HP1208
LD 1684
Session - 129th Maine Legislature
C "A", Filing Number H-870, Sponsored by
LR 1572
Item 2
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:

Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §3003, sub-§14,  as enacted by PL 1977, c. 520, §1, is amended to read:

14. Juvenile.  "Juvenile" means any a person who has not attained the age of 18 years , and a person 18 years of age or older during the period of a disposition that includes probation or commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile facility who was adjudicated before the age of 18.

Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §3101, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2019, c. 525, §9, is further amended to read:

2. Juvenile Court jurisdiction.  
A. The Juvenile Court shall have has exclusive original jurisdiction, subject to waiver of jurisdiction as provided in subsection 4, of proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to have committed a juvenile crime, as defined in section 3103.

This paragraph is repealed October 1, 2021.

A-1 Beginning October 1, 2021, the Juvenile Court has exclusive original jurisdiction, subject to waiver of jurisdiction as provided in subsection 4, of proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to have committed a juvenile crime, as defined in section 3103, and the juvenile had attained 12 years of age at the time the juvenile crime is alleged to have been committed.
C.  The Juvenile Courts have Court has jurisdiction over all petitions brought under Title 34-A, chapter 9, subchapter 7 pertaining to juveniles who have been adjudicated as having committed juvenile crimes in other states, but who are found within the territorial jurisdiction of the State.
D.  The Juvenile Courts have Court has exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings in which an adult is alleged to have committed a juvenile crime before attaining 18 years of age. For purposes of a proceeding under this paragraph, the adult is considered deemed a juvenile.

This paragraph is repealed October 1, 2021.

D-1 Beginning October 1, 2021, the Juvenile Court has exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings in which an adult is alleged to have committed a juvenile crime after having attained 12 years of age and before attaining 18 years of age. For purposes of a proceeding under this paragraph, the adult is deemed a juvenile.
E.  The Juvenile Courts shall have Court has jurisdiction concurrent with the District Courts over petitions for emancipation brought under section 3506-A.
F Beginning October 1, 2021, a juvenile who had not attained 12 years of age at the time of the juvenile's alleged juvenile crime is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. Notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 10-A, subsection 1, a criminal proceeding may not be commenced based on conduct committed by a juvenile who had not attained 12 years of age.

Sec. 3. 15 MRSA §3203-A, sub-§5,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 706, Pt. A, §§2 and 3, is further amended by to read:

5. Detention hearing.  Upon petition by a juvenile community corrections officer who ordered the detention or an attorney for the State who ordered the detention, the Juvenile Court shall review the decision to detain a juvenile within 48 hours following the detention, excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays, except that if a juvenile is detained pursuant to subsection 7, paragraph B-5, the Juvenile Court shall review the decision to detain the juvenile within 24 hours following the detention, excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays. When a petition to review detention is filed, the court shall assign counsel to represent the juvenile. The assignment must be reviewed at the juvenile's first appearance before the court. If a juvenile petition with charges based on the conduct at issue in the detention hearing is filed, the assignment continues with respect to the juvenile petition, but must be reviewed at the juvenile's first appearance on the juvenile petition.
A. A detention hearing must precede and must be separate from a bind-over or adjudicatory hearing. Evidence presented at a detention hearing may include testimony, affidavits and other reliable hearsay evidence as permitted by the court and may be considered in making any determination in that hearing.
B. Following a detention hearing, a court shall order a juvenile's release, in accordance with subsection 4, unless it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that continued detention is necessary to meet one of the purposes of detention provided in that subsection. The Juvenile Court shall ensure, by appropriate order, that any such continued detention is otherwise in accordance with the requirements of subsection 4. The court may order that detention be continued pending further appearances before the court or pending conditional release to a setting satisfactory to the juvenile community corrections officer.
C. Continued detention or conditional release may not be ordered unless a Juvenile Court Judge or justice of the peace has determined pursuant to subsection 4-A or the Juvenile Court determines at the detention hearing that there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile has committed a juvenile crime.
D. When a court orders detention or a conditional release that authorizes, even temporarily, the juvenile's removal from the juvenile's home, the court shall determine whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts are necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined in Title 22, section 4002, subsection 1-B, and whether continuation in the juvenile's home would be contrary to the welfare of the juvenile. This determination does not affect whether the court orders detention or a conditional release, which continues to be governed by the other provisions of this section.

Sec. 4. 15 MRSA §3301, sub-§6,  as amended by PL 2011, c. 580, §1, is further amended to read:

6. Review by attorney for the State.  If the juvenile community corrections officer decides not to request the attorney for the State to file a petition, the juvenile community corrections officer shall inform the attorney for the State, the complainant, the law enforcement officer and the victim of the decision and of the reasons for the decision as soon as practicable. The juvenile community corrections officer shall advise the complainant, the law enforcement officer and the victim that they may submit their complaint to the attorney for the State for review.

If the juvenile community corrections officer makes a determination pursuant to subsection 5, paragraph A or B and decides not to request the attorney for the State to file a petition for a violation of Title 22, section 2389, subsection 2 or Title 28-A, section 2052, the juvenile community corrections officer shall inform the Secretary of State of the violation. The Secretary of State shall suspend for a period of 30 days that juvenile's license or permit to operate a motor vehicle, right to operate a motor vehicle and right to apply for and obtain a license. After the suspension is terminated, any record of the suspension is confidential and may be released only to a law enforcement officer or the courts for prosecution of violations of Title 29-A, section 2412-A.

The attorney for the State on that attorney's own motion or upon receiving a request for review by the law enforcement officer, the complainant or the victim, shall consider the facts of the case, consult with the juvenile community corrections officer who made the initial decision and then make a final decision as to whether to file the petition. The attorney for the State shall notify the juvenile community corrections officer of the final decision within 30 days of being informed by the juvenile community corrections officer of the initial decision. If a juvenile community corrections officer has not yet made an initial decision, the attorney for the State may file a petition at any time more than 30 days after the juvenile community corrections officer has been given notice pursuant to section 3203-A.

If the attorney for the State files a petition, the court, upon the motion of the attorney for the State, the motion of the juvenile or the court's own motion, may assign counsel for the juvenile. The assignment must be reviewed at the juvenile's first appearance before the court.

Sec. 5. 15 MRSA §3306, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 2019, c. 525, §15, is further amended to read:

1. Notice and appointment.   The provisions of this subsection address a juvenile's right to counsel.
A. At a juvenile's first appearance before the court, the juvenile and the juvenile's parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian must be fully advised by the court of their constitutional and legal rights, including the juvenile's right to be represented by counsel at every stage of the proceedings. At every subsequent appearance before the court, the juvenile must be advised of the juvenile's right to be represented by counsel.
B. If the juvenile requests an attorney and if the juvenile and the juvenile's parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian are found to be without sufficient financial means, counsel must be appointed by the court.
C. The court may appoint counsel without a request under paragraph B if the court determines representation by counsel necessary to protect the interests of the juvenile.
D The court shall appoint counsel to represent the juvenile upon the entry of a dispositional order that includes commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility. A juvenile's right to counsel under this paragraph continues until the juvenile is discharged from the disposition. Counsel appointed under this paragraph may be in addition to the juvenile's primary counsel.

This subsection does not limit the court's authority to appoint counsel for a juvenile at any time beginning with the detention of the juvenile under this Part.

Sec. 6. 15 MRSA §3313, sub-§2, ¶F,  as amended by PL 2019, c. 474, §1 and c. 525, §26, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

F The juvenile has made or has agreed to pay restitution to the victim of the juvenile's conduct for the damage or injury that the victim sustained in an amount that the court has determined is within the juvenile's ability to pay pursuant to section 3314-C;

Sec. 7. 15 MRSA §3313, sub-§2, ¶J,  as amended by PL 1979, c. 663, §119, is further amended to read:

J. The juvenile is particularly likely to respond affirmatively to probation; and

Sec. 8. 15 MRSA §3313, sub-§2, ¶K,  as amended by PL 2019, c. 525, §26, is further amended to read:

K. The confinement of the juvenile would entail excessive hardship to the juvenile or the juvenile's dependents . ;

Sec. 9. 15 MRSA §3313, sub-§2, ¶L  is enacted to read:

L The juvenile had not attained 14 years of age at the time of the alleged conduct; and

Sec. 10. 15 MRSA §3313, sub-§2, ¶M  is enacted to read:

M The juvenile crime would be considered a Class D or Class E crime if committed by an adult and, based upon both the written agreement of the parties and a court finding, the facts and circumstances of the underlying criminal episode giving rise to the conviction did not generate probable cause to believe the juvenile had committed what would be considered a Class A, Class B or Class C crime if committed by an adult.

Sec. 11. 15 MRSA §3315, sub-§3,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 503, §3, is further amended to read:

3. Court review of determination.  Whenever a court makes a determination pursuant to section 3314, subsection 1, paragraph F or section 3314, subsection 2 that reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile from the juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts are necessary because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined in Title 22, section 4002, subsection 1-B and that continuation in the juvenile's home would be contrary to the welfare of the juvenile, that determination must be reviewed by the court not less than once every 12 months until the juvenile is discharged or no longer residing outside the juvenile's home or attains 18 years of age. This review does not affect a juvenile's commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility.
A A juvenile who has not attained 21 years of age must be represented by counsel at a judicial review of the juvenile's commitment.
B If an appropriate treatment or appropriate and less restrictive placement is not being provided or offered to the juvenile, the court may order the Department of Corrections or the Department of Health and Human Services, or both, to demonstrate the reasonableness of the current treatment or placement provided or offered.

Sec. 12. 15 MRSA §3316, sub-§2, ¶A,  as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 127, Pt. B, §6, is amended to read:

A. A commitment of a juvenile to a Department of Corrections juvenile corrections correctional facility pursuant to section 3314 must be for an indeterminate period not to extend beyond the juvenile's 18th birthday unless the court expressly further limits or extends the indeterminate commitment, as long as the court does not limit the commitment to less than one year nor extend the commitment beyond a juvenile's 21st birthday and as long as an order does not result in a commitment of less than one year, unless the commitment is for an indeterminate period not to extend beyond the juvenile's 21st birthday. Nothing in this Part may be construed to prohibit the provision to a juvenile following the expiration of the juvenile's term of commitment of services voluntarily accepted by the juvenile and the juvenile's parent or parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not emancipated; except that these services may not be extended beyond the juvenile's 21st birthday.

Sec. 13. 15 MRSA §3317,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 752, §26 and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §§6 and 7, is further amended to read:

§ 3317. Disposition after return to Juvenile Court

In instances of commitment of a juvenile to the Department of Health and Human Services or a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility or when the juvenile is under a specified period of probation, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services or the commissioner's designee or the Commissioner of Corrections or the commissioner's designee , or the juvenile following the disposition may for good cause petition the Juvenile Court having original jurisdiction in the case for a judicial review of the disposition, including extension or reduction of the period of commitment or period of probation. For a petition initiated by the juvenile, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Corrections shall provide information including, but not limited to, the information in reports required for periodic review pursuant to section 3315. In all cases in which a the juvenile is returned to a Juvenile Court, the Juvenile Court may make any of the dispositions otherwise provided in section 3314 , including a reduction of the period of commitment or probation, and Title 34-A, section 3805, subsection 2. When reviewing a commitment to the Department of Health and Human Services, the court shall consider efforts made by the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services to reunify the juvenile with the juvenile's parents or custodians, shall make a finding regarding those efforts and shall return custody of the juvenile to a parent or legal custodian if the return of the juvenile is not contrary to the welfare of the juvenile. A petition for judicial review of a disposition committing the child juvenile to the Department of Health and Human Services must be served on the parents at least 7 days prior to the hearing. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the juvenile may file a petition no more than once every 180 days.

Sec. 14. 15 MRSA §3402, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 2015, c. 100, §3, is further amended to read:

1. Matters for appeal.  Appeals of the following matters may be taken from the juvenile court Juvenile Court to the Supreme Judicial Court by a party specified in subsection 2:
A. An adjudication, as long as the appeal is taken after an order of disposition;
B. An order of disposition, or of any subsequent order modifying disposition, for an abuse of discretion; and
D. A detention order entered pursuant to section 3203-A, subsection 5 or any refusal to alter a detention order upon petition of the juvenile pursuant to section 3203-A, subsection 11, for abuse of discretion , provided that the . The appeal must be handled expeditiously . ; and
H A judicial review decision, pursuant to section 3317.

Sec. 15. 15 MRSA §3405, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2015, c. 100, §5, is further amended to read:

2. Record on appeals.  In appeals taken pursuant to section 3402, subsection 1, paragraphs A and , B and H, review must be on the basis of the record of the proceedings in juvenile court the Juvenile Court. In the interest of justice, the Supreme Judicial Court may order that the record consist of:
A. The untranscribed sound recording of the proceedings; or
B. An agreed or settled statement of facts with the consent of the parties.

Sec. 16. 34-A MRSA §3805, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 1999, c. 583, §31, is further amended to read:

1. Eligibility.  Only a juvenile, as defined in Title 15, section 3003, subsection 14, who is 11 years of age or older at the time of commitment may be committed to the facility pursuant to this subchapter and Title 15, Part 6.

This subsection is repealed October 1, 2021.

Sec. 17. 34-A MRSA §3805, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:

1-A Eligibility.   Beginning October 1, 2021, only a juvenile, as defined in Title 15, section 3003, subsection 14, who is 12 years of age or older at the time of commitment may be committed to the facility pursuant to this subchapter and Title 15, Part 6.

Sec. 18. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

CORRECTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF

Long Creek Youth Development Center 0163

Initiative: Establishes and provides funding for one Assistant Classifications Officer position due to an anticipated increase in the number of trips to the court system.

GENERAL FUND 2019-20 2020-21
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
0.000 1.000
Personal Services
$0 $43,567
inline graphic sline.gif inline graphic sline.gif
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $43,567

Long Creek Youth Development Center 0163

Initiative: Provides funding for 16 hours of anticipated overtime to transport officers for an anticipated increase in the number of trips to the court system.

GENERAL FUND 2019-20 2020-21
Personal Services
$0 $28,163
inline graphic sline.gif inline graphic sline.gif
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $28,163

Long Creek Youth Development Center 0163

Initiative: Provides funding for one additional transportation vehicle.

GENERAL FUND 2019-20 2020-21
All Other
$0 $2,640
inline graphic sline.gif inline graphic sline.gif
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $2,640

CORRECTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2019-20 2020-21
GENERAL FUND
$0 $74,370
inline graphic sline.gif inline graphic sline.gif
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS $0 $74,370

Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.

summary

This amendment replaces the bill and does the following.

1. It amends the definition of "juvenile" as used in the Maine Juvenile Code to include a person 18 years of age or older who had been adjudicated as a juvenile during the period of a disposition that includes probation and commitment to the Department of Corrections beyond that person's 18th birthday.

2. It establishes that the Juvenile Court has jurisdiction over proceedings in which a juvenile had attained 12 years of age at the time of the offense, effective October 1, 2021.

3. It requires the Juvenile Court to assign counsel to a juvenile when a detention order is reviewed.

4. It authorizes the Juvenile Court to appoint counsel for a juvenile upon the filing of a petition.

5. It requires the Juvenile Court to appoint counsel upon a disposition ordering a juvenile to the Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility, but permits the court to appoint counsel at any point beginning with the juvenile's detention.

6. It adds 2 considerations that must be accorded weight against ordering placement in a secure facility: whether the juvenile was under 14 years of age at the time of the crime; and whether the adjudication is for a juvenile crime that would be a Class D or E crime if it were an adult crime and was not reduced from a crime that was charged as Class A, B or C.

7. It adds to the already existing review in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 3315 a requirement that the juvenile have counsel. It allows courts to require the Department of Corrections, the Department of Health and Human Services, or both, to demonstrate the reasonableness of the current treatment or placement provided or offered if an appropriate treatment or an appropriate less restrictive alternative placement is not being provided. It also allows such judicial reviews for individuals who are 18 to 20 years of age.

8. It allows a juvenile to request a hearing under Title 15, section 3317 and to petition for a reduction of a period of commitment and authorizes the court to reduce the period of commitment or probation. A juvenile may request this hearing only once every 180 days absent extraordinary circumstances.

9. It allows a court to limit commitment to less than one year.

10. It allows for appeal of hearings pursuant to Title 15, section 3317.

11. It raises the age at which a juvenile may be committed to Long Creek Youth Development Center to 12 years of age beginning October 1, 2021.

12. It adds an appropriations and allocations section.

FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)


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