§ 122C-276. Inpatient commitment; rehearings for respondents other than insanity acquittees.
§122C‑276. Inpatient commitment; rehearings for respondents other thaninsanity acquittees.
(a) Fifteen days beforethe end of the initial inpatient commitment period if the attending physiciandetermines that commitment of a respondent beyond the initial period will benecessary, he shall so notify the clerk of superior court of the county inwhich the facility is located. The clerk, at least 10 days before the end ofthe initial period, on order of a district court judge of the district courtdistrict as defined in G.S. 7A‑133 in which the facility is located,shall calendar the rehearing. If the respondent was initially committed as theresult of conduct resulting in his being charged with a violent crime,including a crime involving an assault with a deadly weapon, and respondent wasfound incapable of proceeding, the clerk shall also notify the chief districtcourt judge, the clerk of superior court, and the district attorney in thecounty in which the respondent was found incapable of proceeding of the timeand place of the hearing.
(b) Fifteen days beforethe end of the initial treatment period of a respondent who was initiallycommitted as a result of conduct resulting in his being charged with a violentcrime, including a crime involving an assault with a deadly weapon, having beenfound incapable of proceeding, if the attending physician determines thatcommitment of the respondent beyond the initial period will not be necessary,he shall so notify the clerk of superior court who shall schedule a rehearingas provided in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Subject to theprovisions of G.S. 122C‑269(c), rehearings shall be held at the facilityin which the respondent is receiving treatment. The judge is a judge of thedistrict court of the district court district as defined in G.S. 7A‑133in which the facility is located or a district court judge temporarily assignedto that district.
(d) Notice andproceedings of rehearings are governed by the same procedures as initialhearings and the respondent has the same rights he had at the initial hearingincluding the right to appeal.
(e) At rehearings thecourt may make the same dispositions authorized in G.S. 122C‑271(b)except a second commitment order may be for an additional period not in excessof 180 days.
(f) Fifteen daysbefore the end of the second commitment period and annually thereafter, theattending physician shall review and evaluate the condition of each respondent;and if he determines that a respondent is in continued need of inpatient commitmentor, in the alternative, in need of outpatient commitment, or a combination ofboth, he shall so notify the respondent, his counsel, and the clerk of superiorcourt of the county, in which the facility is located. Unless the respondentthrough his counsel files with the clerk a written waiver of his right to arehearing, the clerk, on order of a district court judge of the district inwhich the facility is located, shall calendar a rehearing for not later thanthe end of the current commitment period. The procedures and standards for therehearing are the same as for the first rehearing. No third or subsequentinpatient recommitment order shall be for a period longer than one year.
(g) At any rehearingsthe court has the option to order outpatient commitment for a period not inexcess of 180 days in accordance with the criteria specified in G.S. 122C‑263(d)(1)and following the procedures as specified in this Article. (1973,c. 726, s. 1; c. 1408, s. 1; 1977, c. 400, s. 9; 1979, c. 915, ss. 9, 17; 1981,c. 537, ss. 2‑4; 1983, c. 638, ss. 18, 19; c. 864, s. 4; 1985, c. 589, s.2; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1037, s. 116; 1991, c. 37, s. 5.)