An Oct. 16 headline on the front page of the Kennebec Journal informed readers that “Lawyers and victims plan to sue,” re: the Lewiston mass shooting on Oct. 25, 2023. That has been an assumed fact.

Gov. Janet Mills’ commission recently filed its written report; a few days less than a year of the happening. A quality piece of work; exhaustive in detail.

Arguably, retained lawyers foresee passage of a half-year before litigation is filed in court. An example of that is one lawyer’s anticipated acquisition of Card’s medical and military records via his estate. What is the precedent requiring a criminal case to wait upon a person’s estate for relevant evidence?

And why was it necessary for a plaintiff’s counsel to initially announce that “they do not plan to sue the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, which was criticized in the shooting commission’s final report and by the Army for failing to use Maine’s yellow flag laws to remove Card’s weapons despite threats that he might commit a mass shooting.” Lawyer’s explanation, not to sue on the point, was stated to be; the sheriff’s office failure to be in touch with Card’s family and his superiors re: the subject. Arguably, opponents in litigation perform best who apply care to their duties.

Plaintiffs are victims’ families living lives ripped apart by mass shooting. (That, from the referenced newspaper’s companion article.) Time hurts.

As a Maine lawyer 64 years, in three branches of government, prayer is offered that litigation resulting from this tragedy be commensurable to the quality of the report of the governor’s commission.

John Benoit

Manchester