Me. R. Civ. P. 80H

As amended through September 25, 2024

Rule 80H - Civil Violations

(a) Applicability. These rules shall apply to civil violation proceedings in the District Court, other than traffic infraction proceedings; provided, however, that this rule, so far as applicable, shall supersede the general provisions of the rules in all such proceedings where the amount of the fine, penalty, forfeiture or other sanction that may be assessed for each separate violation is $1,000 or less. "Civil violation" has the meaning set forth in 17-A M.R.S.A. §4-B.

(b) Commencement of Proceedings. A proceeding under this rule shall be commenced by one of the following methods:

(1) A citation may be filled out in the manner prescribed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of this rule and served upon the defendant within the state by any officer authorized to enforce a statute or ordinance to which this rule applies, if the officer has probable cause to believe that a civil violation under such statute or ordinance has been committed. Service under this paragraph shall be made upon an individual by delivering a copy of the citation to the individual personally and, if the defendant is an incompetent person, personally to the appropriate individual specified in Rule 4(d)(3) of these rules. Service under this paragraph shall be made upon any other entity by delivering a copy of the citation personally to one of the appropriate individuals specified in Rules 4(d)(4) through (10) of these rules.

Advisory Notes - July 2003

This amendment to M.R. Civ. P. 80H(b)(1) removes the requirement that the parent of a minor charged with a civil violation be identified and served with the civil violation citation. This makes Rule 80H consistent with Rule 80F, the traffic infraction rule, which does not require service upon parents of minors. In practice, many civil violations committed by minors occur far from the minor's home or in other situations where a parent may be difficult to identify and serve. The requirement for service upon individuals with responsibility for incompetent persons remains.

(2) A citation may be filled out in the manner prescribed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of this rule by any officer authorized to enforce a statute or ordinance to which this rule applies, if the officer has probable cause to believe that a civil violation under such statute or ordinance has been committed.

The officer may cause the citation to be served, by any method provided in Rule 4(d), (e), (f), (g) or (j) of these rules.

The officer serving the citation shall not take the defendant into custody, except as temporary detention is authorized by 17-A M.R.S.A. §17. As soon as practicable after service upon the defendant, the officer shall cause the original of the citation to be filed with the court. No filing fee is required. All proceedings arising under a statute shall be brought in the name of the State of Maine. All proceedings arising under an ordinance shall be brought in the name and to the use of the political subdivision which enacted such ordinance.

(c) Content of Citation and Complaint.

(1) A citation to be served as provided in subdivision (b) of this rule shall contain the name of the defendant; the time and place of the alleged violation; a brief description of the violation; the time, place and date the defendant is to appear in court, which shall in no case be less than seven days from the date of service unless the defendant agrees to a shorter period of time; and the signature of the officer issuing the citation.

(2) The citation shall serve as a complaint, and no other summons, complaint or pleading shall be required, but motions for appropriate amendment of the complaint shall be freely granted. Any form which contains the elements specified in paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be sufficient under the rules.

(d) Pleadings of Defendant.

(1)Oral. Unless the matter has been previously disposed of as provided in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, the defendant shall appear at the time and place specified, either personally or by counsel, and shall answer to the complaint orally. At a defendant's initial appearance before the court, the defendant shall be informed by the court that if the defendant is adjudicated to have committed the civil violation and if a fine is imposed by the court, immediate payment of the fine in full is required.

(2)No Joinder. Proceedings pursuant to this rule shall not be joined with any actions other than another proceeding pursuant to this rule, nor shall a defendant file any counterclaim.

(3)Judgment on Acceptance of Admission. The District Court Clerk may accept, at the signed request of the defendant, an admission upon payment of a fine as set by the judge in that particular case or as set by the resident judge in accordance with a schedule of fines established by the judge with the approval of the Chief Judge for various categories of civil violations.

(e) Venue. A civil violation proceeding shall be brought in the division in which the violation is alleged to have been committed.

(f) Discovery. Discovery shall be had only by agreement of the parties or by order of the court on motion for good cause shown.

(g) Standard of Proof. Adjudication of a civil violation shall be by a preponderance of the evidence.

(h) Default.

(1) Entry of Default. If the defendant fails to appear as required by this Rule, the judge shall enter the defendant's default, adjudicate that the defendant has committed the civil violation alleged, and impose a fine as set by the judge for that particular case or as set in accordance with a schedule of fines for civil violations established by the Chief Judge of the District Court.

(2) Setting Aside the Default. For good cause shown, the court may set aside the default and adjudication under M.R. Civ. P. 55(c) and 60(b), as applicable. If it is determined that, due to the operation of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, as amended, a default should not have been entered, the court shall vacate the adjudication, strike the default and all costs assessed, vacate any license suspension, and permit the defendant an opportunity to answer.

Advisory Notes - July 2003

The courts regularly default defendants who fail to appear in court for civil violations pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80H. The authority to default defendants in this manner is implied in several statutes and rules, but is not explicitly stated in the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. The default provisions found in M.R. Civ. P. 55, while useful, do not exactly address the situation where the defendant fails to appear at court in response to a citation. The new subsection (h) replaces an abrogated subsection addressing enforcement of judgments. It clarifies the default procedure, using language consistent with the default procedure of M.R. Civ. P. 80F and the fine assessment procedure of Rule 80H(d).

The sentence referencing the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 adds a directive to vacate any license suspension that may have been imposed as a result of an adjudication for any civil violation. The licenses that are most likely to be affected are hunting and fishing licenses. A similar provision does not appear in M.R. Civ. P. 80F. No traffic infraction results in an immediate suspension of a driver's license, and any subsequent suspension caused by the traffic infraction would occur only after notice and opportunity for hearing.

(i) Appeal. A party entitled to appeal may do so as in other civil actions.

(j) Costs. Costs shall not be awarded as in other civil actions. Only those costs expressly authorized by statute shall be imposed.

(k) Notice of Orders or Judgments. The clerk is not required to serve a notice of the entry of an order or judgment on the State or municipality. The clerk is not required to serve a notice of the entry of an order or judgment on the defendant when the defendant, in writing, admits the violation or when the defendant, personally or through counsel, appears in court and is informed by the court of the judgment or order.

Me. R. Civ. P. 80H

Advisory Committee's Notes

1988

Rule 80H(g) is amended to provide a procedure for removal from the District Court to the Superior Court of civil violation proceedings brought under Rule 80H in which a right to trial by jury may now be claimed as a result of the Law Court's recent decision in City of Portland v. DePaolo, [531 A.2d 669] No. 4522 (Me. Oct. 1, 1987). In that case, a District Court prosecution under a Portland ordinance that prohibited the sale of obscene materials, the Court held that Rules 80H(g) and (j) violated the guarantee of trial by jury in civil actions provided by article I, section 20, of the Maine Constitution because those provisions prevented both removal and appeal with trial de novo to the Superior Court. The reach of DePaolo is unclear, because the opinion calls for an examination in each case to determine whether the case is one in which the right to a jury would not have existed at the time of the adoption of the Maine Constitution in 1820. Nevertheless, it seems plain that the jury issue will now be raised frequently in civil violation proceedings and that the right will be found to exist in many instances in which it has not heretofore been recognized.

Under the amended rule, the defendant must demand a jury in a motion for removal filed at any time after the commencement of the proceeding, but in any event not later than 21 days after defendant's appearance under Rule 80H(d)(l). Failure to move for a jury within the time period results in waiver of the right. The 21-day period after appearance is designed for consistency with M.D.C. Cr. R. 40(a), under which jury trial in a District Court criminal prosecution must be demanded within 21 days after arraignment.

In language borrowed from Rule 75B(b) concerning motions for procedural orders in the Law Court, the amended rule provides that the motion may be heard ex parte. The court, however, has discretion to await a reply and decide the motion after hearing both parties. If the court finds that there is a right to jury trial, it may order the action removed. If the motion is granted, the rule requires the payment of a removal fee as in other removed cases.

Service of the order of removal will fulfill the function of the notice of removal provided for other civil actions in Rule 76C and the action is to proceed thereafter as provided in that rule. The purpose of this provision is to make clear that, regardless of the future course of the proceedings, the action will remain in the Superior Court. If the Superior Court on plaintiffs motion decides that there is no right to trial by jury, or if the defendant ultimately waives the right in the Superior Court, the case will be tried in the Superior Court without a jury. Similarly, if the defendant changes the answer to one that admits the violation, judgment will be entered in the Superior Court without trial.

Advisory Committee's Notes

1990

Rule 80H(b) is amended to eliminate the requirement of a filing fee in civil violation proceedings. The amendment reflects what is generally the present practice. Payment of filing fees in such proceedings simply represents the transfer of funds from one pocket of the state to another.

Rule 80H(i) is abrogated. Statutory procedures for the enforcement of fines in civil violation proceedings have effectively superseded the Rule. See 14 M.R.S.A. § §3141et seq.

Rule 80H(k) is amended to make clear that the only costs to be awarded in civil violation proceedings are those expressly provided by statute. There is presently no costs provision in Rule 80H, which means that the provisions of Rule 54B apply to civil violation proceedings. In practice, the state never files a bill of costs in such proceedings. By statute, costs of $25 are automatically imposed when a fine is not paid within 30 days. 4M.R.S.A. §173-A. The present amendment makes clear that the statute is the sole provision regarding costs.

New Rule 80H(1) eliminates the requirement of service of notice of entry of order or judgment on the state and on a defendant who has pleaded guilty or been informed of the judgment in open court. This provision reflects current practice. The burden of serving such notices in civil violation proceedings would be immense, and the practice is not necessary in the cases encompassed in the Rule.

Advisory Committee's Notes

1991

Rule 80H(d) is amended consistent with the simultaneous amendment of Rule 80F(d) to expedite the handling of certain civil violation proceedings in which a waiver list may be established by a resident judge or the chief judge. See Advisory Committee's Note to simultaneous amendment of Rule 80F(d). Appropriate instances include those offenses for which the Legislature has fixed a minimum mandatory penalty which many judges would order the defendant to pay.

Advisory Committee's Notes

1993

Rule 80H(b)(2) is amended to eliminate the procedure under which a District Court clerk could fill out and deliver for service a civil violation citation upon examination of the complainant and any witnesses and a finding of reasonable grounds to believe that a civil violation had been committed. This provision was seldom used. It represents an unnecessary step that could impose an undue burden upon clerks who may have difficulty in applying the standard.

Under the amended rule, if an officer with probable cause cannot, or does not wish to, make service in person under Rule 80H(b)(1), the officer may cause the citation to be served by one of the methods of service of civil process provided by Rule 4.

Rule 80H(c) is amended by deleting former paragraph (2) providing for the content of a citation filled out by the clerk and by numbering the former unnumbered final paragraph of the subdivision as paragraph (2).

Comparable amendments are being made simultaneously in Rules 80F(b) and 80K(b) and (c).

Advisory Committee's Notes

January 1, 2001

In the 2000 Legislative session, 14 M.R.S.A. §3141(2), was amended to require that at initial appearances before the court in civil violation cases, a defendant shall be informed by the court that, if the defendant is adjudicated to have committed the civil violation, "and if a fine is imposed by the court, immediate payment of the fine in full is required." This amendment to Rule 80H(d)(1) adds the directive of the statute regarding payment of fines to the portion of Rule 80H that addresses the defendant's initial appearance before the court. This advice is similar to other advice given parties at first appearances or arraignments.

Rule 80H(g) has been removed. The unification of the District Court and the Superior Court by P.L. 1999, c. 731, section II. COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION: SERVICE OF PROCESS, PLEADINGS, MOTIONS AND ORDERSZ-2, et seq., section II. COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION: SERVICE OF PROCESS, PLEADINGS, MOTIONS AND ORDERSZ-4(14) conferred upon the District Court jurisdiction over all civil violations as provided in Title 17-A, § 9, and traffic infractions. 4 M.R.S.A. §152(14). If a right to trial by jury is available in such actions, the procedure for removal is prescribed by Rule 76C. Thus, there is no longer a need for Rule 80H(g).