Your paper and your journalists have repeatedly reported on the crisis we face in providing constitutionally mandated competent counsel for folks who are charged with crime and cannot afford to hire a qualified lawyer.
This Sixth Amendment crisis has existed for decades, as evidenced by the pending ACLU class action lawsuit.
On Monday, and after years of struggling with a lack of critical funding, the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services voted to recommend a proposed $62 million budget. While it is not enough to satisfy the needs, it is a good start.
So, we ask the Press Herald to press the executive and legislative leaders of Maine to explain why this budget should not be implemented, given:
• There is a constitutional obligation to do so.
• They are sitting on almost $900 million in reserve funds.
• The defense function will crash without the funding.
• Folks unable to hire a lawyer will have their lives forever changed if not adequately represented by competent counsel.
• There is no valid reason not to do so.
Maine needs a public defender system, as exists in all other states. This funding is a first step in getting there.
Robert Cummins
The Cummins Law Firm
Portland
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