Maine v. Lemay
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Defendant Bradley Lemay appealed his convictions of felony gross sexual assault; criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon' eluding an officer; attempted escape; and tampering with a victim. The charges stemmed from three events that occurred on three different dates. Defendant argued that the court abused its discretion by joining the matters for trial pursuant to M.R. Crim. P. 8(a), and by subsequently denying his motion for relief from prejudicial joinder pursuant to M.R. Crim. P. 8(d). Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed: "The record makes clear that the court carefully considered and thoroughly evaluated Lemay’s arguments. The court also took care to give relevant instructions to the jury to reduce the potential for prejudice resulting from the joinder. Lemay failed to prove that any inadmissible evidence would be or was admitted due to the joinder, or that his choice not to testify interfered with his ability to present his defense. Given that the trial court has wide discretion to join and sever trials, on this record it was not an abuse of discretion for the court to ultimately conclude that the balance in this case tipped in favor of joinder."
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