The number of felony cases pending in Penobscot County has more than doubled compared with five years ago as courts struggle to keep up with the growing number of cases.
Pending felony cases in Penobscot County are up just over 100 percent from Aug. 8, 2019, to the same day this year, with 769 cases now pending, according to data from the state.
There were 24 felony cases in Piscataquis County in 2019, compared with 53, which marks a nearly 121 percent increase, according to the data.
Statewide, felony cases are up 65 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
The pending felony cases do not represent the number of actual felonies committed during that time, but rather the number that are still pending in the court system.
While Penobscot and Piscataquis are not the only counties where pending felonies are up, they are among the highest increases. Only Androsoggin, Somerset, Oxford and Waldo counties saw larger increases from 2019 to now. York County has the smallest increase, at just under 9 percent.
The growing number of pending felony cases comes as Maine’s crime rate dropped in 2023 for the second year in a row, according to the most recent data available from the state. Now the state’s criminal justice system is struggling to keep up with the increasing number of felony cases, forcing people who are innocent until proven guilty to wait longer for cases to move forward.
The fact that the crime rate is falling while felony cases are going up points to two different things, said Logan Perkins, deputy defender for the Highlands Region Public Defenders, which covers Penobscot and Piscataquis counties.
The first is that the criminal system doesn’t have enough resources to adequately deal with cases that are prosecuted.
That includes staffing shortages in the counties’ district attorney’s office, the courts and among defense lawyers, Penobscot and Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said.
While most cases that were slowed during the pandemic have been resolved, the courts are still trying to catch up, he said.
“We’re under a lot of pressure and we’re getting a lot of cases and we’re trying the best we can to keep up,” Almy said. “But we cannot control serious crimes.”
The second reason felony cases are going up, Logan said, is that the counties’ DA’s office is charging more cases as felonies and not misdemeanors. Felony charges are more serious and take more resources and time to get through the system, she said.
She pointed to the Aug. 7 dismissal of a 16-month old felony case. The state hadn’t submitted alleged drugs for testing until May. However, the case was dismissed without prejudice, which means the charges may be filed again, depending on the results of the test.
Some of the felonies stem from changes at the state level, such as a third shoplifting offense becoming a felony, regardless of the amount stolen.
“Every time the Legislature creates a new felony, we’re going to see the system need more resources to keep up,” Perkins said.
If someone is facing their third, or more, shoplifting offense, the DA’s office may not charge them with a felony, Almy said. Instead, they may be charged with theft and recommended to pay a $750 fine.
A similar route may be taken for someone facing charges related to operating a vehicle after their license is revoked or operating under the influence, Almy said.
But that isn’t typically an option for someone facing felony charges for more serious offenses like drug trafficking or crimes that result in bodily injury.
“We’re stuck with the position of having to let them plead to misdemeanors for less time in jail even though they probably don’t deserve it,” Almy said.
A recommendation of a fine for someone who shoplifted food is silly, Perkins said. If someone is stealing food, a fine is unlikely to ensure the person doesn’t commit another crime, she said.
The district attorney’s office isn’t going to not prosecute “serious crimes” that people commit, Almy said.
“We’re just not going to ignore them because we don’t have enough prosecutors or enough judges or enough courtrooms,” Almy said. “We can’t just say, ‘Well, that’s too bad. I guess these people go free.’ It’s a difficult situation. We’re doing the best we can.”
The district attorney’s office has a tough job, choosing which cases to prosecute, but it can choose to respond to criminal conduct with rehabilitation instead of punishment, Perkins said.
“We know that it’s actually cheaper and better for society when we think critically about preventing recidivism by doing rehabilitation and education, instead of punishment,” Perkins said. “Punishment is an extremely expensive way to respond to the things that [Almy’s] concerned about.”
