229A.10 - PETITION FOR DISCHARGE -- PROCEDURE.
229A.10 PETITION FOR DISCHARGE -- PROCEDURE.
1. If the director of human services determines that the person's
mental abnormality has so changed that the person is not likely to
engage in predatory acts that constitute sexually violent offenses if
discharged, the director shall authorize the person to petition the
court for discharge. The petition shall be served upon the court and
the attorney general. The court, upon receipt of the petition for
discharge, shall order a hearing within thirty days. The attorney
general shall represent the state, and shall have the right to have
the petitioner examined by an expert or professional person of the
attorney general's choice. The hearing shall be before a jury if
demanded by either the petitioner or the attorney general. If the
attorney general objects to the petition for discharge, the burden of
proof shall be upon the attorney general to show beyond a reasonable
doubt that the petitioner's mental abnormality or personality
disorder remains such that the petitioner is likely to engage in
predatory acts that constitute sexually violent offenses if
discharged.
2. Upon a finding that the state has failed to meet its burden of
proof under this section, the court shall authorize the committed
person to be discharged. Section History: Recent Form
98 Acts, ch 1171, §10; 99 Acts, ch 61, §8, 14; 2002 Acts, ch 1139,
§15, 27; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §48
Referred to in § 229A.5B