An Act To Reduce Criminal Justice System Costs by Allowing Arraignments and Hearings in the Unified Criminal Docket To Be Held by Means of Audiovisual Telecommunications

Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §1060  is enacted to read:

§ 1060.  Audiovisual arraignments and hearings

In any criminal action in the Unified Criminal Docket, as determined by the court to be appropriate with respect to the defendant and to make sound fiscal sense, an arraignment or hearing may be held by means of audiovisual telecommunications. When an arraignment or hearing is held by means of audiovisual telecommunications pursuant to this section, the court shall ensure that a recording of the arraignment or hearing is made and retained as part of the case file. For the purposes of this section, "Unified Criminal Docket" means the unified criminal docket established by the Supreme Judicial Court.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that in any criminal action in the Unified Criminal Docket, as determined by the court to be appropriate to the defendant and to make sound fiscal sense, an arraignment or hearing may be held by means of audiovisual telecommunications. The bill provides that when an arraignment or hearing is held by means of audiovisual telecommunications, the court is required to ensure that a recording of the arraignment or hearing is made and retained as part of the case file.