Maine § 10451. - Fish and wildlife citation form

§ 10451.. Fish and wildlife citation form

1.  Form.  The commissioner shall designate the Uniform Summons and Complaint as the citation form to be used by the warden service.

2.  Responsibility for issuance and disposition.  The commissioner is responsible for all fish and wildlife citation forms approved by the Chief Judge of the District Court prior to May 1, 1991. The Department of Public Safety is responsible for all Uniform Summons and Complaints issued to the warden service. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee is responsible for the further issuance of Uniform Summons and Complaint books to individual wardens and for the proper disposition of those books.

A. [PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF); PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §55 (RP); PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §422 (AFF).]

3.  Lawful complaint.  If the citation provided for in this section or a Uniform Summons and Complaint is duly sworn to as required by law and otherwise legally sufficient in respect to the form of a complaint and charging an offense, it may be filed in a court having jurisdiction and constitutes a lawful complaint for the purpose of the commencement of any criminal prosecution or civil violation proceeding.

4.  Lawful summons.  A citation as provided for in this section or a Uniform Summons and Complaint, when served upon a person by a law enforcement officer, acts as a summons to appear in court or to otherwise respond in accordance with law on or before the date specified in the summons.

A. Any person who fails to appear in court as directed by the summons or to otherwise respond in accordance with law on or before the date specified in the summons commits a Class E crime.   [PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §55 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §422 (AFF).]

B. Upon a person's failure to appear or respond in accordance with law, the court may issue a warrant of arrest. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this subsection that the failure to appear or respond resulted from just cause.   [PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §55 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §422 (AFF).]