229A.8B - VIOLATIONS OF TRANSITIONAL RELEASE.
229A.8B VIOLATIONS OF TRANSITIONAL RELEASE.
1. The treatment staff in a transitional release program may
remove the committed person from the program for a violation of any
rule or directive, and return the person to a secure facility. The
treatment staff may request the district court to issue an emergency
ex parte order directing any law enforcement officer to take the
committed person into custody so that the person can be returned to a
secure facility. The request for an ex parte order may be made
orally or by telephone, but the original written request or a
facsimile copy of the original request shall be filed with the clerk
of court no later than four-thirty p.m. on the next business day the
office of the clerk of court is open.
2. If a committed person absconds from a transitional release
program in violation of the rules or directives, a presumption arises
that the person poses a risk to public safety. The department of
human services, in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies,
may make a public announcement about the absconder. The public
announcement may include a description of the committed person, that
the person is in transitional release from the sexually violent
predator program, and any other information important to public
safety.
3. Upon the return of the committed person to a secure facility,
the director of human services or the director's designee shall
notify the court that issued the ex parte order that the absconder
has been returned to a secure facility, and the court shall set a
hearing within five days to determine if a violation occurred. If a
court order was not issued, the director or the director's designee
shall contact the nearest district court with jurisdiction to set a
hearing to determine whether a violation of the rules or directives
occurred. The court shall schedule a hearing within five days of
receiving notice that the committed person has been returned from the
transitional release program to a secure facility.
4. At the hearing, the burden shall be upon the attorney general
to show by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of the
rules or directives occurred. The hearing shall be to the court.
5. If the court determines a violation occurred, the court shall
either order the committed person to be returned to the transitional
release program or to be confined in a secure facility. The court
may impose further conditions upon the committed person if returned
to the transitional release program. If the court determines no
violation occurred, the committed person shall be returned to the
transitional release program. Section History: Recent Form
2002 Acts, ch 1139, §12, 27