The lack of attorney representation for indigent clients has prompted one lawmaker to introduce a bill to require court clerks to enter judges' orders appointing public defenders into the docket within 24 hours and to notify those attorneys right away.
Attorney Rob Ruffner testified before the Judiciary Committee that attorneys who are appointed indigent cases are sometimes not notified for two weeks or more. And he said that can have devastating consequences.
"Just two years ago we were contacted by the jail that I had been assigned to a prisoner. I had received nothing from the court," Ruffner said. "I said the transport officer must have not heard the right name because I haven't been on a roster for a year. That person died the next day. The day after that I received notice that I had been assigned the case despite not being rostered."
Ruffner said court clerks cannot handle the volume of time sensitive paperwork they have to do on a daily basis.
Julie Finn of the Judicial Branch testified that the docket system was recently updated, but Jim Billings of the Maine Commission of Public Defender Services, said this week that there are 32 cases dating back to March where an attorney had yet to be appointed. And overall, there are about 500 clients who need representation, including 90 who are in jail.
Ruffner said if the bill helps to get the courts the number of clerks they need that's a start.
"It focuses the system to make sure that everyone understands that we need to get that information," he said. "I think your colleagues in other committees should give the Judiciary all the clerks they need, and they need more than they are asking for."
Democratic Representative Sophie Warren introduced the proposal. It now heads to a work session where the number of clerks needed to expedite the docketing will be discussed.