Court says ACLU can name state in Maine indigent defense lawsuit

A court has ruled that the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine can name the state of Maine as a defendant in the ongoing legal battle over the state’s troubled indigent defense system.

The ACLU has sought to name several defendants in its class action lawsuit alleging that the state is failing to uphold its obligation under the Constitution to provide effective counsel for criminal defendants who cannot afford their own attorney.

This week, Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled the state does not have absolute immunity, and can be named as a defendant.

Murphy did grant a motion to dismiss Attorney General Aaron Frey as a defendant. And one count against the Maine Commission on Public Defender Services was also dismissed, though two other counts remain.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in 2022, and a potential settlement was rejected by the court this spring. A trial is expected to take place this fall.

This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public .