Begin v. State

[¶ 1] Jason Begin appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden, J.) denying his petition for release from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, to which he was committed in 2004 based on a finding that he was not criminally responsible for certain crimes by reason of insanity. Begin argues that the court erred by continuing the final hearing on his petition, excluding evidence at that hearing, and issuing a decision in the absence of any testimony from an independent psychiatrist. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the…