MAINE, USA — The ACLU of Maine filed a 157-page class-action lawsuit on Tuesday, suing the Maine Commission on Indigent Services for failing to adequately support indigent people.
In a complaint, the ACLU of Maine argues that the Maine Commission on Indigent Services has failed "to adequately supervise, administer, and fund an indigent defense system in violation of state statute and the state and federal constitutions."
"More than 50 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court said that defense attorneys in criminal cases are necessities, not luxuries," said Zach Heiden of the ACLU of Maine.
This isn't the first time the ACLU and the commission have discussed these issues, but the ACLU of Maine said there hasn't been enough change since the last conversation three years ago.
"We decided that nothing other than a lawsuit was going to bring about the necessary changes," Heiden said.
Justin Andrus, executive director of the Maine Commission on Indigent Services, declined to comment on the lawsuit itself but told NEWS CENTER Maine he is open to discussing how the commission could better serve folks in need of legal counsel.
"We're eager for the opportunity to continue to improve and we're eager for the opportunity to learn how we can do that," he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.