State of Maine v. Germaine Page

2023 ME 73
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedNovember 30, 2023
DocketAnd-22-310
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2023 ME 73 (State of Maine v. Germaine Page) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Germaine Page, 2023 ME 73 (Me. 2023).

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2023 ME 73 Docket: And-22-310 Argued: May 9, 2023 Decided: November 30, 2023

Panel: STANFILL, C.J., and MEAD, JABAR, HORTON, CONNORS, LAWRENCE, and DOUGLAS, JJ.

STATE OF MAINE

v.

GERMAINE PAGE

LAWRENCE, J.

[¶1] Germaine Page appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by

the trial court (Androscoggin County, Stewart, J.) for attempted murder

(Class A), domestic violence criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon

(Class C), domestic violence assault (Class D), domestic violence terrorizing

(Class D), discharging a firearm near a dwelling (Class E), and domestic violence

reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon (Class C). Page contends that the

trial court abused its discretion by imposing a discovery sanction, pursuant to

M.R.U. Crim. P. 16(e), that, although it generally prohibited the State from using

evidence that it had provided to the defense late, permitted the State to use any

evidence that directly rebutted Page’s evidence or that directly related to,

further explained, or completed any of the late-provided evidence that Page 2

introduced. Page also asserts that the jury venire was not drawn from a fair

cross-section of the community. We conclude that the trial court’s discovery

sanction constituted a fundamentally fair balance between the parties’

competing interests. We do not reach Page’s second contention because Page

has not sufficiently preserved or presented a sufficient record for us to

determine whether the jury venire was drawn from a fair cross-section of the

community. We therefore affirm the judgment with respect to Page’s

contended errors. We, however, vacate the sentences with respect to domestic

violence assault and domestic violence terrorizing because Page’s sentences

exceed the maximum sentences allowable under 17-A M.R.S. § 1604(1)(D)

(2023).

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

[¶2] “Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, the record

supports the following facts.” State v. McLaughlin, 2018 ME 97, ¶ 2, 189 A.3d

262. Germaine Page, who is African American, and the victim were previously

in a romantic relationship and lived together in Auburn. At some point before

June 2021, the victim told Page that she wished to end their relationship. The

victim then traveled to North Carolina, where she spent time with another man. 3

Page learned of the nature of the victim’s trip before the victim returned to

Maine, and he then began to contact her nonstop.

[¶3] On the evening of June 17, 2021, the victim returned to the

apartment that she and Page shared to get her car keys. Before the victim

arrived, Page told his neighbors that the victim had been cheating on him while

she was away, that he had a gun, and that he was going to “smoke her.”

Immediately upon the victim’s arrival, Page accused the victim of cheating on

him and followed her around the apartment while she looked for her keys.

When the victim approached the apartment door, Page pushed and kicked her,

which caused her to fall over a chair. Page then put his foot on the victim’s

chest, pulled out a gun, aimed the gun at the victim’s head, and told the victim

that he was going to kill her. Page pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired.

[¶4] While Page attempted to unjam or reload the gun, the victim kicked

Page off of her and again attempted to leave. Page blocked the victim from

leaving, struck her and knocked her to the floor, stomped on her face twice, and

continued to try to fix the gun. As the victim was standing back up, Page again

pulled the trigger of the gun. This time the gun went off, but the bullet missed

the victim, lodged in the living room wall, and left a bullet hole. Shortly after

that, the victim escaped and fled toward a neighbor’s apartment. 4

[¶5] The Auburn Police Department responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls

made by neighbors, who called after hearing screaming and gun shots. The

victim was transported to the hospital due to her physical injuries, bruising, and

elevated heart rhythm. Page, who had fled on foot, was eventually found and

taken into custody. Page disclosed to police officers that he had thrown the gun

into a river after fleeing the apartment.

B. Procedural History

[¶6] On June 18, 2021, the State filed a criminal complaint against Page.

On September 8, 2021, the State filed a six-count indictment charging the

following offenses:

• Count 1: Attempted murder (Class A), 17-A M.R.S. §§ 152(1)(A), 201 (2021);

• Count 2: Domestic violence criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. §§ 209-A(1)(A), 1604(5)(A) (2021);

• Count 3: Domestic violence assault (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. § 207-A(1)(A) (2021);

• Count 4: Domestic violence terrorizing (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. § 210-B(1)(A) (2021);

• Count 5: Discharge of a firearm near a dwelling (Class E), 12 M.R.S. § 11209(1)(A), (2) (2021);1 and

1We cite to the pre-October 2021 version of the statute establishing the firearm charge because 12 M.R.S. § 11209(1)(A) and (2) were recently amended, though the amendments are not relevant to this appeal. See P.L. 2021, ch. 74, § 2 (effective Oct. 18, 2021). 5

• Count 6: Domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. §§ 211-A(1)(A), 1604(5)(A) (2021).2

[¶7] On June 16, 2022, Page filed a demand for a speedy trial and a

motion to dismiss. In his motion to dismiss, Page asserted that the State

provided him with late discovery on June 15, 2022, which was only a few weeks

from the jury trial docket call, even though the State had possession of the

provided discovery for over a year. Page requested that the trial court either

dismiss the indictment or prohibit the State from introducing any evidence

contained in the discovery. On July 21, 2022, the trial court held a hearing on

the motion to dismiss at which four officers from the Auburn Police Department

testified. The officers testified that the State was late to share the discovery

with the defense, that there was no good reason for the delay, and that the

department has since implemented trainings and policies to prevent similar

issues in the future. Page stated at the hearing that he did not want a

continuance as a remedy, wanted to go forward with a trial, and was “not under

any allusions [sic] that [the trial court was] going to dismiss this case.”

2 We cite to the 2021 version for the domestic violence charges (i.e., Counts 2, 3, 4, and 6) because

17-A M.R.S. §§ 207-A(1)(A), 209-A(1)(A), 210-B(1)(A), 211-A(1)(A) were recently amended, though the amendments are not relevant to this appeal. See P.L. 2021, ch. 647, §§ B-17, B-22, B-25, B-29 (effective Jan. 1, 2023). 6

[¶8] On August 4, 2022, the trial court issued an order on Page’s motion

to dismiss in which it found that the State had provided “a less than satisfactory

explanation why this discovery was not timely produced” and that there was “a

history of late discovery production in the region.” The trial court determined

that, pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 16(e), “a meaningful sanction, short of

dismissal, [was] warranted” and issued a discovery sanction that prohibited the

State “from using in its case in chief any of the evidence and discovery produced

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2023 ME 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-maine-v-germaine-page-me-2023.