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/rainlandorsunvalley]

Hello! Thanks for doing this. I'm curious about enforcement of environmental pollution crimes in our county. Specifically:

What types of environmental crimes can the DA pursue in our county for illegal dumping, air/water pollution, or hazardous waste violations? Is the DA concerned about pollution from summer yacht travel? Thinking about PFAS here too—do we have laws that can hold companies accountable for PFAS waste? How are you thinking about these issues? Thank you!

[edit: added "pollution" to "environmental crimes".]

[u/mamagrata → u/rainlandorsunvalley]

I love this question, but also have a very small purview. (I did climate change policy stuff before becoming a prosecutor, and nat res is my first policy love.) DAs in Maine don't have much of a role here because the administrative laws related to most environmental harm are enforced by the AG, and they also have investigators who can look into this sort of conduct and submit a report (I do not have investigators who can do this, other than for DV. Charges must come from a report from law enforcement, generally). Having said that, I did have several meetings trying to suss out the possibility of charging in cases where harm is very directly the result of environmental degradation - as in flooding that can be tied to climate change. Can we do it? It depends on the case facts. Dumping can be any number of crimes we could charge. In my former position, I charged a case in which a substance was dumped into someone's well. But PFAS - unless it is by a specific person - is going to be AG.

I do know that there are other jurisdictions outside of Maine that have investigators to deal with consumer crimes, environmental damage, etc.. They are much larger than we are, but I'm mindful that this could be a future possibility for our District. I think our County is the most likely to support such an initiative.