Rule 44A. Procedure for Determination of Indigency After Verdict or Finding

(a) Petition and Hearing. A defendant who has filed notice of appeal and who claims to be without financial means to prosecute the appeal may, within 14 days following the filing of the notice of appeal, file a petition in the court in which the defendant was convicted requesting that the defendant be declared indigent. The petition shall be heard promptly. The clerk of the Unified Criminal Docket shall forthwith notify the clerk of the Law Court of the filing of a petition pursuant to this Rule.

(b) Order. If, after hearing, the court finds that the petitioner is without financial means with which to prosecute the appeal, it shall grant the relief requested. If, after hearing, the court finds that the petitioner has financial means with which to bear a portion of the expense of prosecuting the appeal, it shall grant the relief requested but may condition its order on the petitioner's paying a portion of the expense of prosecuting the appeal. If, after hearing, the court finds that the petitioner has financial means with which to prosecute the appeal, the petition shall be denied. When a conditional order is issued or when a petition is denied, the court shall file a decree setting forth its findings.

(c) Review. From the findings filed following the denial of a petition or the granting of a conditional order, the petitioner may, within 14 days after the filing thereof, appeal to a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court if the petition is denied in the Unified Criminal Docket. The justice, after notice to the attorney for the State, shall hear the matter de novo, and may affirm, modify, or reverse the findings of the court below. If the findings are modified or reversed, the matter shall be remanded to the court below for appropriate action. The decision of the reviewing justice shall be final. During the pendency of this appeal the time periods for the perfection of the appeal on the merits shall not run, but shall commence to run upon final disposition of the petition. The clerk below shall forthwith notify the clerk of the Law Court of such final disposition and the date of its entry.

Committee Notes

Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] The Rule parallels the content of Rule 44A of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure but differs in the following respects. First, in subdivisions (a) and (c) the references to "10 days" are changed to "14 days" to reflect the Court's preference for calculating time periods for rule purposes in increments of 7 rather than increments of 5. Second, in subdivision (a), the words "of the Unified Criminal Docket" are added following the word "clerk" at the beginning of the last sentence to enhance clarity. Third, in subdivisions (a) and (c) "Law Court" replaces the words "of the court to which the defendant has appealed" because the Superior Court will no longer be exercising its review jurisdiction in the new unified process. The Law Court assumes that role. See Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] to M.R.U. Crim. P. 36. Fourth, in subdivision (c) the letter "s" in the word "state" is capitalized because the word is used in the term "attorney for the State." See Committee

Advisory Note [December 2014] to M.R.U. Crim. P. 3(d) and (f).

[Advisory Notes to former Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure]

Advisory Committee Note—1989 [M.R. Crim. P. 44A.] New Rule 44A contains the language of former Rule 39E.

Advisory Committee Note—1990 [M.R. Crim. P. 44A.] Rule 44A is amended to make clear that both the District and the Superior courts are authorized to appoint counsel for a defendant determined indigent after verdict or finding of guilty. The petition filed under Rule 44A is to be heard promptly by the court in which the petition has been filed.