71-930 Treatment order of mental health board; appeal; final order of district court; appeal.
71-930. Treatment order of mental health board; appeal; final order of district court; appeal.The subject of a petition or the county attorney may appeal a treatment order of the mental health board under section 71-925 to the district court. Such appeals shall be de novo on the record. A final order of the district court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals in accordance with the procedure in criminal cases. The final judgment of the court shall be certified to and become a part of the records of the mental health board with respect to the subject. SourceLaws 1976, LB 806, § 53; Laws 1991, LB 732, § 155; R.S.1943, (1999), § 83-1043; Laws 2004, LB 1083, § 50.AnnotationsIn reviewing a district court's judgment under this act, the Supreme Court will affirm the district court's judgment unless, as a matter of law, the judgment is unsupported by evidence which is clear and convincing. In re Interest of Rasmussen, 236 Neb. 572, 462 N.W.2d 621 (1990).This section requires the district court to review appeals from the mental health board de novo on the record, and this court to hear appeals from the district court in accordance with criminal procedures. In re Interest of Aandahl, 219 Neb. 414, 363 N.W.2d 392 (1985).A finding that the accused is incompetent to stand trial may be appealed to the Supreme Court as a final order. State v. Guatney, 207 Neb. 501, 299 N.W.2d 538 (1980).The Supreme Court will not interfere on appeal with a final order made by the district court in mental health commitment proceedings unless it can say as a matter of law that the order is not supported by clear and convincing evidence. Hill v. County Board of Mental Health, Douglas County, 203 Neb. 610, 279 N.W.2d 838 (1979).Commitment proceedings are judicial in nature and the District Courts must review the decisions of Mental Health Boards de novo on the record. Lux v. Mental Health Board of Polk County, 202 Neb. 106, 274 N.W.2d 141 (1979).An order adjudicating an individual as a mentally ill dangerous person pursuant to section 71-908 and ordering that person retained for an indeterminate amount of time is an order affecting a substantial right in a special proceeding from which an appeal may be taken. In re Interest of Saville, 10 Neb. App. 194, 626 N.W.2d 644 (2001).The subject of a mental health petition (or the county attorney) has the statutory right to appeal the mental health board's decision to the district court, which reviews the case de novo on the record. In re Interest of Michael M., 6 Neb. App. 560, 574 N.W.2d 774 (1998).