In re D.C.

D.C., a 27-year-old. mentally retarded man sentenced for attempted sexual assault, appeals from the dismissal of a petition to place him in the custody of the commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The family court dismissed the petition because the commissioner could not reasonably afford to treat D.C. at the relatively high predicted cost. In defending the dismissal, the commissioner claims that the court should have dismissed the petition on other grounds as well. In his cross-appeal, the commissioner argues that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the…