State v. Hunter

MeKUSICK, Chief Justice.

In this case the Law Court addresses for the first time the question whether section 1255 of the Criminal Code, providing for judicial resentencing on the basis of a previously convicted person’s “progress toward a noncriminal way of life,” passes muster with the separation of powers clauses of the Maine Constitution. We hold that, as sought to be applied here for the resentencing of Gary Hunter, section 1255 is an unconstitutional attempt to invest the judiciary with a power expressly and exclusively granted by the Maine Constitution to the Governor. We accordingly…