37.2-904 - CRC assessment of prisoners or defendants eligible for commitment as sexually violent predators; mental health examination; recommendation.
§ 37.2-904. CRC assessment of prisoners or defendants eligible for commitmentas sexually violent predators; mental health examination; recommendation.
A. Within 120 days of receiving notice from the Director pursuant to §37.2-903 regarding a prisoner who is in the database, or from a courtreferring a defendant pursuant to § 19.2-169.3, the CRC shall (i) completeits assessment of the prisoner or defendant for possible commitment pursuantto subsection B and (ii) forward its written recommendation regarding theprisoner or defendant to the Attorney General pursuant to subsection C.
B. CRC assessments of eligible prisoners or defendants shall include a mentalhealth examination, including a personal interview, of the prisoner ordefendant by a licensed psychiatrist or a licensed clinical psychologist whois designated by the Commissioner, skilled in the diagnosis, treatment, andrisk assessment of sex offenders, and not a member of the CRC. If theprisoner's or defendant's name was forwarded to the CRC based upon anevaluation by a licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist, adifferent licensed psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist shallperform the examination for the CRC. The licensed psychiatrist or licensedclinical psychologist shall determine whether the prisoner or defendant is asexually violent predator, as defined in § 37.2-900, and forward the resultsof this evaluation and any supporting documents to the CRC for its review.
The CRC assessment may be based on:
An actuarial evaluation, clinical evaluation, or any other information orevaluation determined by the CRC to be relevant, including but not limitedto, a review of (i) the prisoner's or defendant's institutional history andtreatment record, if any; (ii) his criminal background; and (iii) any otherfactor that is relevant to the determination of whether he is a sexuallyviolent predator.
C. Following the examination and review conducted pursuant to subsection B,the CRC shall recommend that the prisoner or defendant (i) be committed as asexually violent predator pursuant to this chapter; (ii) not be committed,but be placed in a conditional release program as a less restrictivealternative; or (iii) not be committed because he does not meet thedefinition of a sexually violent predator. To assist the Attorney General inhis review, the Department of Corrections, the CRC, and the psychiatrist orpsychologist who conducts the mental health examination pursuant to thissection shall provide the Attorney General with all evaluation reports,prisoner records, criminal records, medical files, and any otherdocumentation relevant to determining whether a prisoner or defendant is asexually violent predator.
D. Pursuant to clause (ii) of subsection C, the CRC may recommend that aprisoner or defendant enter a conditional release program if it finds that(i) he does not need inpatient treatment, but needs outpatient treatment andmonitoring to prevent his condition from deteriorating to a degree that hewould need inpatient treatment; (ii) appropriate outpatient supervision andtreatment are reasonably available; (iii) there is significant reason tobelieve that, if conditionally released, he would comply with the conditionsspecified; and (iv) conditional release will not present an undue risk topublic safety.
E. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any mental health professionalemployed or appointed pursuant to subsection B or § 37.2-907 shall bepermitted to copy and possess any presentence or postsentence reports andvictim impact statements. The mental health professional shall notdisseminate the contents of the reports or the actual reports to any personor entity and shall only utilize the reports for use in examinations,creating reports, and testifying in any proceedings pursuant to this article.
F. If the CRC deems it necessary to have the services of additional expertsin order to complete its review of the prisoner or defendant, theCommissioner shall appoint such qualified experts as are needed.
(1999, cc. 946, 985, § 37.1-70.5; 2001, c. 776; 2003, cc. 989, 1018; 2004, c.764; 2005, cc. 716, 914; 2006, cc. 863, 914; 2007, c. 876; 2009, c. 740.)