ROCKLAND — Judge Joyce Wheeler closed the books Sept. 25 on a case that startled the community in April 2011, when a couple on Maiden’s Cliff in the Camden Hills ended an afternoon hike with the husband accused of pushing his wife off the mountain.

On Sept. 25, the judge presiding in Knox County Superior Court sentenced Charles Reed Black to 25 years in prison, with all but 10 years suspended. She also placed him on probation for six years.

Black, whose address has been listed as Salt Lake City, Utah, had been convicted of attempted murder and two counts of elevated aggravated assault following a jury verdict July 21.

Black, 71, is not to possess firearms or dangerous weapons; must submit to random testing for dangerous weapons; must complete an evaluation for psychological certified batterer’s intervention; not associate with with anyone else on probation or parole; have no contact, direct or indirect, with his ex-wife or immediate family; and not to be within the town of Camden so long as his wife resides there.

The April 7, 2011 incident drew mountain rescue teams and firefighters to the steep slope of Megunticook Mountain, off of which Lisa Black had tumbled over boulders, and had eventually crawled to the side of Route 52, which runs below the mountain alongside Megunticook Lake.

A motorist stopped to help her, and then the search was on for Charles Black, who also was injured in his descent of the same rubble-filled cliff. Both were transported to area hospitals.

Black was subsequently indicted for attempted murder, two counts of elevated aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of domestic violence assault.

Three years ago, Knox County District Attorney Geoffrey Ruschlau alleged that Black struck his wife, Lisa Black, with a rock and/or pulled her to the edge of the cliff and pushed her over it.

In April, Black and his attorneys had appealed Maine’s Judicial Court to overturn an earlier court ruling that allowed Black’s personal Eastern Maine Medical Center medical records to be used in the case against him.

On April 8, the Maine Supreme Court said, however, that the appeal was premature because a judgement has yet to be made in the case.

Lisa Black survived the fall, making her way down over boulders and down steep descents, to Route 52, where a motorist stopped to help her.

Charles Black also fell from the cliff, according to court documents, was injured, and subsequently rescued and airlifted to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

“The affidavit included allegations from Black’s wife regarding Black’s assault on her on Megunticook Mountain, along with her report to law enforcement that she had recently inherited $4 million; that Black had been taking some of those funds without her permission; and that Black had tried to kill her twice before,” the April 8, 2014 Supreme Court decision said, in recounting background to the case.

Almost a year into the investigations of what happened on Maiden Cliff, Knox County District Court approved a search warrant in March 2012 to obtain Black’s medical records from the hospital.

But Black’s attorneys argued dismissal of the charges, saying the state’s use of a search warrant, “rather than the more protective subpoena procedure, to obtain his confidential medical records was illegal and required dismissal of all charges,” the decision said.

A District Court concluded the state had acted legally in getting the medical records search warrant. The court did not prohibit the prosecutors from reviewing the records, “although it restricted them from viewing the records for 10 days to permit Black to appeal.”

The Maine Supreme Court said in its review of the case that it is mindful of the need to avoid disruptions of the criminal process and looks at its own processes to determine if there are exceptions to denying interlocutory appeals. The judges acknowledged that there are certain exceptions to the “general prudential practice of barring interlocutory appeals in criminal cases,” and cited instances of double jeopardy and rights.

But, they concluded that “Black would lose no substantial rights by awaiting final judgment in this case....” They also concluded that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does not protect a patient’s confidentiality if those records were obtained pursuant to a court-ordered warrant.”

The Maine Supreme Court said, however, that Black could have the opportunity to challenge the court’s decisions on the search warrant if he is convicted after a trial in which his medical records are used against him.

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657.