AUBURN – A Woodstock woman faces at least another day behind bars in the Oxford County Jail. A judge on Wednesday put off reducing Noreen Strout’s bail until her mental stability is determined.

Strout, 41, was arrested in late May as she was entering U.S. District Court in Portland, where she had planned to file a federal lawsuit against her former husband.

Loring Strout accuses her of stalking and harassing him. A District Court judge and two Oxford sheriff’s deputies have also obtained protection-from-harassment orders aimed at Strout.

Her lawyer, Thomas Hallett of Portland, told Judge Roland Cole that the charges brought by Loring Strout aren’t supported by evidence and predicted that either the charges will be dropped or his client will be acquitted at trial.

He also argued that bail set at the time of Strout’s arraignment – $50,000 cash or $100,000 in property – is excessive.

Assistant District Attorney Joe O’Connor didn’t dispute that.

“It is high bail for these charges,” he told Cole, “but there is a reason for that.”

He said Strout in the past has written a letter to a judge that was viewed as threatening, and once even appeared uninvited in the home of a deputy sheriff.

She refused to cooperate with authorities at her arraignment, he added, refuses to cooperate with jailers, and rejects wearing jail coveralls. Since her arrest she has been wearing the same long red dress and white blazer that she wore Wednesday, O’Connor said.

And on Monday, he said, Strout refused to be evaluated by a mental health worker before the bail hearing. O’Connor told the judge that the mental health worker told him “she appears to be suffering from a major mental illness.”

After that, O’Connor asked the court to have Strout committed for 60 days for a mental health evaluation.

Cole said he would hear arguments on that request Friday.

With Strout listening in at the hearing, Cole told both lawyers that he agrees that the charges against her might not warrant the high bail, but he will not change bail before Friday’s mental evaluation hearing.

He encouraged Hallett to persuade Strout to have an initial evaluation before then, adding “I’ll call (the doctor) to try to facilitate” if Strout is willing.

Hallett said Strout was evaluated in 2002 and found to be fit.