Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §1314-A, as amended by PL 1985, c. 386, §1, is further amended to read:

§1314-A. Compelling evidence in criminal or juvenile proceedings;

immunity

In any criminal proceeding before a court or grand jury, or in any juvenile proceeding before a court, if a person refuses to answer questions or produce evidence of any kind on the ground that he the person may be incriminated thereby, and if the prosecuting attorney for the State, in writing, and with the written approval of the Attorney General or, in the event the prosecution is being conducted by the office of the district attorney, the written approval of either the Attorney General or the district attorney for that district, requests the court to order that person to answer the questions or produce the evidence, and the court after notice to the witness and hearing shall so order orders, unless it the court finds to do so would be clearly contrary to the public interest, that person shall comply with the order. After complying, and if, but for this section, he that person would have had the right to withhold the answers given or the evidence produced by him that person, that person shall may not be prosecuted or subjected to penalty, forfeiture or adjudication for or on account of any transaction, matter or thing concerning which, in accordance with the order, he that person gave answer or produced evidence. Failure to answer questions or produce evidence as ordered by the court following notice and hearing shall constitute constitutes contempt of court. He The person may nevertheless be prosecuted or subjected to penalty, forfeiture or adjudication for any perjury, false swearing or contempt committed in answering, or failing to answer, or in producing or failing to produce evidence, in accordance with the order.

SUMMARY

The bill changes current law by expressly allowing a district attorney as well as the Attorney General to provide the necessary written approval when the criminal proceeding before a court or grand jury, or the juvenile proceeding before a court, is being prosecuted by the office of the district attorney rather than the Office of the Attorney General or by a person not of either office but authorized by law to act as a representative of the State in a criminal proceeding. The bill also makes clerical and gender-specific language changes.