed to the Department of Corrections may file a request for 
notification of the defendant's release or escape directly with the Department of 
Corrections.
2.    The Department of Corrections, the state mental health institute or the county jail 
to which the defendant is committed shall keep the victim's written request in the file of 
the defendant and shall notify the victim by mail of any impending release as soon as the 
release date is set or, if the defendant has escaped, by the quickest means reasonably 
practicable.  This notice must be mailed to the address provided in the request or any 
subsequent address provided by the victim.
3.    The If the defendant is being released, the notice required by this section must 
contain:
A.    The name of the defendant;
B.  The nature of the release authorized, whether it is a conditional release, including 
probation, supervised release for sex offenders, parole, furlough, work release, 
funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community confinement, home release 
monitoring or a similar program, administrative release or release under Title 15, 
section 104-A, or an unconditional release and discharge upon release from 
commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon the expiration of a sentence or 
upon discharge under Title 15, section 104-A;
C.    The anticipated date of the defendant's release from institutional confinement 
and any date on which the defendant must return to institutional confinement, if 
applicable;
D.    The geographic area to which the defendant's release is limited, if any;
E.    The address at which the defendant will reside; and
F.    The address at which the defendant will work, if applicable.
3-A.  If the defendant has escaped, the notice required by this section must contain 
the name of the defendant, the manner of the escape, the place from which the defendant 
escaped and the date of the escape.
4.    The notice requirement under this section ends when:
A.  Notice has been provided of an unconditional release or discharge upon the 
expiration of the sentence or upon release under Title 15, section 101-D or upon 
discharge under Title 15, section 104-A; or
B.    The victim has filed a written request with the Department of Corrections, the 
state mental health institute or the county jail to which the defendant is committed 
asking that no further notice be given.
5.    Neither the failure to perform the requirements of this chapter nor compliance 
with this chapter subjects the attorney for the State, the Commissioner of Corrections, the 
Department of Corrections, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, the state 
mental health institute or the county jail or the employees or officers of the attorney for 
the State, the Commissioner of Corrections, the Department of Corrections, the 
Commissioner of Health and Human Services, the state mental health institute or the 
county jail to liability in a civil action.
SUMMARY
This bill strengthens the rights of a victim of a crime by:
1.  Authorizing the victim to be present at all trial proceedings that are public unless 
the court determines that the fair administration of justice requires the exclusion of the 
victim; and
2.  Requiring that a victim who so wishes receive notification of the defendant's 
escape from the jail or institute to which the defendant is committed.