19.2-182.9 - Emergency custody of conditionally released acquittee.
§ 19.2-182.9. Emergency custody of conditionally released acquittee.
When exigent circumstances do not permit compliance with revocationprocedures set forth in § 19.2-182.8, any district court judge or a specialjustice, as defined in § 37.2-100, or a magistrate may issue an emergencycustody order, upon the sworn petition of any responsible person or upon hisown motion based upon probable cause to believe that an acquittee onconditional release (i) has violated the conditions of his release or is nolonger a proper subject for conditional release and (ii) requires inpatienthospitalization. The emergency custody order shall require the acquitteewithin his judicial district to be taken into custody and transported to aconvenient location where a person designated by the community services boardor behavioral health authority who is skilled in the diagnosis and treatmentof mental illness shall evaluate such acquittee and assess his need forinpatient hospitalization. A law-enforcement officer who, based on hisobservation or the reliable reports of others, has probable cause to believethat any acquittee on conditional release has violated the conditions of hisrelease and is no longer a proper subject for conditional release andrequires emergency evaluation to assess the need for inpatienthospitalization, may take the acquittee into custody and transport him to anappropriate location to assess the need for hospitalization without priorjudicial authorization. The evaluation shall be conducted immediately. Theacquittee shall remain in custody until a temporary detention order is issuedor until he is released, but in no event shall the period of custody exceedfour hours. However, upon a finding by a district court judge, specialjustice as defined in § 37.2-100, or magistrate that good cause exists togrant an extension, the district court judge, special justice, or magistrateshall extend the emergency custody order, or shall issue an order extendingthe period of emergency custody, one time for an additional period not toexceed two hours. Good cause for an extension includes the need foradditional time to allow (a) the community services board to identify asuitable facility in which the person can be temporarily detained pursuant tothis section or (b) a medical evaluation of the person to be completed ifnecessary. If it appears from all evidence readily available (i) that theacquittee has violated the conditions of his release or is no longer a propersubject for conditional release and (ii) that he requires emergencyevaluation to assess the need for inpatient hospitalization, the districtcourt judge or a special justice, as defined in § 37.2-100, or magistrate,upon the advice of such person skilled in the diagnosis and treatment ofmental illness, may issue a temporary detention order authorizing theexecuting officer to place the acquittee in an appropriate institution for aperiod not to exceed 48 hours prior to a hearing. If the 48-hour periodterminates on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which the court islawfully closed, the acquittee may be detained until the next day which isnot a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which the court is lawfullyclosed.
The committing court or any district court judge or a special justice, asdefined in § 37.2-100, shall have jurisdiction to hear the matter. Prior tothe hearing, the acquittee shall be examined by a psychiatrist or licensedclinical psychologist, provided the psychiatrist or clinical psychologist isskilled in the diagnosis of mental illness, who shall certify whether theperson is in need of hospitalization. At the hearing the acquittee shall beprovided with adequate notice of the hearing, of the right to be present atthe hearing, the right to the assistance of counsel in preparation for andduring the hearing, and the right to introduce evidence and cross-examinewitnesses at the hearing. Following the hearing, if the court determines,based on a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing, that theacquittee (i) has violated the conditions of his release or is no longer aproper subject for conditional release and (ii) has mental illness or mentalretardation and is in need of inpatient hospitalization, the court shallrevoke the acquittee's conditional release and place him in the custody ofthe Commissioner.
When an acquittee on conditional release pursuant to this chapter is takeninto emergency custody, detained, or hospitalized, such action shall beconsidered to have been taken pursuant to this section, notwithstanding thefact that his status as an insanity acquittee was not known at the time ofcustody, detention, or hospitalization. Detention or hospitalization of anacquittee pursuant to provisions of law other than those applicable toinsanity acquittees pursuant to this chapter shall not render the detentionor hospitalization invalid. If a person's status as an insanity acquittee onconditional release is not recognized at the time of emergency custody ordetention, at the time his status as such is verified, the provisionsapplicable to such persons shall be applied and the court hearing the mattershall notify the committing court of the proceedings.
(1991, c. 427; 1993, c. 295; 1996, cc. 937, 980; 2001, c. 837; 2005, c. 716;2006, cc. 343, 370; 2008, c. 810; 2009, cc. 21, 838.)