James R. Colson v. Martin Joyce, Sheriff of Cumberland County

This is an appeal by the State of Maine from the grant of a petition for habeas corpus by the district court. The case involves the application of a Maine criminal statute, Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. tit. 17-A, § 1304, which provides in pertinent part:

§ 1304. Default in payment of fines

1. When a convicted person sentenced to pay a fine defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment, the court, upon the motion of the official to whom the money is payable, as provided in section 1303, or upon its own motion, may require him to show cause why he should not be sentenced to be imprisoned for…