Defense of Indigents in Maine: The Need for Public Defenders

During the past ten years the United States Supreme Court has engineered a major reworking of criminal procedure through judicial review. In no area of criminal procedure has the overhaul been so drastic as in the right to court appointed counsel. From a time when court appointment of counsel was virtually nonexistent, the right has been expanded to the extent that counsel is now available in nearly all cases and stages of the proceedings. This rapid growth of the right to counsel has placed an understandable strain on state and federal judicial systems. Various means of coping with the demands have been devised, though most have been short-sighted and ill-suited to the needs of both state and defendant. The State of Maine has felt these pressures on its judicial system and has responded in piecemeal fashion, resulting in a makeshift system for the provision of defense services. In this article the legal developments in the area of right to counsel will be outlined to assay the dimensions of the crisis. The present system for providing defender services will be examined with reference to a survey taken of the practices and opinions of superior and district court judges in appointment of counsel. Finally, the advantages of a public defender system will be presented in general form, followed by a specific proposal for legislation creating a public defender system for Maine.