public defender system

The three-day trial over Maine's failure to provide adequate legal representation to low-income defendants concluded today in Kennebec County Superior Court.

The trial over Maine's failure to provide adequate legal representation for low-income defendants continued today in Kennebec Superior Court in Augusta.

A lawsuit over Maine's failure to provide adequate legal representation to low-income defendants has finally gone to trial in Kennebec County Superior Court.

The commission is in the process of building out a statewide network of public defender offices.

The commission is hopeful that the added defense attorneys will help put a dent in the backlog of more than 800 criminal cases, in which defendants currently lack counsel.

The ACLU has sought to name several defendants in its class action lawsuit alleging that the state is failing to uphold its obligation under the constitution to provide affective counsel for criminal defendants who cannot afford their own attorney.

The changes are temporary and fairly technical, and the commission's executive director emphasized that all attorneys taking court-appointed work will still be thoroughly vetted.

As Maine's indigent representation system struggles, defense attorneys say part of the problem is an overburdened, backlogged court system.

Maine's public defense agency reports only 224 attorneys are accepting assignments to new criminal and child protection cases from courts.

The state of Maine spent more than $21 million last year to provide free lawyers to people who cannot afford legal representation in court. And while…