Bill > LD1572

This bill establishes comprehensive legal protections and prosecution standards for domestic violence cases involving nonfatal strangulation or suffocation, addressing multiple aspects of how such cases are handled. The legislation prohibits victims, their family members, or dating partners from posting bail for the defendant, and allows victims' statements made during investigations to be admitted in court even without the victim's physical presence. The bill mandates that courts cannot dismiss or unnecessarily delay cases involving nonfatal strangulation, and prosecutors are prohibited from dismissing charges, deferring cases, or accepting plea agreements for lesser assault charges. Additionally, defendants with previous domestic violence convictions are barred from entering plea agreements. The legislation defines strangulation as intentionally applying pressure to a person's throat or neck, and suffocation as applying pressure to a person's nose or mouth, which impedes breathing or blood circulation. The bill elevates domestic violence aggravated assault by nonfatal strangulation or suffocation to a Class A crime, the most serious classification. Furthermore, it requires prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officers, defense attorneys, and dispatchers to undergo specialized training on nonfatal strangulation or suffocation prevention every two years, with prosecutors mandated to complete a minimum of 8 hours of certified training annually. These provisions aim to provide stronger legal protections for domestic violence victims and improve the judicial system's response to such cases.

Justice

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1572&snum=132