ME LD1572

Prohibits victims, family members, and dating partners from posting bail for defendants in domestic assault cases involving strangulation or suffocation

Allows victim statements from law enforcement interviews to be admitted as evidence without requiring the victim to testify in court

Bars courts and prosecutors from dismissing charges, allowing unnecessary delays, deferring cases, or accepting plea deals to lesser charges in domestic violence strangulation cases

Requires prosecutors to complete 8 hours of annual training on nonfatal strangulation prevention; judges, law enforcement officers, defense attorneys, and dispatchers must complete training every 2 years

Elevates domestic violence aggravated assault involving nonfatal strangulation or suffocation causing traumatic injury to a Class A crime