A trial is underway in Kennebec County Superior Court over Maine's failure to provide adequate and timely representation to low-income defendants.
Walter McKee, a criminal defense attorney, testified that it can be difficult for attorneys who are assigned to a case later in the court process.
"You've lost investigation opportunities, you've lost communications with the [Attorney General's] office, communication with the families," he said. "All these other many significant factors that the defendant is dealing with that you often have to deal with as the defense attorney, that are integral parts of the process."
Since the ACLU of Maine filed a lawsuit against the state more than two years ago, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy has rejected two proposed settlements, and this month ruled the state is failing to meet its constitutional obligations.
Eve Brensike Primus, a professor of law at the University of Michigan, testified that the state's newly created public defender system has not solved the shortage of attorneys willing to take such cases.
"There's models around the country of creative things that other jurisdictions have done to try and attract individuals to underserved areas, so I do not think Maine has done everything that it can do," she said.
The trial will resume tomorrow in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta and is expected to continue through Friday.
