The five-member Rural Defender Unit is representing people in places like Aroostook and Washington counties, where many cannot afford – or find – a lawyer.
Emily Allen
Staff Writer
Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was the City Hall reporter for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. Emily is not a fan of the cold, but she puts up with Maine's challenging winters because she loves the state's beautiful hiking options ... once the snow has cleared.
Posted inMaine, News
Alfred man charged with murder in wife’s killing pleads not guilty
James Crow, who was charged with murder in April, has a long history of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Posted inMaine, News, Politics
New Maine wrongful death law ties cap on damages to inflation, extends time limit to sue
Gov. Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law Thursday without her signature. Another bill that would have extended the statute of limitations on medical negligence claims failed to get support.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
New state legal defense director wants to bring young attorneys in to do ‘important work’
Jim Billings took over the reins of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services last month, joining the agency that is severely struggling to find enough attorneys to represent poor Mainers.
Posted inMaine, Maine Crime
Judge denies request to throw out evidence in decade-old murder trial
Zachary Phach, 33, is scheduled to be tried beginning July 17 on a murder charge in the death of Matthew Blanchard in 2012.
Posted inMaine, Maine Crime, News
Maine AG files complaint against Florida woman accused of making racist threats in Kennebunkport
Police say Vicki Lush, 66, called a Korean woman from Massachusetts a ‘foreigner,’ and told her to go back to ‘your country’ before threatening to hit her with a van.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
Maine legislative agenda could chip away at lawsuit’s gripes against indigent defense system
A lawsuit against the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services has been quietly pending for more than a year. And while neither group will talk about its progress, a number of pending bills take aim at fixing the system.
Posted inMaine, Maine Crime
Nearly 4 decades after infant died in gravel pit, mother of ‘Baby Jane Doe’ to serve 6 years in prison
Lee Ann Daigle, 59, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but maintains that she thought her baby was stillborn when she gave birth in Frenchville in December 1985.
Posted inMaine, News
Vinalhaven caretaker ordered to repay $300,000 of $900,000 her family received from German homeowner
A federal jury finds that Angelyn Olson used unrestricted access to Andreas von Hirsch’s accounts to spend more than $4.5 million between 2013 and 2020 to pay herself and care for his property and boat.
Posted inMaine, News
Sexual harassment complaint against former Maine judge dismissed
Samantha Pike and Natasha Irving sued former District Judge Charles Budd last fall, accusing him of making sexual advances toward them at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee.