Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §12, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 499, §1, is amended to read:

1. The court A judge or a jury may dismiss a prosecution if, upon notice to or motion of the prosecutor and opportunity to be heard, having regard to the nature consider the facts of the conduct alleged and the nature of the attendant circumstances, it finds concerning a defendant's act and base a verdict upon whether the defendant's conduct:

A. Was within a customary license or tolerance, which that was not expressly refused by the person whose interest was infringed and which that is not inconsistent with the purpose of the law defining the crime; or

B. Did not actually cause or threaten the harm sought to be prevented by the law defining the crime or did so only to an extent too trivial to warrant the condemnation of conviction; or

C. Presents such other extenuations that it cannot reasonably be regarded as envisaged by the Legislature in defining the crime.

SUMMARY

This bill changes the process for determining whether conduct alleged to violate the Maine Criminal Code is a de minimis infraction. Current law provides that the court may dismiss a prosecution if it finds the defendant's conduct is a de minimis infraction. This bill provides instead that a judge or jury may base a verdict upon whether the defendant's conduct is a de minimis infraction.