State of Maine v. Ronald T. Cummings

Summary

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Ronald T. Cummings’s conviction for gross sexual assault, holding that the trial court’s response to the jury’s note did not constitute reversible error and that the prosecutor’s closing argument did not improperly shift the burden of proof. The Court also vacated the amended sentence and remanded for a new sentencing hearing, finding the trial court lacked a proper sentencing analysis and that the polygraph condition was unclear. The decision addresses five distinct legal issues, including jury instruction, prosecutorial conduct, authority to amend a sentence, legality of the amended sentence, and the need for a de novo sentencing analysis.