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Judge Rejects Motion To Hold Health Commissioner In Contempt

PORTLAND, Maine - A judge has dismissed a motion to hold the acting Maine Department of Health and Human Services commissioner in contempt of court. Attorney Sarah Branch filed the motion, arguing her client unfairly spent weeks waiting for a transfer from jail to a state mental health treatment facility. The Portland Press Herald reports the judge ruled Thursday, saying the issue is now moot because the man Branch represents is now receiving treatment in Augusta.
 
District Court Judge Jed French acknowledged the issue was serious, but says the trial court doesn't have the authority to offer any other remedy.
 
Branch says she still believes the motion started conversations about fixing wait listing for mental health treatment.
 
       Neither the Maine Attorney General's Office or the DHHS returned a request for comment.