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23 Maine B.J. 210 (2008)
Portland, Prohibition, and Probable Cause: Maine's Role in Shaping Modern Criminal Procedure

handle is hein.barjournals/mainebarj0023 and id is 252 raw text is: Portland, prohibition, and bable cause: Maine's I -im haping- modern i0n l!t E PROMINENT ROLE MAINE PLAYED IN THE HISTORY OF PROHIBITION IS FAMILIAR to many Mainers. In 1851, Neal Dow, a zealous reformer in Portland, introduced . the nation, and the world, to legislation banning the possession, manufacture, and distribution of liquor that came to be known as the Maine Law.' The law was soon consid- ered in virtually every American state, was adopted by several of them, and was proposed in several foreign countries, including Canada, Great Britain, France, and Australia.2 The Maine Law's most lasting contribution to American history was not, however, the prohi- bition of alcohol. Far more significantly, the Maine Law introduced a search and seizure standard that allowed police to replace victims as criminal investigators. Before the mid-nineteenth century, victims of crimes-not law enforcement officers-had the primary responsibility for initiating criminal prosecutions. Magistrates issued search and arrest warrants only after a victim made a complaint.3 Early police officers were similarly dependent on victims. Liability for false arrests effectively required an officer to wait for a warrant, or at least a victim's complaint to the officer, before arresting a suspect. Even if an officer gathered facts giving him probable cause to believe a suspect was guilty of a crime, he was liable for false arrest unless a crime had actually been committed, or his arrest was based on a victim's charge.4 The criminal justice system was overhauled in the mid- nineteenth century in ways designed to shift responsibility for prosecution from victims to the state. A number of states created 210 MAINE BAR JOURNAL * FALL 2008