2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 4: JUDICIARY › Chapter 37: MAINE COMMISSION ON INDIGENT LEGAL SERVICES › 4 §1806. Information not public record

§1806. Information not public record
Disclosure of information and records in the possession of the commission is governed by this section.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
1.  Definitions.
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Individual client information" means name, date of birth, social security number, gender, ethnicity, home address, home telephone number, home facsimile number, home e-mail address, personal cellular telephone number, personal pager number and any information protected under the attorney-client relationship.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
B. "Personal contact information" means home address, home telephone number, home facsimile number, home e-mail address, personal cellular telephone number, personal pager number, date of birth and social security number.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
C. "Request for funds for expert or investigative assistance" means a request submitted to the commission by an indigent party or by an attorney on behalf of an indigent client seeking authorization to expend funds for expert or investigative assistance, which includes, but is not limited to, the assistance of a private investigator, interpreter or translator, psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health expert, medical expert and scientific expert.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
D. "Case information" means:
(1) The court in which a case is brought;
(2) Any criminal charges or juvenile crime charges and the type, but not the contents, of any petition giving rise to a case;
(3) The docket number;
(4) The identity of assigned counsel and the date of assignment;
(5) The withdrawal of assigned counsel and the date of withdrawal; and
(6) Any order for reimbursement of assigned counsel fees.   [PL 2011, c. 547, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 2011, c. 547, §1 (AMD).]
2.  Confidential information.
The following information and records in the possession of the commission are not open to public inspection and do not constitute public records as defined in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3.
A. Individual client information that is submitted by a commission-rostered attorney or a court is confidential, except that the names of criminal defendants and the names of juvenile defendants charged with offenses that if committed by an adult would constitute murder or a Class A, Class B or Class C crime are not confidential.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
B. Information subject to the lawyer-client privilege set forth in the Maine Rules of Evidence, Rule 502 or that constitutes a confidence or secret under the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.6 is confidential.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
C. Personal contact information of a commission-rostered attorney is confidential.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
D. Personal contact information of a member of the commission or a commission staff member is confidential.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
E. A request for funds for expert or investigative assistance that is submitted by an indigent party or by an attorney on behalf of an indigent client is confidential. The decision of the executive director of the commission hired pursuant to section 1804, subsection 1, or the executive director's designee, to grant or deny such a request is not confidential after a case has been completed. A case is completed when the judgment is affirmed on appeal or the period for appeal has expired.   [PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW).]
F. Any information obtained or gathered by the commission when performing an evaluation or investigation of an attorney is confidential, except that it may be disclosed to the attorney being evaluated or investigated.   [PL 2015, c. 290, §1 (AMD).]
[PL 2015, c. 290, §1 (AMD).]
3.  Confidential information disclosed by the Judicial Department.
The Judicial Department may disclose to the commission confidential information necessary for the commission to carry out its functions, including the collection of amounts owed to reimburse the State for the cost of assigned counsel, as follows:
A. Case information and individual client information with respect to court proceedings that are confidential by statute or court rule in which one or more parties are represented by assigned counsel; and   [PL 2011, c. 547, §2 (NEW).]
B. The name, address, date of birth and social security number of any person ordered by the court to reimburse the State for some or all of the cost of assigned counsel.   [PL 2011, c. 547, §2 (NEW).]
This information remains confidential in the possession of the commission and is not open to public inspection, except that the names of criminal defendants and the names of juvenile defendants charged with offenses that if committed by an adult would constitute murder or a Class A, Class B or Class C crime are not confidential.
[PL 2011, c. 547, §2 (NEW).]
4.  Rules of professional conduct.
Nothing in this section prohibits the executive director or the executive director's designee from reporting potential professional misconduct under the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct to the Board of Overseers of the Bar or from disclosing information and records related to potential professional misconduct to the board.
[PL 2023, c. 344, §6 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2011, c. 260, §1 (NEW). PL 2011, c. 547, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 290, §1 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 344, §6 (AMD).