It was another busy week at the ACLU of Maine: We gathered with the community at SPACE Gallery, outlined our Robbins victory and next steps, and testified in Augusta on one piece of the puzzle to end the state's Sixth Amendment crisis and uphold the right to counsel.
Come As You Are Community Resistance Event at SPACE Gallery
We had an amazing time at the “
Come as You Are” community resistance event at Portland’s SPACE Gallery on Tuesday, hosted by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. The evening featured readings by several Maine writers, including our own Molly Curren Rowles, who focused on perseverance and resistance during a tumultuous and challenging time. Keep an eye on our
events page to see where we’ll be in the coming weeks and months!
Read Molly's Piece
Spreading the Word About Our Recent Court Victory and Next Steps
Our chief counsel, Zach Heiden, wrote a piece
in the Maine Morning Star detailing our recent victory in
Robbins v. State of Maine, and the long journey that got us here. The piece puts into perspective the outsized impact that failing the Sixth Amendment has on the people of Maine and outlines the next steps in the state’s attempt to fix this ongoing constitutional crisis. Read the piece
here, and check out our
dashboard that tracks the number of people in Maine without an attorney starting in November of 2023.
MAINE MORNING STAR
ACLU of Maine Testimony in Support of Expanding Our Public Defense System
We had a busy week in Augusta, testifying on several bills, including LD 1101, "An Act to Address the Limited Availability of Counsel for Indigent Parties." The bill seeks to address the Sixth Amendment crisis brought to light in our
Robbins case by increasing funding for indigent defense services. The Sixth Amendment requires the state to provide counsel to people charged with a crime who cannot afford their own, yet hundreds of people are actively being denied that right in Maine.
We shared with lawmakers that setting up new public defender offices throughout Maine will help ease the crisis by increasing the number of qualified and effective defense attorneys in the state. This approach offers a more reliable alternative to the state's current system, which largely depends on contracting private defense attorneys who are often unavailable and, at times, unable to adequately represent their clients.
Read the full testimony here
Relevant Reads
- Bangor Daily News: What comes next after ruling determines Maine is violating people’s Constitutional rights
- Portland Press Herald: Maine has spent millions to digitize court records — and they’re still mostly not online
- Maine Morning Star: How Trump carved a pathway for his mass deportations through executive orders
- Maine Public: Emergency bill to shore up public defender system lacks support from Maine civil rights advocates
