| | | Section 7 clarifies the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, | | section 454, subsection 1, paragraph A, which concerns | | tampering with a witness, informant, juror or victim, by | | specifying that the actor must be aware at the time the actor | | induces or otherwise causes, or attempts to cause, a witness | | or informant to testify or inform falsely that such testimony | | or information is false. |
|
| | | Section 8 amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, | | section 1108, subsection 5, which concerns acquiring drugs by | | deception, to clarify that the trier of fact is permitted, as | | authorized by the Maine Rules of Evidence, Rule 303(b), to | | infer the causation element of "acquiring" from the act of | | deception described in Title 17-A, section 1108, subsection 2, | | paragraph A or B. The section is not intended to create a | | conclusive presumption. |
|
| | | Section 9 strikes from the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17- | | A, section 1158, which concerns the forfeiture of firearms, | | the reference to the "judgment of conviction" to eliminate | | confusion. The forfeiture of a firearm is part of the | | sentence while the sentence is part of the judgment. See the | | Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 32(b). |
|
| | | Section 10 provides for the tolling of a Maine sentence | | involving imprisonment in the event the person in execution of | | that sentence is a recalcitrant witness in a grand jury or | | criminal proceeding in a Maine court of record and has been | | ordered into coercive imprisonment as a remedial sanction for | | refusing to comply with an order of the court to testify or to | | provide evidence. |
|
| | | In 1988 the Legislature doubled the maximum sentence of | | imprisonment for Class A crimes from 20 years to 40 years. | | See Public Law 1987, chapter 808, codified as the Maine | | Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 1252, subsection 2, | | paragraph A. In 1991 the Law Court examined the legislative | | history of that Act and determined that the legislative intent | | was to "make available two discrete ranges of sentences for | | Class A crimes." See State v. Lewis, 590 A.2d 149, 151 (Me. | | 1991). Most Class A crime sentences were intended to remain | | in the original 0 to 20 year range, while the "expanded range" | | of 20-40 year sentences was reserved "only for the most | | heinous and violent crimes committed against a person" (590 | | A.2d at 151). The sentencing court was to apply this | | "heinousness" standard "in its discretion" as a sentencing | | factor, subject to appellate review (590 A.2d at 151). |
|
| | | This two-tier system has been placed under a constitutional | | cloud by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in |
|
|
