Rule 69A. Assigned Justice or Judge

(a) Assignment by Chief Justice of the Superior Court or by Designee. The Chief Justice of the Superior Court or the Chief Justice's designee shall assign petitions for post-conviction review.

(b) Assignment of Trial Justice or Judge.

(1) When the petition addresses a conviction in the trial court, the trial justice or trial judge who imposed sentence or ordered commitment under 15 M.R.S. § 103 may be assigned to the post-conviction review proceeding unless the trial justice or trial judge is disqualified or is otherwise unavailable.

(2) When the petition addresses a juvenile proceeding in the District Court, the trial judge who imposed juvenile disposition may be assigned to the specifically to hear the post-conviction review proceeding, unless the judge is disqualified or is otherwise unavailable.

(c) Assignment Other Than of the Trial Justice or Trial Judge. If the trial justice or trial judge is not assigned under subdivision (b), the petition for post-conviction review may be assigned to any justice or judge.

Committee Notes

Committee Advisory Note [December 2014] The Rule parallels the content of Rule 69A of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure but differs in the following respects. First, subdivision (b)(1) now addresses assignment in the context of any trial court, not assignments in the Superior Court only. Thus "trial court" replaces the reference to "Superior Court" and "or trial judge" is added after "trial justice." Second, because of the subdivision (b)(1) changes, subdivision (b)(2) now addresses juvenile proceeding assignments only. Third, subdivision (c) is changed both by adding the word "trial" before the word "judge" and by eliminating the possibility of assignments "to the regular criminal docket." Fourth, subdivision (d) is not carried over because it is no longer needed given the new definition of "court" in Rule 57(d).

[Advisory Notes to former Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure]

Advisory Note – 2003 M.R. Crim. P. 69-A is adopted to address assignment of petitions for postconviction review. Formerly, such assignments were a matter for administrative order. The rule includes three subdivisions. Subdivision (a) provides that the Chief Justice of the Superior Court or that Justice's designee has the responsibility of assigning all petitions for postconviction review. Subdivision (b) abandons the current practice precluding the judge or justice who presided in the underlying criminal proceeding from being assigned the collateral proceeding. In its stead the rule now allows the trial judge or justice to be assigned the post-conviction case unless the trial judge or justice is disqualified or is otherwise unavailable. Subdivision (c) addresses an assignment other than as provided in subdivision (b). It provides for two basic assignment options: assignment to the regular criminal docket, or assignment to any appropriate judge or justice.

Advisory Note – October 2013 The amendment to Rule 69A omits the hyphen in the rule number to maintain consistency with the other rules and adds a new subdivision (d) that clarifies that the term "assigned justice" as used in Part X includes a District Court judge assigned to a post-conviction review proceeding.