This bill makes changes in 4 separate criminal appeal statutes in response to the Supreme Judicial Court's adoption of the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, effective January 1, 2001, and in response to Public Law 2001, chapter 17, effective September 2001. Specifically, the changes are as follows.

1. The Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 210-A currently addresses both the hearing procedure and appellate review procedure relative to a petition contesting extradition. It has been amended to remove the appellate review procedure. The latter procedure, significantly abbreviated, has been moved into a new section 210-B. New section 210-B sets a 7-day time period for initiating an appeal and provides separate treatment for a petitioner- initiated appeal and a State-initiated appeal. The manner and conditions for the taking of an appeal are no longer addressed in the statute; instead, that procedure is left to the Supreme Judicial Court to provide by rule.

2. Title 15, section 2115-B has been amended to replace the current reference to the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure with a reference to the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure.

3. Title 15, section 2131 addresses appellate review from a final judgment in a post-conviction review proceeding. It is amended to direct the Supreme Judicial Court to provide by rule for the time, manner and conditions for the taking of the appeal. The statute continues to treat an appeal by the State as "of right" while that of a petitioner is treated as "conditional."

4. Title 17-A, section 1207, subsection 2 is modified to conform its language to that used in Public Law 2001, chapter 17.