Criminal Defense Commission's Executive Director To Exit

James Billings

A commission in charge of overseeing criminal defense for people accused of crimes who are too poor to pay for their own lawyer is losing its executive director.

James Billings will have been head of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services (MCPDS) for a few days shy of 18 months when he leaves on October 10, 2025. He will be going into private practice.

MCPDS provides attorneys for criminal defendants, parents facing loss of parental rights, and those facing civil commitments.

He leaves as the commission faces a budget shortfall which may delay payments to private attorneys who take court appointments. During his tenure, the number of salaried public defenders has increased. How they are going to be affected remains to be seen.

In an email to all attorneys who take court-appointed cases, his deputy Ellie Maciag said: “I am very sad to see Jim go, but also extremely proud of what he and the PDS team have accomplished during his tenure. I look forward to working with the new executive director to continue building on Jim’s great work and to tackle head on the very serious challenge we are facing with the impending budget shortfall.”

Mr. Billings started as executive director of MCPDS on May 22 last year. He was admitted to the bar in 2002 having attended the University of Maine School of Law and was previously the chief counsel for the Department of Transportation in state government before joining MCPDS.

Mr. Billings replaced Justin Andrus, who had been in the role in both an interim and permanent capacity since the beginning of 2021. Mr. Andrus began setting up salaried public defender offices across the state, starting with a rural defender unit.