Rule 57. Definitions

Unless otherwise specified, the following words or variants shall have the following meanings:

(a) Arrest Tracking Number (ATN). "Arrest Tracking Number" or "ATN" is a unique identifier for a formal action undertaken by a criminal justice agency that initiates criminal charges. If the criminal justice agency initiating criminal charges is a law enforcement agency, the formal action required is the custodial arrest and fingerprinting of the individual or the issuance or delivery to the individual of a Uniform Summons and Complaint. If the criminal justice agency initiating criminal charges is a prosecutorial office (District Attorney office or office of the Attorney General), the formal action is the filing of a complaint, the return of an indictment by a grand jury, or the filing of an information relative to an individual. The ATN is a seven-character alphanumeric field consisting of six numbers followed by one letter. The ATN is assigned by the Maine State Police upon the request of a criminal justice agency. A request must be made through the Maine Telecommunications and Radio Operations (METRO) system. The following criminal charges do not require an ATN: any Class D or Class E crime in title 12 or title 29-A other than a Class D or Class E crime involving hunting while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or with an excessive blood-alcohol level, or the operation or attempted operation of a watercraft, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, or motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or with excessive blood-alcohol level.

(b) Attorney for the State. "Attorney for the State" means the Attorney General, any authorized full-time or part-time deputy attorney general, assistant attorney general or staff attorney; a district attorney or any authorized full-time or part-time deputy or assistant of a district attorney; or such other person or persons as may be authorized by law to act as representatives of the State of Maine in a criminal proceeding.

(c) Charge Tracking Number (CTN). "Charge Tracking Number" or "CTN" is a unique identifier that designates each charge associated with the formal action undertaken by a criminal justice agency initiating criminal charges that is designated by the ATN. The CTN is a three-character numeric field assigned to each charge and is added to the ATN with no hyphen or slash separating the two. The CTN is assigned by the Maine State Police upon the request of a criminal justice agency. A request must be made through the Maine Telecommunications and Radio Operations (METRO) system. A criminal charge that does not require an ATN under subdivision (a) of this Rule does not require a CTN.

(d) Court. "Court" means both a Superior Court justice and a District Court judge unless the context clearly indicates only one or the other. "Court" also means the Superior Court or the District Court when used in this context.

(e) District Court Judge. "District Court Judge" includes a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or a justice or active retired justice of the Superior Court sitting in the District Court by assignment.

(f) State Identification Number. "State Identification Number" means the number assigned to a person by the State Bureau of Identification when the person first becomes known to the Bureau. Events reported to the State Bureau of Identification that cause the assignment of a "State Identification Number" to a person by the Bureau include the custodial arrest and fingerprinting or the issuance or delivery of a Uniform Summons and Complaint as reported by a law enforcement agency, the filing of a complaint, the return of an indictment by a grand jury, or the filing of an information relative to an individual as reported by a prosecutorial office (District Attorney office or office of the Attorney General), the final disposition of a case as reported by the courts, and the intake of an inmate by the Department of Corrections.

(g) Superior Court Justice. "Superior Court Justice" includes a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or a judge or active retired judge of the District Court sitting in the Superior Court by assignment.

(h) Statute Sequence Number. "Statute Sequence Number" means the unique number assigned by the Maine Judicial Information System (MEJIS) to each crime and crime variant contained in Maine statutes. A criminal charge that does not require an ATN under subdivision (a) of this Rule does not require a "Statute Sequence Number."

(i) Unified Criminal Docket. "Unified Criminal Docket" means the single criminal docket for each county resulting from the consolidation of what formerly were the two separate and distinct criminal dockets for the Superior and District Courts.

Committee Notes

Advisory Note – June 2016 Rule 57(i) is adopted to define the term "Unified Criminal Docket" as the phrase appears in these Rules. The definition makes clear that the former separate and distinct criminal dockets for Maine's two trial courts have been replaced by a single consolidated docket. This unification of the two trial courts' criminal dockets further signals that the former distinctions between the functions of the Superior and District Courts in their handling of criminal matters have largely been eliminated. See Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] to M.R.U. Crim. P. 1(a) and 36.

Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] The Rule parallels the content of Rule 57 of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure but differs in the following respects. First, in subdivision (b) the letter "s" in the word "state" is capitalized because the word "State" in this context refers to a government actor. See

Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] to M.R.U. Crim. P. 3(d) and (f). Second, a new subdivision (d) is added that defines the word "court." The definition uses the word in two different senses. The first (and most often appearing in the new Rules) defines "court" to mean both a Superior Court justice and a District Court judge collectively unless the context clearly indicates one or the other. The second defines "court" to mean the trial court—i.e., the Superior Court or the District Court—when employed in this context. Third, because subdivision (d) is added to define "court," the subdivisions for "District Court Judge," "State Identification Number," and "Superior Court Justice" are redesignated (e), (f), and (g) respectively. Fourth, a new subdivision (h) is added that defines "Statute Sequence Number." The number is unique and assigned by the Maine Judicial Information System (MEJS) to each crime and crime variant contained in Maine statutes. A criminal charge that does not require an ATN under subdivision (a) of the Rule does not require a Statute Sequence Number. Pursuant to Rule 3(g) each count of the complaint, indictment, or information must set forth the Statute Sequence Number.

[Advisory Notes to former Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure]

Advisory Committee Notes—2000 [M.R. Crim. P. 57(4).] This amendment clarifies the meaning of "attorney for the state" when used in the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure. The phrase was defined prior to 1989. See Rule 54(c); see also 3 Glassman, Maine Practice: Rules of Criminal Procedure Annotated 434 (1967) and Me. Rptr. 551-562 A.2d CXVIII.

Advisory Committee Note—2003 [M.R. Crim. P. 57.] This amendment deletes the current definitions for "Universal Tracking Number" and "Incident Number," and adds new definitions for "Arrest Tracking Number" or "ATN," "Charge Tracking Number" or "CTN," and for "State Identification Number". Further, the amendment retains the former definition for "Attorney for the State" and arranges the four definitions in alphabetical order. The Universal Tracking Number and Incident Number have been replaced by the Arrest Tracking Number/Charge Tracking Number or ATN/CTN, effective September 29, 2002. The ATN/CTN consists of two parts. The ATN is a seven-character field consisting of six numbers followed by one letter assigned in sequential order upon request from the Maine State Police; the CTN is a three-character field assigned to each charge in ascending sequential order beginning at 001 upon request from the Maine State Police. Together they will appear as 123456A001. There is no hyphen or slash separating the ATN from the CTN. The "Arrest Tracking Number" uses the word "arrest" as a term of art. It includes, as applicable to law enforcement agencies, the physical arrest and fingerprinting of an individual or the issuance or delivery to the individual of a Uniform Summons and Complaint. As applicable to the prosecutorial office of a district attorney or Attorney General, it includes the filing of a complaint, the return of an indictment by a grand jury, or the filing of an information relative to an individual. The State Identification Number has been redefined to incorporate events in addition to an arrest and fingerprinting that currently result in the assignment of a State Identification Number to a person by the State Bureau of Identification.

Advisory Note – June 2006 M.R. Crim. P. 57. The amendment adds parallel definitions for "District Court Judge" (see new subdivision (d)) and "Superior Court Justice" (see new subdivision (f)). The "District Court Judge" definition includes a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or of the Superior Court when directed to sit in the District Court by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. By statute, when so directed, a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or of the Superior Court "has authority and jurisdiction" in the District Court as if the justice were a regular District Court judge. 4 M.R.S. §§ 2-A, 121. It additionally includes the special situation addressed in 4 M.R.S. § 120. The "Superior Court Justice" definition includes a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or a judge or active retired judge of the District Court when directed to sit in the Superior Court by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. By statute, when so directed, a justice or active retired justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or a judge or active retired judge of the District Court "has authority and jurisdiction" in the Superior Court as if the justice or judge were a regular Superior Court justice. 4 M.R.S. §§ 2-A, 157-C. Finally, the amendment redesignates paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) to be subdivisions (a), (b), (c) and (e) respectively. The latter designations bring the Rule into conformity with the standard division employed throughout the Maine rules of Criminal Procedure. RULES 58 TO 64. [RESERVED]