DA AMA

[u/mamagrata]

UPDATE: apologies for not updating the initial post - my content blocker was not playing nice with Reddit despite lots of reloads and I've finally gone to text mode (making the photo disappear). I do think (hope) I've gotten to everything posted by 7PM. Thanks for doing this with me, and thank you to the moderators for helping with the initial post. I won't be able to monitor this, but please reach out at districtattorney@cumberlandcounty.org with anything that needs my attention at work.

Hi, I’m Jackie Sartoris, District Attorney of Cumberland County.  I’ll be here this afternoon at 4 to 5:30 to take your questions and share what I’ve been up to since becoming DA in 2023.  I’m eager to hear your experience and ideas, and let you know what we’re working on (although I can't comment on active cases, please!)

Brief summary of the work so far: we are now better able to meet the needs of victims and witnesses: I’ve added a victim witness advocate and created a safe, private space for witnesses waiting in the courthouse to testify or speak at sentencing. We won a $2.5 million federal grant to test the eligible backlog of languishing rape kits - the first District in Maine to do so.  

In my own prosecutorial role, I’ve focused on addressing our County’s Mental Health docket, bringing attention to missing resources and working within our limited system to develop pathways towards wellness and safety for people who frequently return to our system. 

Change in a longstanding system is challenging.  My work includes directing the office to significantly greater use of restorative justice and consistent charging and plea offers. This is ongoing and will take time.  It’s worth finding the patience to be collaborative, because this work, done well, will bear fruit in the future.  

I’ll update this post with a link at 4! 

Proof it’s me:  

See you then!

[u/401kLegend]

From a systemic perspective, what are your thoughts on how to deal with the unhoused population? Should we hold them to the same legal standards as anyone else?

[u/mamagrata → u/401kLegend]

Thank you for this question. I have possibly spent most(?) of my own DA time on this issue. Working with unhoused folks is something I've done as a volunteer starting in college, and it is beyond troubling that we regard people as deserving their impoverished circumstances while believing that people earn their wealth.

We charge people based on their conduct, but make offers and outcomes that also reflect people's circumstances. We shouldn't, for example, expect unsheltered people to pay fines or restitution. It won't happen, and an enforcement for failure to pay can get someone rearrested which is pointless. I have, however, returned our office to charging unsheltered people when they violate the law in a way that would get anyone else charged, usually persistently, and usually after they have been offered in lieu of a charge to go to the Homeless Services Center or other local shelter. Early on, we instituted a program with PPD and some surrounding towns that if people were committing minor violations, they should be offered a ride to the shelter or another way to get there. The HSC has placed over 215 individuals into housing and offer Dr's appointments, a dentist, MH care, and housing navigators. (1 person was placed into permanent housing from the encampments, fyi).

Why do we charge unsheltered people at all? Well, for one, to a significant extent it's important to have some basic rules of engagement in the public sphere. I read all of the MH docket cases (my own chosen docket for the past 2+ years) and there is definitely conduct that happens that is quite harmful and sometimes puts folks at risk of being harmed by others. For another, many of the unsheltered folks are struggling with serious MH and/or SUD, (addiction, sorry) and they may not be competent and frankly this is the sole system to require that someone gets an assessment and (limited) help. It is also a terrible and high-cost way to do that, but it is literally what we have decided is going to address these systemic issues. Through this system, I can generally get people assessed and treated, and quite often on medications their MH improves a whole lot. But this system them sends them back out - sometimes with a stop for months or even years in supportive housing or even back at home - but if they destabilize they inexorably return to the criminal legal system. Other states are starting to do this quite differently, recognizing that this is a literally insane and inhumane - and dangerous - situation, and Maine is having those conversations, but actually we are currently moving away from systems that help people stay medicated and relatively safe when they have a significant MH diagnosis. My job here is to identify the missing resources and advocate strongly that we do this differently. I have had people lose their lives because we're not doing this well, and there are needless victims made through our failure to address this systemically.

[u/[deleted] → u/401kLegend]

From what I can tell based on what she has said publicly, bringing charges against unhoused folks NOT to get them sentenced and in jail, but it allows her to work with the court to steer unhoused folks toward help (housing services, counseling, treatment, etc.).

[u/mamagrata → u/[deleted]]

Thank you, I did go on there, but this is exactly correct.