An Act To Enact the Stop Guilt by Accusation Act
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0923
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: SAMPSON, DAVIS, DRINKWATER, LIBBY, LYMAN, RUDNICKI

Legislative Document
No. 923
H.P. 679
House of Representatives, March 8, 2021
An Act To Enact the Stop Guilt by Accusation Act
(EMERGENCY)
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SAMPSON of Alfred.
Cosponsored by Senator DAVIS of Piscataquis and
Representatives: DRINKWATER of Milford, LIBBY of Auburn, LYMAN of Livermore Falls, 
RUDNICKI of Fairfield.
Emergency preamble.  Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution asserts that the 
government "shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press"; and
Whereas, freedom of the press in the United States is not absolute and is subject to 
certain restrictions; and
Whereas, the State has a compelling interest to require the press to promote objective 
truth for the sake of the viability of democracy and to promote the safety, health and welfare 
of our communities; and
Whereas, there has been a growing trend for individuals to use the courts to file 
spurious claims, which are selectively reported on by the media, to the detriment of the 
accused party; and
Whereas, the pattern of media outlets failing to report on the ultimate outcome of 
cases has eroded the community's trust in the integrity of government institutions; and
Whereas, the State has a compelling interest to promote the truth because without 
truth, there is no freedom; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA c. 232 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 232
STOP GUILT BY ACCUSATION ACT
§1500-M.  Short title
This chapter may be known and cited as "the Stop Guilt by Accusation Act."
§1500-N.  Purpose
1.  Purpose.  The purpose of this Act is to:
A.  Prevent media outlets from engaging in defamation in kind and degrading the 
integrity of the State's institutions through selective reporting on cases or controversies, 
thereby cultivating false narratives that injure the accused by causing them to be subject 
to suspicion of wrongdoing by the general public;
B.  Protect the integrity of the press and encourage good character of the press;
C.  Deter malicious prosecution, abuse of process, overcharging by prosecutors and 
lawsuits seeking excessive relief; and
D.  Avoid condemnation of the accused by the general public.
§1500-O.  Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Abuse of process.  "Abuse of process" means the act of bringing a civil or criminal 
action for a purpose known to be different from the purpose for which the action was 
purportedly intended, including proceedings brought for reasons other than those sought 
on the surface of the complaint.
2.  Accused.  "Accused" means a person, including a suspect, respondent or defendant, 
who is blamed for a wrongdoing before a civil court, ethics commission, criminal court, 
administrative court or military tribunal, including a person who has been arrested or 
formally charged with a crime or ethics violation.
3.  Case or controversy.  "Case or controversy" means any civil, criminal or ethics 
proceeding before any state court, federal court, administrative court, ethics commission, 
military tribunal or legislative body.
4.  Defamation in kind.  "Defamation in kind" means a false and unprivileged 
statement of fact that is harmful to an individual's reputation and that is published 
negligently or with malice, arising from the failure of a media outlet to report on the 
outcome of a case or controversy after the media outlet reported on the initial filings in a 
case or controversy in which the petitioner received less relief than originally sought or 
could have obtained and that could reasonably place the accused in a false light that causes 
the accused to be avoided, marginalized and shunned by the general public.
5.  False light.  "False light" means an untrue or misleading portrayal of an individual.
6.  Malicious prosecution.  "Malicious prosecution" means the act of initiating a 
criminal prosecution or civil suit or other proceeding against another party with malice and 
lacking probable cause.
7.  Media outlet.  "Media outlet" means a publication or broadcast program, including 
a newspaper, magazine, radio station or television station or an Internet website controlled 
by any of those, that provides news and feature stories to the public through various 
distribution channels.
8.  Mugshot.  "Mugshot" means an official photograph, typically both side and front 
view, taken of a suspect after the suspect is arrested for an alleged criminal violation with 
the purpose of creating a photographic record of the arrested individual and for 
identification of the suspect by victims and investigators.
9.  Petitioner.  "Petitioner" means a person or government entity, acting as a plaintiff, 
claimant or complainant, that presents a petition to a government authority with respect to 
a particular cause.
10.  Press.  "Press" means individuals reporting on the news, including reporters and 
photographers, who work for media outlets.
§1500-P.  Duty of media outlet to publish follow-up report
1.  Equal coverage required.  A media outlet must provide coverage of comparable 
time, place, magnitude, prominence, scale and manner to and in the same format as the 
original reporting of a case or controversy if:
A.  The media outlet reported on the facts of the case or controversy and the final 
verdict or decision reached provided less relief to the petitioner than sought by or that 
could have been obtained by the petitioner; and
B.  The accused or an authorized agent of the accused sends written notice to an 
authorized agent of a media outlet within 20 days after the verdict or outcome is 
announced, demanding that the facts surrounding the final decision or outcome be 
reported and published as a follow-up to the original reporting.
2.  Required contents of notification.  The written notification required by subsection 
1, paragraph B must include:
A.  The date and source of the original reporting by the media outlet;
B.  A short description of the original allegations, the original relief sought by the 
petitioner or the amount of relief that could have been obtained and a short description 
of the final outcome and relief actually awarded;
C.  The venue in which the case was resolved and the docket number of the case, if 
any; and
D.  An acknowledgement that the positions asserted in the notice are declared as true 
in accordance with Title 17-A, section 452.
3.  Permitted contents of notification.  The written notification required by subsection 
1, paragraph B may include:
A.  A photograph of the accused with an authorization allowing the media outlet to use 
the photograph at its discretion;
B.  Links to or a copy of the original coverage published by the media outlet;
C.  A demand to remove from any digital publication any objectionable pictures or 
mugshots of the accused that were included in the original publication if 
technologically possible; and
D.  Any other facts or pertinent information.
4.  Mugshots.  If a media outlet reports on the facts of a case or controversy and 
publishes a mugshot of the accused and the accused is subsequently acquitted, enters into 
a plea of no contest or receives an outcome more favorable than originally sought by the 
petitioner or available to the petitioner:
A.  The media outlet must remove the mugshot from any digital publication, if 
technologically possible; and
B.  The media outlet may not display the mugshot in the follow-up publication that 
reports on the actual outcome of the case or controversy and may only display images 
it has authorization from the accused to use.
5.  Settlement agreements.  If the result of a civil case is settled under the terms of a 
private settlement agreement, the accused is not required to provide the terms of the 
agreement but may alert the media outlet that the case or controversy was settled.
§1500-Q.  Civil liability; penalties; statute of limitations
1.  Time frame for compliance.  After receiving the notice and demand from the 
accused described in section 1500-P, a media outlet that reported on the facts of a case or 
controversy prior to its resolution shall publish a follow-up story in accordance with the 
requirements of section 1500-P within 10 days.
2.  Burden of proof.  The accused bears the burden of proof at a civil trial to establish 
that notice was timely provided to the media outlet and that it met the requirements of 
section 1500-P.
3.  Failure to comply and statute of limitations.  If the media outlet fails to comply 
with the notice and demand described in section 1500-P within 10 days of receipt of the 
notice and demand, the accused may file a civil suit within one year after the date of 
noncompliance that seeks the following relief in Superior Court against the media outlet:
A.  Statutory damages of up to $10,000;
B.  Attorney fees and costs;
C.  Actual damages; and
D.  Other forms of equitable and injunctive relief.
4.  Consolidation.  If multiple media outlets fail to comply with the notice and demand 
described in section 1500-P, the court may consolidate the outlets as codefendants.
5.  Injunctive relief.  If the media outlet displayed the mugshot of the accused in its 
original publication in digital form but fails to remove the mugshot as required by section 
1500-P, subsection 4, the accused may seek injunctive relief to compel the media outlet to 
remove the image.
§1500-R.  Immunity, exceptions and exemptions
1.  Immunity.  A media outlet is immune and exempt from liability under this Act if 
it:
A.  Is known to publish satire, parody or fiction for comedic or entertainment purposes;
B.  Reports on the facts of the outcome in a time, place, magnitude, prominence, scale 
and manner comparable to the original publication prior to receiving the notice and 
demand described in section 1500-P from the accused;
C.  Receives an untimely notice and demand described in section 1500-P; or
D.  Did not report on the case or controversy prior to the resolution of the case or 
controversy.
2.  Standing.  The petitioner does not have standing under this Act to compel a media 
outlet to report on the outcome of a case or controversy regardless of the outcome of the 
case or controversy. Except as described in this Act, neither the petitioner nor the accused 
has standing to compel a media outlet to report on a case or controversy.
3.  Standing in cases involving felony charges.  If a media outlet reports on a case or 
controversy involving one or more felony charges and the accused was convicted or pleads 
guilty to at least one felony count, the accused does not have standing under this Act.
4.  Exemptions.  The requirements of this Act do not apply to a media outlet that 
publishes a documentary, film or investigative report regarding a case or controversy.
5.  Waiver of rights.  An accused has the right to waive the accused's rights under this 
Act as part of a negotiated settlement. A court of competent jurisdiction has the discretion 
to refuse to acknowledge the waiver if the court find that there is evidence that the waiver 
was obtained by coercion.
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation 
takes effect when approved.
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Stop Guilt by Accusation Act.  It requires media outlets, upon 
receiving a demand from an individual who is the defendant in a criminal or civil case, and 
about whom the media has previously reported, to publish, within 10 days of receipt of a 
demand, a follow-up to the original reporting in the event the final verdict or decision 
reached provided less relief to the petitioner in the case than sought by or that would have 
been obtained by the petitioner.  It provides a private right of action with a one-year statute 
of limitations for the accused in the event of noncompliance by the media outlet. It exempts 
from the Act satirical or humorous publications, documentary works and investigative 
reports and provides that an accused who is convicted of a felony charge as part of the case 
or controversy does not have standing under the Act.