PARIS — After submitting a not guilty plea on behalf of his client, Portland-based lawyer Matt Nichols said he expects to receive a report in a few weeks which details the night Paris police Chief Michael Madden was pulled over.

Nichols said Monday afternoon that he submitted a letter entering a not guilty plea on the misdemeanor count of operating under the influence to the courts over a month ago. 

Madden was scheduled to be arraigned in Bridgton District Court on Tuesday. Because Madden was charged with a misdemeanor and has retained legal services, he did not have to make a physical appearance at this stage of the court proceedings, Nichols said.  

As is protocol, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office has yet to release discovery — a thorough account of the alleged facts, most likely including the police report — in the case. 

In November, Madden was pulled over by a deputy from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in Naples shortly after midnight for reportedly operating erratically. 

After failing a field sobriety test, according to police, he was transported to the Bridgton Police Department, where a breathalyzer test was taken. The results of that test are not known. 

Madden’s license has not been suspended by the Secretary of State. A hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles to discuss an administrative suspension — which triggers after police file a complaint with the department — has not been scheduled. 

Once the police department’s account of the incident is received, more will be known about how to mount a defense against the charge, Nichols said.

That review will start with determining whether the following factors were true: the deputy was justified in making the stop; the breathalyzer test was administered properly; the machine was working correctly; and there were no physiological issues that would render the test unreliable. 

“Suffice to say, there are a million rocks to look under to see if things are done properly,” Nichols said. “It’s not a matter of looking for technicalities, but real substantive stuff — that’s what we’re really looking for.”

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