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The additional offices and staff come at a time when state officials acknowledge Maine is in the middle of a "constitutional crisis" because there are not enough attorneys available to represent low-income criminal defendants.
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Justice Michaela Murphy wrote that the proposed settlement between the state and the ACLU of Maine lacks enforcement capability and, in the meantime, the "constitutional crisis" over a lack of attorneys is getting worse.
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Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Valerie Stanfill also said Maine is still in the middle of a "constitutional crisis" over its struggle to provide attorneys to low-income defendants.
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The office will have six attorneys and is part of a multi-year push by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services to open additional public defender offices around the state.
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A Superior Court judge rejected an earlier settlement aimed at ending a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Maine, saying it didn't adequately address the "looming crisis." But the latest proposal seeks to address the judge's concerns.
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In a new report, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said Maine has so far lacked the political will and the funding needed to fulfill its constitutional obligations.
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State lawmakers could be asked next year to significantly expand Maine's public defender system around the state as officials attempt to bolster the ranks of attorneys will to represent low-income defendants.
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Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy has rejected a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging failures by the state agency that provides attorneys for low-income criminal defendants.
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The head of the state agency that provides low-income defendants with attorneys has announced that he will step down later this year after helping to lead the push to overhaul Maine's indigent legal defense system.
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Maine's chief justice is asking more attorneys to represent low-income defendants as the state faces a quote “dual crisis" in the court system.