The Maine Commission on Public Defense Services has outlined a plan to meet its obligation to provide legal counsel to defendants who cannot afford their own attorney. The commission is facing pressure to address a backlog of cases.
The commission is under a court order to come up with a plan to more quickly assign attorneys to indigent clients facing criminal charges. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy said if a workable plan is not presented, she will order defendants who've waited for more than two weeks for an attorney to be released from jail starting this month.
The commission said it will work with court clerks to create a live list of unrepresented cases- allowing real-time updates when counsel is assigned. Private attorneys who join the roster to take indigent cases will not be assigned more than five cases a day, and the commission will reinstate geographic limitations on where attorneys are assigned.
The plan also calls for administrative staff to be shifted to help with recruitment efforts, for expanding the work that paralegals are allowed to do, and for contracting with a case management service.
Longer term plans focus on additional funding from the state, to hire more public defenders.
The plan will go before Justice Murphy on Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court.
