Class D Crime in Maine: Penalties, Offenses, and Consequences

A Class D crime in Maine is the state’s more serious misdemeanor category, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.¹² It covers everyday offenses like simple assault, first-offense OUI, domestic violence assault, and theft of property worth between $500 and $1,000. A conviction won’t send you to state prison, but it creates a permanent criminal record and can reach into your job, your firearm rights, your immigration status, and your ability to cross into Canada.

Where Class D Sits in Maine’s Criminal Code

Maine’s Title 17-A sorts every crime except murder into five classes, A through E. Classes A, B, and C are felonies. Classes D and E are misdemeanors, and Class D is the more serious of the two. The statute defining a specific offense usually names its class. The assault statute, for example, states that a violation “is a Class D crime.”³

When a crime defined outside Title 17-A doesn’t state its class, the default rule looks at the maximum term of imprisonment. If that maximum is more than one year but not more than three years, the offense is treated as a Class D crime.⁴

Penalties for a Class D Conviction

Jail Time

The maximum jail sentence for a Class D crime is less than one year, which in practice means up to 364 days.¹ Judges have wide discretion. A first-time offender in a low-injury assault case may get no jail at all, while a defendant with a long record can face months in county jail. Probation and community service are common alternatives when someone doesn’t have significant priors.

Some Class D offenses carry mandatory minimums the judge cannot waive. A first-offense OUI, for instance, requires at least 48 hours of jail time when certain aggravating factors are present, such as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or higher or a passenger under 21 in the vehicle.⁵

Fines

The general fine cap for a Class D conviction is $2,000.² Individual statutes sometimes set a different maximum for a specific offense. First-offense OUI carries its own minimum fine of $500, or $600 if the driver refused a chemical test.⁵

Probation

The maximum probation term for a Class D crime is one year. One exception matters. If the court finds you committed a Class D offense against a family member, household member, or dating partner and orders you to complete a certified domestic violence intervention program, probation can extend to two years. That extended term can be terminated early once you’ve served at least one year, completed the program, paid all restitution, and met every other condition.⁶

Restitution

The court can order you to pay restitution to compensate the victim for financial losses tied to the crime, such as the value of stolen property, medical bills, or repair costs. Restitution is separate from any fine and goes to the victim rather than the state. The court considers your ability to pay when setting the amount.

Common Class D Offenses

Most of the Class D cases moving through Maine’s district courts fall into a handful of categories.

Simple Assault

Under Section 207, a person commits assault by causing bodily injury or offensive physical contact to another, whether intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.³ The range of conduct is wide, from a bar-fight bruise to shoving someone during an argument. Injuries that rise to the level of “serious bodily injury” push the charge up into felony territory as aggravated assault.

Domestic Violence Assault

When the same conduct is directed at a family member, household member, or dating partner, it is charged under Section 207-A as domestic violence assault. A first offense is a Class D crime. A prior conviction for domestic violence assault or certain related offenses moves the charge up to a Class C felony.⁷ The collateral consequences of this particular Class D offense are severe even on a first conviction.

Theft Between $500 and $1,000

Theft by unauthorized taking is a Class D crime when the value of the stolen property is more than $500 but not more than $1,000.⁸ Shoplifting and taking someone’s belongings without permission both fall here. Property valued at $500 or less is typically a Class E misdemeanor, and theft above $1,000 becomes a felony.

First-Offense OUI

Operating under the influence is a Class D crime on a first offense. Maine defines OUI as operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood. Minimum penalties for a first offense include a $500 fine and a 150-day license suspension, neither of which the judge can suspend.⁵ If you hold a commercial driver’s license, a first OUI conviction triggers a minimum one-year CDL disqualification under federal regulations, whether or not you were driving a commercial vehicle at the time.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

What the judge announces in court is usually not the worst of it. The consequences that follow you afterward often matter more.

A Permanent Criminal Record

Maine does not offer general expungement. Record sealing is available only for a narrow set of marijuana-related offenses committed before January 30, 2017, and even then only after strict waiting periods and clean-record requirements.⁹ For the vast majority of Class D convictions, the record is permanent and will appear on any background check an employer, landlord, or lender runs.

Federal Firearms Ban

A Class D conviction for domestic violence assault triggers a lifetime federal prohibition on possessing firearms or ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in any court is prohibited from shipping, transporting, or possessing any firearm or ammunition.¹⁰ Violating the ban is a separate federal felony. If you own firearms and are facing a domestic violence assault charge, this needs to be addressed before you accept any plea.

Immigration Risk for Non-Citizens

Non-citizens should treat any Class D charge as a high-stakes matter. Certain misdemeanor convictions, especially those involving theft or domestic violence, can be classified as crimes of moral turpitude or as deportable offenses under federal immigration law. Whether a specific Maine offense qualifies depends on how the elements of the crime line up with federal immigration categories. A conviction that looks minor under state law can still trigger removal proceedings, block visa renewals, or sink a pending green card application. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen should talk to an immigration attorney before accepting any plea deal.

Canadian Border Admissibility

Canada decides admissibility based on how your U.S. offense maps to Canadian criminal law. If the Canadian equivalent is classified as “indictable,” roughly comparable to a felony, you can be turned away at the border. OUI convictions are the sharpest example. Since December 2018, impaired driving has been classified as a serious criminal offense under Canadian law, and a single conviction can make you inadmissible. Two paths back in exist: a Temporary Resident Permit, which allows entry for up to three years but is not permanent, and Criminal Rehabilitation, which is permanent but requires waiting at least five years after completing your sentence.

Defenses Commonly Raised in Class D Cases

The right approach depends on the specific charge and the facts, but a few strategies recur.

Many Class D offenses require the prosecution to prove a specific mental state. Simple assault requires proof that you acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.³ If the contact was genuinely accidental, the state has not met its burden. Contested assault trials often turn on this point rather than on whether contact happened at all.

Self-defense is a routine strategy in assault cases. Maine law allows the use of reasonable force when you genuinely believe you are in imminent danger of physical harm. Proportionality matters. Responding to a shove with a punch may be reasonable; responding with a weapon almost certainly is not. Judges and juries look at whether the force used matched the threat faced.

Challenging the evidence itself is always available. If police obtained evidence through an illegal search or violated your constitutional rights during the investigation, that evidence may be excluded. In OUI cases, defense attorneys frequently attack the reliability of field sobriety tests, the calibration of breath-testing equipment, or whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to make the stop. OUI is a strict liability crime in Maine,⁵ meaning the prosecution does not have to prove you intended to drive impaired, but it still has to prove you were actually impaired or over the legal limit.

What Defending a Class D Case Costs

The $2,000 fine cap is only one piece of the financial picture. Criminal defense attorneys handling misdemeanor cases generally charge flat fees ranging from roughly $1,000 to $10,000, depending on complexity, the attorney’s experience, and whether the case goes to trial. Where lawyers bill hourly instead, rates in most Maine markets run from about $100 to $400 an hour. Cases that need expert witnesses, private investigators, or specialized testing, which is common in OUI defense, add costs on top of that.

Court-ordered restitution is a separate variable. In theft or assault cases with documented victim losses, restitution can add hundreds or thousands of dollars beyond fines and legal fees. The total financial impact of even a “minor” Class D conviction routinely reaches several thousand dollars before you count indirect losses like missed work for court dates or higher insurance premiums after an OUI.

1
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 1604 – Imprisonment for Crimes Other Than Murder
2
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 1704 – Maximum Fine Amounts Authorized for Convicted Individuals
3
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 207 – Assault
4
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 4-A – Crimes and Civil Violations Outside the Code
5
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 29-A 2411 – Criminal OUI
6
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 1804 – Period of Probation; Modification; Termination and Discharge
7
Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 207-A – Domestic Violence Assault
8
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A 353 – Theft by Unauthorized Taking or Transfer
9
State of Maine Judicial Branch. Sealing Your Criminal Record
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts