The Maine Rules of Evidence: What They Are and How They Got That Way

The promulgation by the Supreme Judicial Court of the Maine Rules of Evidence is another landmark in Maine judicial administration. When the Rules of Civil Procedure were adopted in 1959, the old rules of the common law, somewhat eroded by time and patched here and there by legislative poultices, still governed Maine pleading and practice. Since then modem rules of Criminal Procedure have also been adopted, a new Criminal Code has been enacted, and the court system has been reorganized. The Maine Rules of Evidence round out this picture of progress. The Rules of Evidence were promulgated pursuant to the Evidence Enabling Act, enacted by the Legislature in its 1974 special session, which specifically authorized the Court to prescribe rules of evidence. This enabling legislation was necessary in order to avoid any doubt whether rules of evidence were rules of practice and procedure within the existing rules enabling acts. This Act provides that the Rules shall take effect on such date not less than six months after their promulgation as the Court may set. Thereafter all laws in conflict with them are superseded. No further legislative action is required to make the Rules effective. Despite the possibility of legislative change, it seems useful at this time to record step by step the progress culminating in the adoption of the Rules and the philosophy underlying them. In doing so, this Article discusses major aspects of the Rules with particular reference to departures from existing Maine law.