Maine DAs: When to Charge, Reduce or Decline a Case

What should Maine prosecutors charge, and when should they decline or reduce? A fair way to judge any DA's choices, using state law and court rules.

A case ends in a plea deal. Your neighbor says it was too soft. Someone else says it was fair. Before either of you can judge, there are two questions underneath it: who made the call, and what SHOULD the call have been?

Some Maine communities have debated how often prosecutors decline or reduce charges. This piece doesn't take a side in any of those debates. It lays out how Maine law and court rules say these decisions are supposed to work, so neighbors can judge ANY district attorney's choices, left or right, by the same yardstick.

Eight districts, elected by you

Maine has eight prosecutorial districts, each with one elected district attorney (30-A MRSA §254):

York
Cumberland
Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin
Kennebec and Somerset
Penobscot and Piscataquis
Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo
Hancock and Washington
Aroostook

DAs are elected every four years. They hire assistant district attorneys, and together they're the "prosecutors" you hear about. According to an overview Maine's district attorneys gave the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, the vast majority of criminal cases in Maine are prosecuted by these offices.

The DA is not the police, and not the judge. Police investigate. The DA decides what to bring to court. The judge decides what happens there.

What should be prosecuted, and when shouldn't it be?

An arrest is not a case. In that same overview, the DAs put it plainly: even after police arrest or summons someone, "unless and until we file a charging instrument…with the Court, there is no case."

When police send over a report, a prosecutor reviews it and generally picks one of four outcomes: - Approve charges, which may not be the same charges police suggested - Decline the case - Send it back for more information - No further action

Step one: can it be proved?

In their 2021 testimony to the Legislature, Maine's DAs described their general standard this way: unless the conduct is too minor to bother with, "a case is charged if there is a reasonable probability of conviction following a jury trial." That means "legally admissible evidence to establish each and every element of the crime." Their own example: for an assault to be charged as domestic violence assault, there must be proof of the relationship between the people involved.

That's a sound standard. Nobody should be charged with a crime the state can't prove.

But applying it is a judgment call. The prosecutor decides how much evidence is "enough," and how hard to look for more before deciding. Used well, the standard weeds out weak cases. Used carelessly, "we couldn't prove it" can become an easy way to avoid a tough one. From the outside, those two look exactly the same.

That's why a charge can come in lower than the arrest, or not at all. Sometimes it's leniency. Sometimes it's evidence. A missing witness, a statement that can't be used in court, or an element that can't be proved can all mean a reduced charge or no charge. The question is whether anyone did the work to find out.

The DAs' own testimony shows the explanation already exists. They told the Legislature that "a declined case necessitates a meeting with law enforcement to explain the problems in the investigation." (They also noted that declining is the slower path: "It is faster to issue the complaint and make a low offer to settle quickly.") So the office already explains its reasons to the police. The fair question is how much of that explanation voters should hear.

Here's the case for telling them, for ANY DA, of any party. If an office decides a case can't be proved, the public it answers to deserves to know, at least in general terms: - WHY: which part of the crime couldn't be proved, and what kind of evidence was missing. - WHAT diligence: whether the case was sent back for more investigation (one of the four outcomes above), whether anyone tried to find the missing witness, talked with the victim again, or had evidence tested, and how long the review took.

This isn't about punishing prosecutors for hard calls. Hard calls are the job. It's about accountability to the voters who elect them.

There are real limits. Some details can't be shared without hurting a victim's privacy, tipping off an open investigation, or tarnishing a person who was never charged. Those are good reasons to leave out names and specifics. They aren't reasons to say nothing at all. "Which element was missing, and what we did to look for it" can usually be said without naming anyone.

Step two: should it be prosecuted, and at what level?

Evidence is the floor, not the whole decision. Prosecutors also use judgment, and Maine law doesn't give them a single checklist for charging. But Maine's sentencing law spells out what the system as a whole is trying to do (17-A MRSA §1501), and those goals are a reasonable lens for charging questions too. They include: - preventing crime through deterrence, rehabilitation, and restraint when public safety requires it, - encouraging restitution whenever the victim can be compensated, - minimizing correctional experiences that promote further criminality, - eliminating inequalities in sentences unrelated to legitimate goals, and - a "just individualization" of sentences, treating different people differently for good reasons.

Put in plain terms, these are the kinds of things fair-minded neighbors usually weigh: - How serious was the harm? Violence and serious injury pull toward prosecution. - Is there a pattern? A first offense and a fifth are not the same. - Has the harm been repaired? Restitution to the victim matters under Maine law. - Is there an underlying problem, like addiction, that treatment could address? - What does the victim want? Victims have a say (more below), though they don't get a veto. - What keeps the community safest going forward?

These pull in different directions, and reasonable people will weigh them differently. That's the point of the conversation.

Reduced doesn't always mean "let off"

Maine law allows a deferred disposition: after a guilty plea, a judge can put off sentencing and set requirements the person must meet, which must include staying out of trouble (17-A MRSA §1902). The DAs' overview to the Legislature notes that second-chance options take "far more time than a guilty plea with a prison sentence." A real second chance means follow-up, check-ins and consequences when the deal isn't kept. A second chance with no follow-through isn't mercy; it's just a missing step.

Plea deals: most cases end here

Most criminal cases never reach a trial. Cumberland County's DA office says so on its public plea-agreement page, and adds that cases are handled "case-by-case" with no "one size fits all" formula.

Maine's court rules spell out what a plea deal can be (Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure, Rule 11A). In exchange for a guilty plea, the prosecutor can: - dismiss other charges, - not oppose the sentence the defense asks for, - recommend a particular sentence, or - agree with the defense on a joint recommendation.

There are guardrails: - It happens in the open. The deal has to be disclosed in open court when the plea is offered. - Reasons go on the record. For Class C crimes or higher, when a specific sentence is recommended, the prosecutor has to state the reasons on the record. - The judge still decides. A judge can reject the recommended sentence. If that happens, the defendant gets the chance to withdraw the plea.

Victims and police get a heads-up

Maine law says the Legislature itself noticed "citizen dissatisfaction with plea bargaining" (15 MRSA §812). Part of the problem was that victims and officers often never heard what happened to a case.

So for murder, Class A, B and C crimes, and certain other serious offenses, prosecutors must make a good-faith effort, whenever practicable, to tell the officers involved about a plea deal before it goes to the judge. Maine's victims' rights law goes further (17-A MRSA §2102): prosecutors must make a good-faith effort to tell victims the details of a plea deal (including a deferred disposition) before it goes to the court, their right to comment on it, and any proposed dismissal of the charges before it happens. Cumberland County's page adds that victims can always raise their concerns directly with the judge.

Should the public know WHY?

Here's a question worth discussing with neighbors, not answering for them: how much should the public know about the reasoning behind charging decisions?

What you can already see: - Plea deals are disclosed in open court, and for Class C or higher, the reasons for a recommended sentence go on the record (Rule 11A). - Court hearings are generally open to the public.

What you usually can't see: - Why a case was declined before it was ever filed, or how hard anyone looked before declining it. Those decisions don't reach court, and Maine has no law requiring prosecutors to publish them. A 2025 bill that would have required posting criminal case decisions (LD 1823) did not pass.

There are honest arguments on both sides. More openness can build trust and let voters judge results. But declined cases can involve people who were never charged, victims who want privacy, and investigations that aren't finished.

Where DAs are accountable: - At the ballot box. DAs are elected every four years (30-A MRSA §254). Candidate forums are a fair place to ask about priorities. - In public budget and policy discussions, such as county commissioners' meetings and town meetings, where you can listen and offer public comment.

Questions to bring, in general terms: - "What kinds of cases are your top priority, and why?" - "When do you decline or reduce a charge, and how do you decide?" - "When your office declines a case because it can't be proved, will you say which part couldn't be proved and what steps your office took to try to prove it?" - "How do you track and report how often cases are declined versus sent back for more investigation?" - "How do you make sure second chances come with follow-through?" - "What, if anything, would you be willing to share publicly about how your office makes these calls?"

Keep it about policy, not individual cases. Questions about a specific pending case belong in court, not in a public meeting.

Where the DA's power stops

Homicides go to the Attorney General. By law, the Maine Attorney General directs all investigation and prosecution of homicides, and other major crimes the AG decides to take on (5 MRSA §200-A).
So do certain sensitive cases. The AG also controls investigations when police use deadly force, and certain investigations involving public officials.
Judges sentence. The DA recommends. The judge decides.
Juries convict. A charge is an accusation, not a verdict.
Voters decide who holds the job. Every four years.

Why this matters for the conversation

"Too soft" and "too harsh" are both judgments about the same question: what should be prosecuted, and when shouldn't it be? Agree on the yardstick first, and the argument gets a lot more useful.

Ask to learn, not to win (Rule #2). "How did they weigh this?" gets you further than "Who do we blame?"

Try the Generosity Hypothesis first (Rule #8). Maybe the evidence was weak. Maybe a witness backed out despite real effort to keep them. Maybe the victim asked for a different outcome. Or maybe it really was a bad call. You can't tell until you ask.

Hold every office to the SAME standard (Rule #42). If declining a case is wrong when a DA you didn't vote for does it, it's wrong when one you did vote for does it too. PERIOD.

And always leave room for redemption (Rule #13). A second chance done right, with real follow-through, isn't the same as looking the other way.

What you can say to a neighbor

"I'd want the same standard no matter who the DA is. If it's wrong for them, it's wrong for ours."
"What do you think should always be prosecuted, and what would make you OK with a lesser charge?"
"'We couldn't prove it' might be true. I'd just like to know what they did to try."

Keep reading

This is a general explainer, not legal advice.

Sources

Maine Legislature, "Criminal Justice Overview," testimony from Maine's district attorneys (Maine Prosecutors Association) to the Judiciary Committee, Jan. 21, 2021 (https://legislature.maine.gov/doc/4979)
30-A MRSA §254, Prosecutorial districts (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/30-A/title30-Asec254.html)
15 MRSA §812, Negotiated pleas (https://www.legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/15/title15sec812.html)
Maine Rules of Unified Criminal Procedure, Rule 11A (Plea Agreements) (https://www.courts.maine.gov/rules/text/mru_crim_p_only_2025-05-01.pdf)
17-A MRSA §1501, Sentencing purposes (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec1501.html)
17-A MRSA §1902, Deferred disposition (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec1902.html)
17-A MRSA §2102, Victims to be notified (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec2102.html)
LD 1823 (132nd Legislature), bill status (https://legislature.maine.gov/bills/display_ps.asp?PID=1456&paper=SP0710&snum=132)
5 MRSA §200-A, Attorney General Criminal Division (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec200-A.html)
Cumberland County District Attorney, Plea Agreements (https://www.cumberlandcountyme.gov/departments/district_attorney/court_proceedings/plea_agreements.php)

What Should a Maine DA Charge, and When Shouldn't They?