PORTLAND (AP) — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court refused to clear an emergency room physician of a Richmond woman’s claim that he violated her civil rights.

Linda Clifford sued Dr. Scott Kemmerer and MaineGeneral Medical Center about her treatment at the Augusta hospital’s emergency department on Sept. 25 and 26, 2007. She said she was forced to sign herself into the hospital for 24 hours or be involuntarily committed for 72 hours.

Clifford suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder and was taken to the hospital by state troopers after she allegedly sent threatening emails to then-Gov. John Baldacci about budget cuts affecting mental health services.

The supreme court decision was issued Tuesday. The decision allows the case to continue in Kennebec County Superior Court.