An Act To Protect the Constitutional Rights of Indigent Defendants
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1685
Committee: Judiciary
Amends: 4 MRSA §8-D, 4 MRSA §1804, 4 MRSA §1805, 4 MRSA §1805-A, 15 MRSA §815

Legislative Document
No. 1685
H.P. 1254
House of Representatives, May 6, 2021
An Act To Protect the Constitutional Rights of Indigent Defendants
Reported by Representative HARNETT of Gardiner for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 4, section 1804, subsection 3, paragraph 
H.
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  4 MRSA §8-D is enacted to read:
§8-D.  Rules; assessment of indigency and ability to pay
1.  Rules.  The Supreme Judicial Court may prescribe, repeal, add to, amend or modify 
rules or orders providing for a procedure in all courts through which an individual's 
financial capacity is assessed for the following purposes:
A.  To determine eligibility for a court-appointed attorney.  The eligibility standards 
must take into account the possibility of a party's ability to make periodic installment 
payments toward counsel fees;
B.  To determine whether a party qualifies to proceed in forma pauperis; and
C.  To determine, after a fine has been ordered in a criminal case, a party's ability to 
pay and the schedule for payments.
2.  Partial indigency and reimbursement.  This subsection applies to partial 
indigency and reimbursement of expenses incurred by assigned counsel or contract 
counsel.
A.  If the court determines that a defendant or civil party is unable to pay to obtain 
private counsel but is able to contribute to payment of assigned counsel or contract 
counsel, the court shall order the defendant or civil party to make periodic installment 
payments up to the full cost of representation or to pay a fixed contribution.  The court 
shall remit payments received to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services 
under section 1801.
B.  A defendant or civil party may not be required to pay for legal services in an amount 
greater than the expenses actually incurred.
C.  Upon petition of a defendant or civil party who is incarcerated, the court may 
suspend an order for reimbursement issued pursuant to this subsection until the time of 
the defendant's or civil party's release.
Sec. 2.  4 MRSA §1804, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. UUUU, 
§1, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  4 MRSA §1805, sub-§10-A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. UUUU, 
§13, is amended to read:
10-A.  Reimbursement of expenses.  Administer and improve reimbursement of 
expenses incurred by assigned counsel and contract counsel as described in section 1805‑A;
Sec. 4.  4 MRSA §1805-A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. UUUU, §14, is 
repealed.
Sec. 5.  15 MRSA §815 is enacted to read:
§815.  Communication between prosecutor and unrepresented defendant
To ensure that all waivers of the right to counsel are made knowingly, voluntarily and 
intelligently, a prosecutor may not communicate with an unrepresented defendant unless:
1.  Informed of right.  The defendant has been informed of the defendant's right to 
court-appointed counsel;
2.  Statement by the court.  The court has provided to the defendant a statement of:
A.  The substance of the charges against the defendant;
B.  The defendant's right to retain counsel, to request the assignment of counsel and to 
be allowed a reasonable time and opportunity to consult counsel before entering a plea;
C.  The defendant's right to remain silent and that the defendant is not required to make 
a statement and that any statement made by the defendant may be used against the 
defendant;
D.  The maximum possible sentence and any applicable mandatory minimum sentence; 
and
E.  The defendant's right to trial by jury; and
3.  Written waiver.  The defendant has executed a written waiver of the right to 
counsel in each prosecution.
SUMMARY
This bill transfers the financial screening function for eligibility for indigent legal 
services from the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services to the judicial branch and 
expands the screening to also provide information to determine whether a party qualifies 
to proceed in forma pauperis and is thereby entitled to a waiver of filing fees and other fees 
and to determine, after a fine has been ordered in a criminal case, a party's ability to pay 
and the schedule for payments.  The bill transfers language concerning determinations of 
partial indigency and reimbursement of counsel expenses that currently is within the Maine 
Commission on Indigent Legal Services provisions to provisions governing the Supreme 
Judicial Court and repeals current provisions requiring Maine Commission on Indigent 
Legal Services' involvement in indigency determinations and collection efforts, including 
the authority to enter into contracts for collection.
The bill also prohibits prosecutors from communicating with an unrepresented 
defendant unless the defendant has been informed of the defendant's right to appointed 
counsel, the court has provided the required statement of rights as specified in Maine Rules 
of Criminal Procedure, Rule 5(b) and the defendant has executed a written waiver of the 
right to counsel in each prosecution.  A defendant's waiver of the right to counsel must be 
knowing, voluntary and intelligent.  The Sixth Amendment Center recommended this 
requirement based on Faretta v. California, 422 US 806 (1975).