AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. Paul LePage's budget calls for four new judges and additional prosecutors, but as the Legislature's Appropriations Committee is considering the budget, concerns are being raised about how the administration arrived at those numbers.
Rep. John Martin, a Democrat from Eagle Lake, says there are 30,000 fewer cases in district court than just a few years ago.
"The number of cases has dropped, and so I am not saying that is a bad thing," Martin said, "but I am wondering what does that mean in terms of additional judges and additional prosecutors being needed?"
Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, president of the Maine Prosecutors Association, says at least four judges are needed, and she believes more prosecutors than the 22 in the budget are needed to handle what she calls increasingly complex cases.
No votes have been taken by the committee on the governor's two-year budget proposal.
