Cars Don’t Stop for Yellow Lights: Turning Maine’s Yellow Flag Law Red

This Case Note is about Maine’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law, Title 34-B, Section 3862-A, of the Maine Revised Statutes. The purpose of Maine’s law and others like it is to proactively take firearms away from individuals who present a substantial risk of violently harming themselves or others. In the aftermath of the mass shooting which occurred in Lewiston, Maine on October 25, 2023, there was debate over whether law enforcement could have used Section 3862-A to proactively prevent the shooting, as well as over whether Section 3862-A was an effective tool for preventing violence in the first place. This Case Note focuses on the latter issue. First, this Case Note outlines the development, application, and effectiveness of Extreme Risk Protection Order laws in the United States. It then sets out the procedure provided in Maine’s Section 3862-A and examines an application of the law in the case of In re J. Ultimately, it argues that Maine’s law should be modified to better facilitate law enforcement’s ability to stop dangerous individuals from committing violence against themselves or others.