From Fort Kent to Kittery, there are now all matter of obscenities including straight-up f-bombs and references to anatomy and sex acts adorning license plates issued for cars and trucks.
“The First Amendment protects your right to have any bumper sticker you want, but it doesn’t force the state to issue you a registration plate that subjects every child in your neighborhood to a message the government wouldn’t allow them to see in a movie theater,” she told the Legislature’s Transportation Committee.
Bills before the committee would reestablish a review process, allow the secretary of state to reject vulgar license plates and allow the recall of offensive license plates that already have been issued.
Updated April 30
Mills administration officials oppose bill to decriminalize drug possession
But people in recovery, medical providers, faith groups, legislators and advocates overwhelmingly support the proposal to make drug possession only a civil violation.
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People in recovery, medical providers, faith groups, legislators and advocates all testified Friday in favor of a bill that would make drug possession a civil violation instead of a crime.
But two top officials in the Mills administration opposed the measure even as they agreed that people with substance use disorder should be diverted from the criminal justice system.
“Do you believe what we’re doing is working?” Rep. Charlotte Warren, a Democrat from Hallowell, asked Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey.
Updated 55 mins ago
Mills administration officials oppose bill to decriminalize drug possession
But people in recovery, medical providers, faith groups, legislators and advocates overwhelmingly support the proposal to make drug possession only a civil violation.
Share
People in recovery, medical providers, faith groups, legislators and advocates all testified Friday in favor of a bill that would make drug possession a civil violation instead of a crime.
But two top officials in the Mills administration opposed the measure even as they agreed that people with substance use disorder should be diverted from the criminal justice system.
“Do you believe what we’re doing is working?” Rep. Charlotte Warren, a Democrat from Hallowell, asked Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey.
Updated April 29
Maine lawmakers could limit or eliminate legal protection for law enforcement
The Legislature heard opposing arguments Thursday on bills to change qualified immunity, a legal standard that protects police officers from lawsuits.
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Legislators in Maine have joined lawmakers in more than two dozen states and the U.S. Congress in considering ending or limiting qualified immunity, the legal defense often used to shield police officers from lawsuits.
Qualified immunity has no bearing on whether a prosecutor charges a police officer with a crime, but it does affect whether that officer can be sued for civil rights violations. The U.S. Supreme Court created the concept more than 50 years ago to protect government employees from frivolous litigation, but it has expanded in case law over decades. It has come under new scrutiny, especially since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year, as activists push for greater accountability when police officers use
by Christian Wade, The Center Square | April 28, 2021 04:00 PM Print this article
Maine lawmakers are considering a controversial proposal that seeks to punish media outlets for selectively reporting the news.
Under the proposal, titled the Stop Guilt by Accusation Act, news outlets would be required to remove mugshots from digital publications if the accused is acquitted. If news outlets cover a criminal court case but fail to report on a defendant s acquittal, the defendant could sue for damages of up to $10,000 from each media company.
The bill s sponsor, Rep. Heidi Sampson, R-Alfred, argues that news outlets cover arrests and trials of people who are accused of crimes but often fail to report on the outcome if the accused are proven innocent. She said those individuals are stigmatized for life by the news coverage of a crime they didn t commit.