Justia Maine Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Matthew W. Pendleton was convicted of manslaughter after a jury trial. Pendleton and the victim, Kevin Curit, were childhood friends, and Curit had moved into Pendleton's home. On January 5, 2023, Pendleton bought alcohol, and later that night, he sent text messages to his daughter, including photos of Curit lying unconscious and statements about injuring his hands. The next morning, Pendleton texted his estranged wife that Curit was dead and later called 9-1-1. The police found Curit dead in a camper with multiple injuries, and the medical examiner concluded that Curit died of strangulation by ligature.The Waldo County trial court admitted screenshots of Pendleton's text messages and his daughter's testimony about his alcohol use and their family dynamic. The court also allowed a jailhouse informant to testify but struck the testimony and instructed the jury to disregard it after the informant mentioned meeting Pendleton in jail. Pendleton was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to twenty years in prison, with all but fourteen years suspended, followed by four years of probation.Pendleton appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, challenging the admission of the text messages and his daughter's testimony, the handling of the jailhouse informant's testimony, and the court's refusal to consider a juror's affidavit during sentencing. The court affirmed the conviction and sentence, finding no abuse of discretion in the trial court's rulings. The court held that the text messages were relevant and not unfairly prejudicial, the daughter's testimony was admissible, the curative measures for the informant's testimony were sufficient, and the juror's affidavit was properly excluded from sentencing considerations. View "State of Maine v. Pendleton" on Justia Law

Clifton Thomas was convicted of two counts of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs and one count of criminal forfeiture of property. The charges stemmed from a search of an apartment where Thomas was staying, which uncovered drugs, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm. The search was conducted pursuant to a warrant obtained after Thomas was involved in a domestic violence incident. Thomas challenged the search, arguing that the warrant lacked probable cause for drug-related items and that the evidence was not in plain view.The trial court denied Thomas's motions to suppress the evidence, finding that the search warrant was valid for firearms and a cell phone, and that the drugs were discovered in plain view during a lawful search. The court also denied Thomas's discovery motions regarding missing surveillance video, cell phones, and a coat, concluding that the State did not act in bad faith and that the evidence did not have apparent exculpatory value. Additionally, the court allowed a new chemist to testify about the drug analysis, despite the original chemist not testifying.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and found that Thomas's confrontation rights were violated by the admission of the new chemist's testimony, which relied on the original chemist's notes and data. The court determined that this violation was not harmless, as the chemist's testimony was crucial to establishing the weight of the drugs, a key element of the charges. Consequently, the court vacated Thomas's conviction and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "State of Maine v. Thomas" on Justia Law

Craig A. Woodard was convicted of elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault, and assault after a jury trial. The trial court found that the offense of elevated aggravated assault was committed with the use of a firearm and imposed a mandatory minimum sentence of four years’ imprisonment. The court merged the offenses and sentenced Woodard to twelve years’ imprisonment with all but five years suspended and three years of probation. Woodard appealed, arguing that the court erred in failing to give jury instructions regarding defense of another and in applying the mandatory minimum sentence for a Class A offense committed with a firearm. He also contended that the court improperly considered his age and lack of remorse as aggravating factors.The trial court (Hancock County, Larson, J.) denied Woodard’s motion for a judgment of acquittal and sentenced him as described. Woodard’s appeal was consolidated with his sentence review appeal, which was granted by the Sentence Review Panel.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court’s judgment and sentence. The court held that Woodard waived the issue of jury instructions regarding defense of another by not requesting them at trial and agreeing with his counsel’s strategy. The court also found that the indictment sufficiently alleged the use of a firearm, justifying the mandatory minimum sentence. Additionally, the court ruled that considering Woodard’s age and lack of remorse as aggravating factors was within the trial court’s discretion and did not constitute an abuse of discretion. View "State of Maine v. Woodard" on Justia Law

Abdihamit A. Ali was convicted of elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and criminal mischief following a jury trial in the Cumberland County Unified Criminal Docket. The court sentenced him to fifteen years, with all but seven years suspended, and four years of probation for the elevated aggravated assault charge, with concurrent sentences for the other charges. Ali appealed, arguing that the trial court improperly admitted hearsay testimony and failed to merge his convictions for elevated aggravated assault and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.The trial court admitted testimony from a detective about statements made by Ali’s mother to other officers, which Ali argued was hearsay. The court overruled Ali’s objection, and the jury found him guilty on three counts, while the court found him guilty on the fourth count. Ali was sentenced accordingly and appealed the decision.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and agreed that the hearsay testimony should not have been admitted without a limiting instruction. However, the court found this error to be harmless given the substantial evidence against Ali. The court also agreed with Ali that his convictions for elevated aggravated assault and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon should have been merged, as they did not each require proof of an additional fact and could have been based on the same conduct. Consequently, the court vacated the sentence and remanded the case for resentencing, merging the two convictions. The judgment was affirmed in all other respects. View "State of Maine v. Ali" on Justia Law

Ethan C. Gervais was convicted of domestic violence assault, tampering with a witness, domestic violence criminal threatening, and violating a condition of release after a two-day jury trial. The charges stemmed from incidents in February and May 2023, where Gervais assaulted the victim and Gervais' brother and engaged in threatening behavior. The evidence included Facebook messages between Gervais and the victim, which were admitted at trial.The trial court admitted the Facebook messages and testimony regarding Gervais's drug use. The court allowed the State to use the term "victim" during closing arguments but limited its use during the trial. Gervais appealed, challenging the admission of the Facebook messages, the testimony about his drug use, the use of the term "victim," and the prosecutor's statements during closing arguments.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court's judgment. The court found that the Facebook messages were properly admitted with sufficient foundation. The testimony regarding Gervais's drug use did not rise to the level of obvious error, as it was limited and did not significantly impact the trial's fairness. The court also held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the State to use the term "victim" during closing arguments, as it was contextually appropriate and did not constitute prosecutorial misconduct.The court acknowledged that the prosecutor's use of the phrase "I think" during closing arguments was improper but concluded that it did not amount to obvious error. The trial court's timely curative instruction mitigated any potential prejudice, and the overall fairness of the trial was not compromised. Therefore, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "State of Maine v. Gervais" on Justia Law

Raymond N. Lester was convicted of intentional or knowing murder after a jury trial. The victim's body was found at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park during a retreat. Witnesses testified that Lester had been seen screaming at the victim and driving recklessly while appearing intoxicated the night before the body was discovered. Tire tracks led from the road to the location where the body was found, and the victim died from blunt force injuries.Lester was charged in June 2022 and indicted in August 2022. He pleaded not guilty, and a four-day trial was held in November 2023. During the trial, Lester's attorney objected to the jury instructions on intent, motive, and premeditation, arguing they lessened the State's burden of proof. The court overruled the objection, and the jury found Lester guilty. At the sentencing hearing, the court set the basic sentence at forty years, considering the domestic violence nature of the crime and Lester's intentional conduct. The final sentence was forty-eight years after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.Lester appealed the conviction and sentence. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and found that the jury instructions on motive, intent, and premeditation were legally accurate and not erroneous. The court also determined that there was no obvious error in the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on intoxication, as there was insufficient evidence that Lester was intoxicated at the time of the crime. Finally, the court held that the trial court did not misapply legal principles in setting the basic sentence at forty years. The judgment and sentence were affirmed. View "State of Maine v. Lester" on Justia Law

Calixte Fleury was convicted of aggravated trafficking, unlawful trafficking, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, and operating under the influence. On September 18, 2020, Fleury was driving on I-95 when he crashed his vehicle. A responding sergeant found Fleury with a bag of pills containing fentanyl and tramadol, and later discovered more fentanyl and cash on Fleury. Fleury's blood alcohol content was 0.093 grams per 100 milliliters. He was indicted and later charged with multiple counts, including aggravated trafficking and unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs.The trial court (York County, Martemucci, J.) held a jury trial, resulting in guilty verdicts on all four criminal counts. The court found in favor of Fleury on the criminal forfeiture count. Fleury was sentenced to seven years with all but four years suspended for aggravated trafficking, three years for unlawful trafficking, and 30 days for operating under the influence, with some sentences running concurrently. The court merged the unlawful possession count with the unlawful trafficking count.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. Fleury argued that the application of a repealed definition of "traffick" was unconstitutional. The court disagreed, stating that the repealed statute was rationally related to controlling opioids and its application was not unconstitutional. The court also noted that the amended statute did not apply retroactively to Fleury's case.However, the court found that the trial court should have merged the aggravated trafficking count with the unlawful trafficking and possession counts for sentencing. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing, affirming the convictions in all other respects. View "State of Maine v. Fleury" on Justia Law

Kulmiye Idris was convicted of gross sexual assault after a jury trial in Androscoggin County. The incident occurred on April 2, 2022, when Idris and the victim, who were close friends, attended a party. The victim consumed approximately twelve drinks and went to bed at a friend's house. She later woke up to Idris engaging in vaginal intercourse with her and told him to stop, but he did not stop until he was finished. The next morning, the victim confronted Idris via text, and he apologized, stating he did not remember the incident. The victim reported the assault to the police and underwent a forensic examination, which confirmed the presence of Idris's DNA.The Androscoggin County Grand Jury indicted Idris on one count of gross sexual assault. Idris pleaded not guilty, but after a two-day trial, the jury found him guilty. The court sentenced him to eight years in prison, with all but four years suspended, and four years of probation. Idris appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in its jury instructions regarding the mens rea requirement for the offense.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and determined that the trial court's instruction to the jury to use a "recklessly" standard for the mens rea was not prejudicial, even though the correct standard should have been "criminal negligence." The court found that the jury's verdict would have been the same under the correct standard, as there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction. The court affirmed the judgment and called upon the Legislature to clarify the mens rea requirements for offenses under section 253. View "State of Maine v. Idris" on Justia Law

Keara M. Bernier was convicted of aggravated assault after a jury trial in Aroostook County. The incident occurred on June 6, 2022, when Bernier struck the victim, her partner, in the head with an aluminum baseball bat during an argument at their shared home. The victim did not seek medical attention immediately but reported the incident to the police the next day. Bernier was indicted in July 2022 and, after a jury trial in September 2023, was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison, with all but six months suspended, and three years of probation.At trial, Bernier argued that the trial judge's comments during her testimony questioned her veracity, thus denying her a fair trial. She also contended that the court erred in its jury instructions regarding the use of deadly force in self-defense, specifically that it failed to instruct the jury that she had no duty to retreat if she was in her dwelling place and was not the initial aggressor.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. The court found no obvious error in the trial judge's comments, determining that the judge's instructions to Bernier to answer questions truthfully were aimed at keeping her focused and were not indicative of bias. However, the court agreed with Bernier that the jury instructions on the use of deadly force were incomplete. The instructions failed to include the statutory exception that Bernier had no duty to retreat if she was in her dwelling place and was not the initial aggressor.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated Bernier's conviction and remanded the case for a new trial, holding that the omission of the dwelling-place exception in the jury instructions constituted an obvious error affecting Bernier's substantial rights. View "State of Maine v. Bernier" on Justia Law

Aubrey Armstrong was convicted of felony murder and robbery following a bench trial in July 2018. He was sentenced to thirty years for felony murder and a concurrent thirty-year term for robbery, with all but twenty-nine years suspended and four years of probation. Armstrong appealed, and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court found that his simultaneous convictions for felony murder and robbery violated the double jeopardy clause. The court vacated the judgment and remanded for further proceedings to merge the counts and impose a sentence on the merged count. On remand, the trial court dismissed the robbery count and resentenced Armstrong to thirty years for the merged count. Armstrong's subsequent appeals were denied.Armstrong filed his first petition for post-conviction review on April 10, 2023, which was summarily dismissed for failing to allege any cognizable grounds for relief. He then filed a second petition on June 29, 2023, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial misconduct. The PCR court dismissed this petition as untimely, as it was filed beyond the one-year deadline. Armstrong appealed and sought a certificate of probable cause, which was granted by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and concluded that Armstrong waived his argument regarding the timeliness of his petition by not raising it in the lower court. The court vacated the order granting a certificate of probable cause and dismissed the appeal as improvidently granted. The court did not address whether the doctrine of equitable tolling applies to petitions for post-conviction review, as Armstrong failed to present this argument to the PCR court. View "Armstrong v. State of Maine" on Justia Law