Over the years, Jim Howaniec has contributed regularly to the Lewiston Sun Journal and other publications, offering his perspectives on politics, law, public affairs, history, culture, and the changing world around us.
Drawing on more than four decades as a criminal defense attorney, his experience as mayor of Lewiston, and his lifelong interests in literature, history, and international affairs, his columns explore subjects ranging from constitutional rights and the American justice system to local government, the arts, and world events.
This collection brings together selected columns and essays published over the years, reflecting a continuing engagement with the issues, ideas, and experiences that have shaped his life.
Additional columns will be added as the archive develops.
Get Politics Out of Maine’s Indigent Defense System
By Jim Howaniec | Sun Journal | March 7, 2021
Throughout my career as a criminal defense attorney, I have been an outspoken advocate for the constitutional right to counsel and for adequate funding of Maine’s indigent defense system.
In this March 2021 opinion column, I challenged the political forces shaping Maine’s approach to providing legal representation for defendants who cannot afford an attorney.
Drawing on 35 years of courtroom experience, I defended the work of Maine’s private court-appointed defense attorneys, particularly the experienced criminal defense bar in Androscoggin County. I argued that the state’s relatively modest indigent defense budget was disproportionately scrutinized while substantially larger expenditures on prosecution and law enforcement escaped comparable attention.
The column also addressed the controversial proposal to replace Maine’s traditional system of court-appointed private attorneys with a state public defender’s office. At the time, I questioned whether such a restructuring would improve representation for indigent defendants or instead diminish the role of experienced trial lawyers.
My central argument was that the constitutional right to counsel should never become a political bargaining chip. The presumption of innocence, effective legal representation, and equal justice under law are fundamental protections that must extend to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances.
This column reflects a longstanding commitment to defending not only individual clients but also the independence and effectiveness of Maine’s criminal defense system.
Read my original Sun Journal column
Arts, Culture & Community
Bringing Shakespeare to the Banks of the Androscoggin
Originally published in the Lewiston Sun Journal | August 9, 2020
In this column, Jim Howaniec recalls studying Shakespeare at Cambridge University in 1979, helping acquire Lewiston’s Androscoggin riverfront property during his mayoral administration, and his vision for bringing outdoor Shakespeare performances to the banks of the river.