An Act to Amend the Maine Juvenile Code
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0040
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: BEEBE-CENTER
Amends: 15 MRSA §3003, 15 MRSA §3203-A, 15 MRSA §3314, 15 MRSA §3314-C, 15 MRSA §3318-A, 15 MRSA §3509

Legislative Document
No. 39
S.P. 31
In Senate, January 4, 2023
An Act to Amend the Maine Juvenile Code
Submitted by the Department of Corrections pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BEEBE-CENTER of Knox.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §3003, sub-§14, as amended by PL 2021, c. 326, §1, is further 
amended to read:
14.  Juvenile.  "Juvenile" means a person who has not attained 18 years of age and a 
person 18 years of age or older during the period of a disposition that includes probation or 
commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility who was 
adjudicated before 18 years of age as having committed a juvenile crime.  This definition 
does not apply to a person whose disposition includes probation or commitment to a 
Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility when that person engages in new 
criminal conduct and is 18 years of age or older at the time of the new criminal conduct.
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §3203-A, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2021, c. 326, §3, is further 
amended to read:
5.  Detention hearing.  Upon petition by a juvenile community corrections officer who 
ordered the detention or an attorney for the State who ordered the detention, the Juvenile 
Court shall review the decision to detain a juvenile within 48 hours following the detention, 
excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays, except that if a juvenile is detained 
pursuant to subsection 7, paragraph B‑5, the Juvenile Court shall review the decision to 
detain the juvenile within 24 hours following the detention, excluding Saturday, Sunday 
and legal holidays.  If the juvenile is not emancipated, the Juvenile Court shall provide 
notice of a detention hearing to the juvenile’s parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian.  
When a petition to review detention is filed, the Juvenile Court shall assign counsel to 
represent the juvenile.  The assignment must be reviewed at the juvenile's first appearance 
before the Juvenile Court.  If a juvenile petition with charges based on the conduct at issue 
in the detention hearing is filed, the assignment continues with respect to the petition to 
review detention but must be reviewed at the juvenile's first appearance on the juvenile 
petition.
A.  A detention hearing must precede and must be separate from a bind-over or 
adjudicatory hearing.  Evidence presented at a detention hearing may include 
testimony, affidavits and other reliable hearsay evidence as permitted by the Juvenile 
Court and may be considered in making any determination in that hearing.
B.  Following a detention hearing, the Juvenile Court shall order a juvenile's release, 
in accordance with subsection 4, unless it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, 
that continued detention is necessary to meet one of the purposes of detention provided 
in that subsection.  The Juvenile Court shall ensure, by appropriate order, that any such 
continued detention is otherwise in accordance with the requirements of subsection 4.  
The Juvenile Court may order that detention be continued pending further appearances 
before the Juvenile Court or pending conditional release to a setting satisfactory to the 
juvenile community corrections officer.
C.  Continued detention or conditional release may not be ordered unless a Juvenile 
Court Judge or justice of the peace has determined pursuant to subsection 4‑A or the 
Juvenile Court determines at the detention hearing that there is probable cause to 
believe that the juvenile has committed a juvenile crime.
D.  When the Juvenile Court orders detention or a conditional release that authorizes, 
even temporarily, the juvenile's removal from the juvenile's home, the Juvenile Court 
shall determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the 
need for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts 
are necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined in Title 22, 
section 4002, subsection 1‑B, and whether continuation in the juvenile's home would 
be contrary to the welfare of the juvenile.  This determination does not affect whether 
the Juvenile Court orders detention or a conditional release, which continues to be 
governed by the other provisions of this section.
Sec. 3.  15 MRSA §3314, sub-§1, ¶H, as amended by PL 2021, c. 330, §4, is further 
amended to read:
H.  The court may order the juvenile to serve a period of confinement that may not 
exceed 30 days, with or without an underlying suspended disposition of commitment 
to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility, which confinement must 
be served concurrently with any other period of confinement previously imposed and 
not fully discharged or imposed on the same date but may be served intermittently as 
the court may order and must be ordered served in a facility approved or operated by 
the Department of Corrections exclusively for juveniles.  The court may order such a 
disposition to be served as a part of and with a period of probation that is subject to 
such provisions of Title 17‑A, section 1807 as the court may order and that must be 
administered pursuant to Title 34‑A, chapter 5, subchapter 4.  Revocation of probation 
is governed by the procedure contained in subsection 2.  Any disposition under this 
paragraph is subject to Title 17‑A, section 2305 except that a statement is not required 
to be furnished and the day-for-day deduction must be determined by the facility, but 
is not subject to Title 17‑A, section 2305, subsection 4 or 4‑A; section 2307, 
subsections 2, 3 and 4; section 2308, subsection 2; section 2309, subsection 2; or 
section 2310, subsections 3, 6 and 7.  For purposes of calculating the commencement 
of the The period of confinement, credit is accorded only for the portion of the first day 
for which the juvenile is actually confined; the commences on the date on which the 
juvenile is received into the facility to serve the period of confinement, and that day is 
counted as the first full day of the period of confinement.  The juvenile may not be 
released until the juvenile has served the full term of hours or days imposed by the 
court at any time on the final day of the period of confinement.  When a juvenile is 
committed for a period of confinement, the court shall determine whether reasonable 
efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile 
from the juvenile's home or that reasonable efforts are not necessary because of the 
existence of an aggravating factor as defined in Title 22, section 4002, subsection 1‑B 
and whether continuation in the juvenile's home would be contrary to the welfare of 
the juvenile.  This determination does not affect whether the court orders a period of 
confinement.
Sec. 4.  15 MRSA §3314, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. C, §49, is 
further amended to read:
2.  Suspended disposition.  The court may impose any of the dispositional alternatives 
provided in subsection 1 and may suspend its disposition and place the juvenile on a 
specified period of probation that is subject to such provisions of Title 17‑A, section 1807 
as the court may order and that is administered pursuant to the provisions of Title 34‑A, 
chapter 5, subchapter 4, except that the court may not impose the condition set out in Title 
17‑A, section 1807, subsection 5 6.  The court may impose as a condition of probation that 
a juvenile must reside outside the juvenile's home in a setting satisfactory to the juvenile 
community corrections officer if the court determines that reasonable efforts have been 
made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home 
or that no reasonable efforts are necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor 
as defined in Title 22, section 4002, subsection 1‑B, and that continuation in the juvenile's 
home would be contrary to the welfare of the juvenile.  Imposition of such a condition does 
not affect the legal custody of the juvenile.
Modification of probation is governed by the procedures contained in Title 17‑A, section 
1804, subsections 7 and 8.  Termination of probation is governed by the procedures 
contained in Title 17‑A, section 1804, subsection 10.  Revocation of probation is governed 
by the procedures contained in Title 17‑A, sections 1809 to 1812, except that this 
subsection governs the court's determinations concerning probable cause and continued 
detention and those provisions of Title 17‑A, section 1812, subsection 6 allowing a vacating 
of part of the suspension of execution apply only to a suspended fine under subsection 1, 
paragraph G or a suspended period of confinement under paragraph H.  A suspended 
commitment under subsection 1, paragraph F may be modified to a disposition under 
subsection 1, paragraph H.  When a revocation of probation results in the imposition of a 
disposition under subsection 1, paragraph F or a period of confinement under subsection 1, 
paragraph H, the court shall determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to 
prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home or that 
no reasonable efforts are necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor as 
defined in Title 22, section 4002, subsection 1‑B and whether continuation in the juvenile's 
home would be contrary to the welfare of the juvenile.  This determination does not affect 
whether the court orders a particular disposition upon a revocation of probation.  If the 
juvenile is being detained for an alleged violation of probation, the court shall review within 
hours following the detention, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, the 
decision to detain the juvenile.  Following that review, the court shall order the juvenile's 
release unless the court finds that there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile has 
violated a condition of probation and finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that 
continued detention is necessary to meet one of the purposes of detention under section 
3203‑A, subsection 4, paragraph C.  When a court orders continued detention, the court 
shall determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need 
for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts are 
necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined in Title 22, section 
4002, subsection 1‑B and whether continuation in the juvenile's home would be contrary 
to the welfare of the juvenile.  This determination does not affect whether the court orders 
continued detention.
Sec. 5.  15 MRSA §3314-C, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
8.  Payment and collection of restitution.  Payment of restitution by and collection 
of restitution from a juvenile must be in accordance with Title 17-A, sections 2006, 2007, 
2011, 2012 and 2016.
Sec. 6.  15 MRSA §3318-A, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2021, c. 365, §22 and 
affected by §37, is further amended by enacting at the end a new last blocked paragraph to 
read:
If, following the competency determination hearing, the Juvenile Court refers the juvenile 
to the Commissioner of Health and Human Services for evaluation and treatment, issues 
an order for the commissioner to evaluate the juvenile or orders the juvenile into the 
custody of the commissioner pursuant to section 3318‑B, the Juvenile Court shall ensure 
that a copy of the report of the State Forensic Service examiner is provided to the 
commissioner or the commissioner’s designee.  If, following the competency determination 
hearing, the Juvenile Court orders the juvenile detained in a juvenile detention facility, the 
Juvenile Court shall ensure that a copy of the report is provided to the Commissioner of 
Corrections or the commissioner’s designee.
Sec. 7.  15 MRSA §3509 is enacted to read:
§3509.  Interstate Compact for Juveniles
When a juvenile who has left the care of the juvenile's parent or parents, guardian or 
legal custodian in another state without the consent of the parent or parents, guardian or 
legal custodian, who has absconded from probation or parole in another state, who has 
escaped from a detention or correctional facility in another state or who is accused of an 
offense in another state is found by a law enforcement officer in the State, the juvenile must 
be referred immediately to a juvenile community corrections officer and must be processed 
according to the provisions of the Interstate Compact for Juveniles.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the Maine Juvenile Code.
1.  It changes the definition of "juvenile" to ensure that a person who committed a 
juvenile crime before attaining 18 years of age but was adjudicated as having committed 
that offense after attaining 18 years of age continues to be considered a juvenile with 
respect to any probation or commitment arising from that adjudication.  
2.  It requires the Juvenile Court to provide notice of a detention hearing to a juvenile’s 
parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not emancipated. 
3.  It changes the law that requires, when a juvenile is ordered to serve a 30-day or 
shorter period of confinement in a juvenile facility, that the juvenile be released at an exact 
time that is dependent on when that juvenile arrived at the facility.  It instead counts the 
day the juvenile is received into the facility as the first full day of the period of confinement, 
regardless of when the juvenile arrived at the facility, and allows the juvenile to be released 
at any time on the last day of the period of confinement, as is the case for all other juvenile 
dispositions and adult sentences.  
4.  It corrects a cross-reference with respect to juvenile probation conditions.
5.  It adds cross-references with respect to the payment and collection of juvenile 
restitution. 
6.  It requires the Juvenile Court to provide a copy of the report of the State Forensic 
Service examiner to the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of 
Corrections if either agency will be involved with a juvenile following a competency 
determination hearing.  
7.  It requires that a juvenile who is a runaway, absconder, escapee or accused offender 
from another state be referred by a law enforcement officer to a juvenile community 
corrections officer for processing according to the provisions of the Interstate Compact for 
Juveniles.