Nathaniel Seth Levy announced he would depart from Maine’s budding public defender project last Friday.
Crime & Justice
New public defenders help but don’t fully alleviate court’s troubles finding enough defense lawyers
The director of indigent legal services cautions that five people are not enough to solve the systemic problems.
Gov. Mills includes additional $17 million for public defenders and contracted lawyers in budget proposal
An additional 10 public defenders and tiered hourly wages for contracted counsel included in state budget plan
State courts confront crisis on multiple fronts
Jail recordings of attorney-client phone calls and defense lawyer shortages are among the top concerns.
Ellsworth attorney disbarred after allegedly taking $189,000 from a client’s estate
Friends of a Milbridge man who died in 2018 had sought help since then to get eight $10,000 gifts distributed.
Exiting lawmaker asks U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Maine criminal justice system
Rep. Jeff Evangelos alleges in letter that Maine’s attorney general has blocked reforms as court system collapses.
Chief Justice says Maine’s justice system is “failing”
Maine courts need 280 additional full-time defense lawyers to manage caseload of state’s poor, official says.
Too many cases. Too few lawyers. Maine courts stretch to find available defense attorneys
The state’s chief judge for superior courts says courts are unable to find a defense lawyer with “disturbing frequency” for the state’s poor.
Gubernatorial candidates Janet Mills and Paul LePage chart different paths for Maine public defense
Mills seeks to attract new lawyers and increase law firm participation. LePage would rather transition to county public defenders.
Brewer lawyer suspended but can keep working
Donald F. Brown was sanctioned for misrepresentations to state and sexual relationship with a client.
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