Maine Revised Statutes Title 30-A. Municipalities and Counties § 282. Civil proceedings

1. Representation of counties. The county commissioners shall immediately transmit to the district attorney serving the county any writs, summonses or other processes served upon the county or commissioners. The district attorney for each prosecutorial district shall appear for each county within the district for which the district attorney was elected, under the direction of the county commissioners for each county within that district, in all actions and other civil proceedings in which any county within the district is a party or is interested, or in which the official acts of the county commissioners are called in question, in all the courts of the State, and in such actions and proceedings before any other tribunal when requested by the commissioners. The district attorney shall prosecute or direct the prosecution of all such actions and proceedings. The county commissioners may employ other counsel if in their judgment the public interest so requires.

2. Traffic infractions. The district attorney, or someone acting under the district attorney's direction, shall prosecute all traffic infraction cases and shall be present at the trial of any such case.

3. Civil actions; State as party. The district attorney shall prosecute to final judgment and execution all civil cases in which the State is a party in any county within the district attorney's prosecutorial district and shall institute proceedings against sureties on any recognizance upon which the principal and sureties have been defaulted, before the term next succeeding that at which the default was entered upon the docket of the court, unless by order in open court the presiding justice grants a delay in proceedings against the sureties.

3-A. Civil violations. Unless otherwise provided by law, the district attorney shall prosecute all Title 12 civil violations relating to marine resources laws or inland fisheries and wildlife laws in any county within the district attorney's prosecutorial district and shall be present at the trial of any such case.

4. Compensation. For the services mentioned, the district attorney may receive no compensation other than the salary from the State, except actual expenses when performing those services. Those expenses shall be audited by the county commissioners and paid from the county treasury.

5. Limitation. This section does not relate to or give the district attorney control of litigation in which any county within the prosecutorial district is not financially interested although the official acts of the county commissioners may be called in question.