PORTLAND — An Auburn man convicted of attempting to kill his girlfriend with a gun has appealed his conviction and sentence to the state’s highest court.
Germaine Page Androscoggin County Jail
Germaine Page, 43, filed a brief Wednesday with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court through his attorney, James Howaniec, claiming violations of Page’s constitutional rights.
Page was convicted at an August trial in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn on three felony charges, including attempted murder, domestic violence threatening with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon as well as three misdemeanors.
In his appeal, Page argued his convictions violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. and Maine constitutions.
His appeal also raises the question of whether prosecutors’ late discovery “dump” of evidence from police that is favorable and unfavorable to the defendant unfairly impacted the defense strategy at trial.
In his brief, Howaniec wrote, “the trial court should have allowed the defense to present the exculpatory evidence provided in late discovery, without otherwise opening the door to the late-disclosed incriminating evidence.”
Instead, Justice Harold Stewart II ruled if the defense wanted to use the evidence favorable to them, prosecutors could use the incriminating evidence against Page at trial.
Lastly, Page raised the issue of whether “another African-American man being convicted by yet another all-white jury in Androscoggin County raises constitutional concerns about the jury selection process in this state.”
Germaine Page, left, of Auburn speaks in August with defense attorney Jim Howaniec before the start of Page’s attempted murder trial at Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn. A jury found him guilty Wednesday of the charge, as well as domestic violence charges in the June 2021 case. Andrew Rice/Sun Journal
Howaniec and other criminal defense attorneys appearing in Androscoggin County Superior Court have raised this issue as a concern over the past several years.
In his concluding argument, Howaniec pointed to the state’s indigent criminal defense system that he and others have complained has been eroding over recent years due to underfunding and a dwindling number of criminal defense attorneys willing to take on court-appointed cases.
“For jury trials to be legitimate, they need to be fair,” he wrote. “It is unfair to defendants like Germaine Page that the executive and legislative branches of Maine state government cannot get their acts together and solve the current indigent defense crisis.
“Whether the solution is legislative or judicial or both, we cannot continue to have Black men disproportionately convicted by all-white juries month after month,” Howaniec wrote.
At Page’s sentencing, Howaniec had argued Page should be granted a new trial for several reasons, including pointing out a disparity between the number of people of color called for jury duty and the population of racial minorities in Androscoggin County.
He also said the criminal defense system established in Maine for representation of indigent defendants has deteriorated to the point that it puts defendants at a disadvantage during the judicial process.
Justice Stewart had said at sentencing he agreed that the “tremendous backlog” of unresolved criminal cases “seems to be crushing everyone.”
Stewart said the lack of people of color in jury pools may be an issue.
It’s a problem that needs to be studied at greater length, but likely can’t be remedied by the court, though possibly by the Maine Legislature, Stewart said.
Prosecutors have until February to answer Page’s appeal in writing.
Police said they were called by neighbors to the Ninth Street home in Auburn shortly before 10:30 p.m. on June 17, 2021, for a report of a domestic disturbance.
The victim told police that when she returned home that night, Page had accused her of cheating on him and had thrown her to the living room floor and stepped on her chest to hold her down.
He appeared to be trying to load his gun and was telling her she was going to “die tonight,” according to a police affidavit.
Page pointed the gun directly at her head and pulled the trigger, but it didn’t fire, prosecutors told the jury.
The woman was able to kick him in the groin and get to her feet, trying to reach the apartment door, but he blocked her exit. He struck her and she fell to the floor. He then kicked her twice in the face. Page then pointed the gun toward her head and pulled the trigger. The gun fired a bullet that missed her, went through the couch and lodged in the wall, according to trial testimony.
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