After a judge found Maine guilty of failing to provide defense lawyers to people who can’t afford it, them, American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is arguing that people should be released from jail while they wait for their state-appointed attorney. The Kennebec County Superior Court ruled that Maine had violated people’s Sixth Amendment rights by failing to provide indigent legal representation. In a follow up hearing this month, the court will hear from the state and the ACLU on how best to remedy the constitutional violation, reports the Maine Morning Star. The ACLU’s proposed solutions include release from jail for those whose right to an attorney can’t be met, and a court mandate that the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, which oversees public defenders, ensure they provide continuous representation starting at the defendant’s initial appearance and throughout the criminal process. “We’re hoping that the court will craft a remedy that recognizes that people are innocent until proven guilty, and should not be locked up until the government can provide them with a lawyer,” said the ACLU's Zach Heiden.
The ACLU sued the state over lack of indigent counsel in 2022. Since then, the lawsuit was granted class action status, and the number of people charged with a crime waiting for state-appointed attorneys has steadily increased from 106 in November 2023 to 930 this month. Of those at least 115 are being held in custody while they wait for state-appointed legal representation. After 45 days if no state-appointed attorney is provided, the ACLU asked the court to consider dismissing all charges, with the understanding that they could be filed again once an attorney is assigned. While releasing people charged with a crime could be a public safety concern, Heiden said there are ways courts can put conditions on release. “The government has not shown that the release of non-convicted indigent defendants would threaten community safety so drastically as to justify continuing to deny petitioners their constitutional rights,” the ACLU said. “To the extent that public safety clashes with federal constitutional rights, the latter must prevail.”