Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 5
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, § 199 (2026)

Consultation with, and advice to, district attorneys

✓ current as of May 2026
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The Attorney General shall consult with and advise the district attorneys in matters relating to their duties. If in the Attorney General's judgment the public interest so requires, the Attorney General shall assist them by attending the grand jury in the examination of a case in which the accused is charged with treason or murder, and if in the Attorney General's judgment the public interest so requires, the Attorney General shall appear for the State in the trial of indictments for treason or murder. The Attorney General may institute and conduct prosecutions for all offenses against Title 21‑A, and for that purpose attend and present evidence to grand juries and assist them in the examination of witnesses and drawing indictments. The Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's discretion, act in place of or with the district attorneys, or any of them, in instituting and conducting prosecutions for crime, and is invested, for that purpose, with all the rights, powers and privileges of each and all of them. Any or all of the powers and duties enumerated in this chapter may, at the discretion of the Attorney General, be delegated to and performed by, any deputy attorney general, assistant attorney general or staff attorney. The authority given under this section shall not be construed to deny or limit the duty and authority of the Attorney General as heretofore authorized, either by statute or under the common law.   [PL 1989, c. 502, Pt. A, §11 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1969, c. 53, §2 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 567, §1 (AMD). PL 1973, c. 711, §6 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 502, §A11 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1978–1999 · leading case: State v. Steeves, 383 A.2d 1379 (Me. 1978).
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State v. Steeves, 383 A.2d 1379 (Me. 1978). “Although 5 M.R.S.A. § 199 appears to indicate that some responsibility for murder prosecutions lies with the District Attorney (then County Attorney), it is clear that the ultimate responsibility is upon the Attorney General.”
Petition of Thomas, 434 A.2d 503 (Me. 1981). “(2) Section 1256 implicitly favors presentation by the Attorney General or a District Attorney because these persons need not seek prior approval of the court, and it is their duty to prosecute criminal cases (5 M.R.S.A. § 199; 30 M.R.S.A. § 502). (3) Barring prejudice or a…”
Bloom v. Crook, 78 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D. Me. 1999). “Finally, although not necessarily related to personnel policy in DA offices, the Attorney General does have the discretionary authority to act “in place of or with the district attorneys, or any of them, in instituting and conducting prosecutions for crime, and is invested, for…”
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.