Commissioners and staff on a state panel expressed concerns Tuesday that Maine is failing to provide legal counsel to low-income defendants as demand for court-appointed attorneys coincides with a drop in lawyers willing to do the work.
Frustrated by a lack of progress, a “last resort” lawsuit on behalf of poor criminal defendants alleges a state commission’s public defense system violates defendants’ constitutional rights.
Civil rights lawyers sued Maine officials on behalf of impoverished criminal defendants on Tuesday, alleging the state failed to create an effective public defense system in violation of their constitutional rights. Maine doesn’t supervise the.