Maine Commission on Public Defense Services

The bill passed with strong bipartisan support at a time when the state is under intense pressure to address a "constitutional crisis" within the indigent legal system. But Gov. Janet Mills — a former attorney general and prosecutor — has been skeptical that more money and positions is the answer.

The partial judgment, released last week, is the latest development in a more than two-year-old lawsuit alleging that Maine's indigent defense system is not providing adequate legal representation to low-income defendants.