Maine Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill says it will take a joint effort to reduce the backlog of cases in which jailed defendants are awaiting court-appointed attorneys.
"It's a problem that's been many years in the making and it's not going to be solved overnight. And it involves all of the different justice partners, all the branches of government as well as the layers in this state," she says.
Stanfill says bolstering the state's fledgling public defender offices will help reduce the backlog.
"One of the things we may be able to do is bring some additional lawyers in from out-of-state to help staff those offices. It's a problem that courts are facing, frankly, across the country. Some are in better shape than others," she says.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills recently criticized a district court judge who lowered bail for a defendant charged with domestic assault who had not been assigned a lawyer in accordance with his Sixth Amendment rights. Upon his release from jail, Leein Hinckley forced his way into his ex-girlfriend's Auburn home and got into a shootout with police before being shot and killed. The woman escaped but another man who was visiting the home was also killed.
Stanfill would not comment on how she would advise judges in such cases. She said, "each judge exercises their good judgment."
