Attorney seeks contempt against Maine health department after mentally ill defendant waits weeks in jail; judge declines
Joseph Lluvera of Brunswick, charged with offenses including trespassing and aggravated assault, was found incompetent to stand trial on November 9, 2018 and ordered committed for treatment. He was not admitted to Riverview Psychiatric Center until December 4. His attorney, Sarah Branch, moved for contempt against acting DHHS Commissioner Bethany Hamm, arguing the delay reflected a systemic problem.
Judge Jed French dismissed the motion as moot because Lluvera had been admitted, and said the trial court lacked authority to give a further remedy, while calling delays in treating mentally ill defendants a serious concern. Riverview has 92 beds, 44 of them for forensic patients, and the state had cited construction limits and the defendant's violence history to explain the wait.
The ruling left Maine without a court-imposed deadline for moving incompetent defendants out of jail, even as defense lawyers documented repeated waits.
Source: State official won't be held in contempt for keeping mentally ill man in jail — Portland Press Herald, by Megan Gray
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