Project DNA: Maine

Maine

The pertinent portion of Maine’s postconviction DNA testing statute, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 2138, requires a defendant seeking postconviction DNA testing to prove, inter alia, that

The identity of the person as the perpetrator of the crime that resulted in the conviction was at issue during the person’s trial.

So, where does that leave pleading defendants? 

While Maine’s statute doesn’t explicitly reference pleading defendants, it does have an “identity in issue” clause and references “the person’s trial.” Both of these are hallmarks of postconviction DNA testing statutes that preclude pleading defendants from seeking relief. Therefore, although the issue has not yet been litigated, it seems highly likely that pleading defendants in Maine are not allowed to seek postconviction DNA testing.

-CM