§ 15 §812 — Negotiated pleas

1.
Legislative intent and findings.
The Legislature finds that there is citizen dissatisfaction with plea bargaining that has resulted in some criticism of the criminal justice process. The Legislature further finds that part of the dissatisfaction is caused because victims of crimes and law enforcement officers who respond to those crimes have no subsequent contact with the cases as they proceed through the courts for judicial disposition. Victims and law enforcement officers are many times not informed by prosecutors of plea agreements that are to be submitted to the court for approval or rejection under existing Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure. It is the intent of this section to alleviate these expressions of citizen dissatisfaction and to promote greater understanding by prosecutors of citizens' valid concerns. This is most likely to be accomplished by citizens and law enforcement officers being informed of the results of plea negotiations before they are submitted to the courts. This notification will in no way affect the authority of the court to accept, reject or modify the terms of the plea agreement.
2.
Notification to victims and law enforcement officers.
Whenever practicable, before submitting a negotiated plea to the court, the attorney for the State shall make a good faith effort to inform the relevant law enforcement officers of the details of the plea agreement reached in any prosecution where the defendant was originally charged with murder, a Class A, B or C crime or a violation of Title 17‑A, chapter 9, 11, 12 or 13 and, with respect to victims, shall comply with Title 17‑A, section 2102, subsection 1, paragraphs A and B relative to informing victims of the details of and their right to comment on a plea agreement.

Legislative History

PL 1981, c. 685 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 680, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 475, §4 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 431, §8 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. C, §30 (AMD).