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Bill > LD1918

ME LD1918

ME LD1918
An Act to Clarify the Criminal History Record Information Act with Respect to Criminal Charges Dismissed as the Result of a Plea Agreement

summary

Introduced
05/06/2025
In Committee
05/21/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

132nd Legislature

Bill Summary

This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary to implement statutory changes recommended by the Criminal Records Review Committee, which was established pursuant to Resolve 2023, chapter 103. The joint standing committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill. By reporting this bill out, the joint standing committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of this bill; instead, the joint standing committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of having a bill printed that can be referred to the joint standing committee for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course. The joint standing committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the legislative review of the proposals contained in the bill. The bill clarifies that information disclosing that a criminal charge has been dismissed as part of a plea agreement is not confidential criminal history record information if the defendant pleads guilty to and is convicted of another criminal charge as part of the plea agreement. By contrast, if, as a result of a plea agreement, a defendant admits to and is adjudicated as having committed a civil violation or a traffic infraction but does not also plead guilty to and become convicted of a criminal charge, information disclosing that a criminal charge has been dismissed as part of the plea agreement is confidential criminal history record information. The bill also codifies the rule set forth in Gordon v. Cheskin, 2013 ME 113, that "the dismissal of [a criminal] charge after completion of [a] deferred disposition does not cast a blanket of confidentiality over the course of the proceedings up to that point." Instead, "a court in a later proceeding is not precluded from considering the defendant's admission of guilt in open court. An admission to specific behavior may be considered in a later proceeding, if that behavior is relevant to the matter before the court."

AI Summary

This bill clarifies the Criminal History Record Information Act by modifying how dismissed criminal charges are treated in record-keeping and legal proceedings. Specifically, the bill stipulates that information about a dismissed criminal charge will not be considered confidential if the defendant pleads guilty to and is convicted of another criminal charge as part of a plea agreement. However, if a defendant only admits to a civil violation or traffic infraction and is not convicted of a criminal charge, then information about the dismissed criminal charge remains confidential. Additionally, the bill codifies a legal principle from a previous court case (Gordon v. Cheskin) that allows evidence of a defendant's guilty plea from a deferred disposition to be introduced in later civil or criminal proceedings, even if the original charge was ultimately dismissed after the defendant completed court-imposed requirements. This means that an admission of guilt made in open court can potentially be considered in subsequent legal matters if the behavior is relevant to the case at hand, thus providing more transparency and flexibility in how criminal history information can be used.

Committee Categories

Justice

Sponsors (0)

No sponsors listed

Last Action

Carried over, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 800. (on 06/25/2025)

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