Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1 (2026)

Title; effective date; severability

✓ current as of May 2026

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1. Title 17‑A shall be known and may be cited as the Maine Criminal Code. When it is alleged that an element occurred "on or about" any date prior to the effective date of the code, the prosecution shall be governed by the prior law. When it is alleged that all of the elements occurred "on or about" the effective date of the code or any date thereafter, the prosecution shall be governed by the code.

[PL 1975, c. 740, §9-A (RPR).]

2. Except as provided in section 4‑A, this code shall become effective May 1, 1976, and it shall apply only to crimes committed subsequent to its effective date. Prosecution for crimes repealed by this code, which are committed prior to the effective date shall be governed by the prior law which is continued in effect for that purpose as if this code were not in force; provided that in any such prosecution the court may, with the consent of the defendant, impose sentence under the provisions of the code. In such cases, the sentencing authority of the court is determined by the application to the prior law of section 4‑A, subsection 3, which became effective for this purpose May 1, 1976. For purposes of this section, a crime was committed subsequent to the effective date if all of the elements of the crime occurred on or after that date; a crime was not committed subsequent to the effective date if any element thereof occurred prior to that date, or if the evidence may reasonably be interpreted to establish that any element may have occurred prior to that date.

[PL 1981, c. 324, §1 (AMD).]

3. If any provision or clause of this code or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the code which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this code are declared to be severable.

[PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW). PL 1975, c. 649, §1 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 699, §1 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 740, §§9-A,10 (AMD). PL 1977, c. 78, §118 (AMD). PL 1981, c. 324, §1 (AMD).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1976–1996 · leading case: State v. Blanchard, 409 A.2d 229 (Me. 1979).

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State v. Blanchard, 409 A.2d 229 (Me. 1979). · cites it 2× “Moreover, even if defendant is taken to have consented to being sentenced under the Code for the embezzlement, as provided for in 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2), 8 thus to bring *238 to bear the authority conferred on the court to require restitution, there is no change of result.”

Mahaney v. State, 610 A.2d 738 (Me. 1992). “See 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2) (1983). Mahaney chose to be sentenced under the pre-code statute and received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment pursuant to 17 M.”

State v. Williams, 395 A.2d 1158 (Me. 1978). “See 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2). He received consecutive sentences of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years for conspiracy to commit murder and of being an accessory before the fact to assault with intent to kill.”

State v. Clarke, 396 A.2d 228 (Me. 1979). · cites it 4× “Although the Code in general became effective on May 1,1976, see 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2) (Supp.1977), the decriminalization provision found in § 4-A(4) did not become operative until October 24, 1977 (P.”

Opinion of the Justices of the Supreme Jud. Court, 355 A.2d 341 (Me. 1976). “17-A MRSA § 1, sub-§ 2, as enacted by PL 1975, c.”

State v. Fowler, 676 A.2d 43 (Me. 1996). “3 In Goyette , decided shortly after the adoption of the Maine Criminal Code, 17-A M.R.S.A. §§ 1 — 1357 (1983 & Supp.1995), we held that a clear legislative intent to impose criminal liability for the mere possession of moose existed pursuant to a statute similar to the one at…”

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1(2) — 4 cases

State v. Blanchard, 409 A.2d 229 (Me. 1979). “Moreover, even if defendant is taken to have consented to being sentenced under the Code for the embezzlement, as provided for in 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2), 8 thus to bring *238 to bear the authority conferred on the court to require restitution, there is no change of result.”

Mahaney v. State, 610 A.2d 738 (Me. 1992). “See 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2) (1983). Mahaney chose to be sentenced under the pre-code statute and received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment pursuant to 17 M.”

State v. Williams, 395 A.2d 1158 (Me. 1978). “See 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2). He received consecutive sentences of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years for conspiracy to commit murder and of being an accessory before the fact to assault with intent to kill.”

State v. Clarke, 396 A.2d 228 (Me. 1979). “Although the Code in general became effective on May 1,1976, see 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1(2) (Supp.1977), the decriminalization provision found in § 4-A(4) did not become operative until October 24, 1977 (P.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.