A Hancock County probate judge has had a warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to appear for a hearing regarding unpaid child support payments.
The warrant was issued after William Blaisdell failed to appear for Thursday’s hearing and was found in contempt of court in a family matter, a Belfast District Court clerk confirmed Friday.
Blaisdell was most recently suspended in April 2025 by the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar after failing to prove he’d been paying taxes and child support.
The board opened an investigation into Blaisdell in 2024 after a Belfast judge found him in contempt that March for refusing to comply with court orders.
He owed more than $33,000 in child support payments to his ex-wife. He had to pay her $50,000, including attorney fees and interest, to avoid a 90-day jail sentence, according to court records. He also did not file at least three years of tax returns from 2020 to 2022, the records state.
He was suspended for four months by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in September 2024, forfeiting $10,000 of his judicial salary. He was also sanctioned by the bar a month prior, but was allowed to continue practicing law with some supervision, provided he complied with court orders.
A Superior Court Justice determined he was still not in compliance with court orders in early 2025, leading to the suspension in April. He was still suspended by the state bar board as of Friday, according to its website.
In the wake of his suspensions, probate judges from other counties stepped in to cover weekly hearings.
The agreement that resulted from his being sanctioned by the bar in 2024 also cited a grievance filed by a former client. That client claimed in 2023 that he spent months in jail while Blaisdell failed to file any motions to adjust his bail, despite repeated requests from the client.
