PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Officials with Maine’s judicial branch say there won’t be any jury trials the final two weeks of December in an effort to cut costs.
Judicial system spokeswoman Mary Ann Lynch told the Portland Press Herald the freeze on trials will defer about $20,000 in jurors’ pay and mileage. But she said there are few other options available to trim costs during this fiscal year, which began July 1, and that the court system doesn’t have enough money to operate the way it should.
Lawyer Walter McKee of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said freezing jury trials raises concerns about the constitutional rights of defendants. He said pushing back trial dates means longer waits in jail for people awaiting trial.
___
Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.