In January of 2025, a judge in Kennebec County Superior Court issued an order in a case that was filed by the ACLU four years ago, regarding the lack of counsel for criminal defendants.
The judge presiding over the case, is Micaela Murphy, a former attorney for Madawaska native Dennis Dechaine. Books were written detailing the flawed investigation and trial, and many efforts made to get him a new trial...to no avail.
In response to the 41 page order in Kennebec County (in the above link, 41 pages), the Maine Attorney General's office responded with a whopping 123 pager. In the document is legislation regarding the MCPDS, and data about incarcerated defendants.
In yet another document, (State of Maine's appellate brief), on page 19, I found this:
RIII. Whether the Superior Court erred in concluding that Plaintiffs’inability to
identify any Class Representative now or previously without counsel at a
stage of their criminal prosecution where the absence of counsel
irremediably destroyed their right to a fair trial does not eliminate Plaintiffs’standing and entitlement to a permanent injunction.
I was severely damaged by the lack of counsel regarding my case in Aroostook County; I was arrested without a warrant or probable cause. I was denied an attorney and the case eventually dismissed; it was only after I failed to appear to pick a jury for trial, and was arrested on Memorial Day weekend of 2025... and spent the entire weekend (4 nights) in the county jail in Houlton.
I'm a plaintiff in the class action lawsuit! I'll be sending the ACLU some information regarding my case, for use in the 6th Amendment case: Robbins v. MCPDS (Maine Commission for Public Defense Services). I'll get a tracking number when I mail it, and post it here at my blog.
