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LD1823 • 2025

An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions

An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Senator Matthew Harrington
Last action
2025-06-10
Official status
Reports Read On motion by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report ACCEPTED. PREVAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 421 Yeas 19 - Nays 15 - Excused 1 - Absent 0 Sent down for concurrence
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions

An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions Sponsor: Senator Matthew Harrington Reference committee: Judiciary Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP/OTP-AM

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions Sponsor: Senator Matthew Harrington Reference committee: Judiciary Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP/OTP-AM

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: Page 1 - 132LR1968(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.

  • Page 1 - 132LR1968(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.
  • 1823 2 Date: (Filing No.
  • S- ) 3JUDICIARY 4 Reproduced and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
  • 5STATE OF MAINE 6SENATE 7132ND LEGISLATURE 8FIRST SPECIAL SESSION 9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “ ” to S.P.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-10 House

    Reports READ . On motion of Representative KUHN of Falmouth, the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report was ACCEPTED . In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. Placed in the Legislative Files. ( DEAD )

  2. 2025-06-09 Senate

    Reports Read On motion by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report ACCEPTED. PREVAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 421 Yeas 19 - Nays 15 - Excused 1 - Absent 0 Sent down for concurrence

  3. 2025-06-09 Committee

    Reported Out; ONTP/OTP-AM

  4. 2025-05-29 Committee

    Work Session Reconsidered

  5. 2025-05-29 Committee

    Voted; Divided Report

  6. 2025-05-27 Committee

    Work Session Held

  7. 2025-05-27 Committee

    Voted; Divided Report

  8. 2025-04-29 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions
Sponsor:
Senator Matthew Harrington
Reference committee:
Judiciary
Latest committee action:
Reported Out; ONTP/OTP-AM

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Printed on recycled paper
132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1823
S.P. 710 In Senate, April 29, 2025
An Act to Promote Transparency in the Criminal Justice System by
Requiring the Posting of Criminal Case Decisions
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator HARRINGTON of York.
Cosponsored by Senators: CYRWAY of Kennebec, HAGGAN of Penobscot, STEWART of
Aroostook, Representatives: FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, SMITH of Palermo.

Page 1 - 132LR1968(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 15 MRSA c. 313 is enacted to read:
3CHAPTER 313
4PUBLIC POSTING OF CRIMINAL CASE DECISIONS
5§2401. Public posting of criminal case decisions
6 The Attorney General shall post to the publicly accessible website of the Office of the
7 Attorney General the final decision of a criminal case decided within the State within 60
8 days of the case's final disposition. A clerk of the District Court or a clerk of the Superior
9 Court shall post to that clerk's publicly accessible website the final decision of a criminal
10 case decided within that prosecutorial district within 60 days of the case's final disposition.
11 A clerk of the Unified Criminal Docket, as defined in section 1003, subsection 11, shall
12 post to the clerk's publicly accessible website the final decision of a criminal case decided
13 within the State within 60 days of the case's final disposition.
14Sec. 2. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
15SUMMARY
16 This bill requires the Attorney General to post to the publicly accessible website of the
17 Office of the Attorney General the final decision of a criminal case decided within the State
18 within 60 days of the case's final disposition. The bill requires the clerks of the District
19 Court and clerks of the Superior Court to post to those clerks' publicly accessible websites
20 the final decision of a criminal case decided within that prosecutorial district within 60 days
21 of the case's final disposition. The bill also requires the clerk of the Unified Criminal
22 Docket to post on the clerk's publicly accessible website the final decision of a criminal
23 case decided within the State within 60 days of the case's final disposition.
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