Court-appointed lawyers will be paid on time after Gov. Janet Mills signed an emergency bill into law, giving $21 million to the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services.

The commission had previously warned that it would run out of money later this month to reimburse private attorneys representing low-income criminal defendants and parents who risk losing custody of their children to the state. Had the measure not passed, lawyers would have had to wait more than three months to get paid by the new fiscal year, after June 30.

State lawmakers agreed to pass the emergency measure on Wednesday, after some debate in the House of Representatives earlier this month.

Mills signed the legislation on Thursday, according to an announcement from the commission.

“Governor Mills and the Legislature have my sincere gratitude for working together to solve this urgent crisis for Maine people,” says Executive Director Frayla Tarpinian. “Their swift, decisive action has avoided worsening the unrepresented crisis in Maine and upholds the promise of the Sixth Amendment to vulnerable people facing dire consequences.”

The commission also oversees roughly 35 public defenders around the state. A majority of its cases are still handled by contracted counsel.

Spokesperson Ben Goodman for Mills said her decision to sign is “consistent with the strong support she showed for public defense” by including money for the agency in her supplemental budget proposal.

Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was…
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