Sec. 476.

(1) The hospital director may at any time discharge a voluntarily or judicially hospitalized patient whom the hospital director considers clinically suitable for discharge.

(2) The hospital director shall discharge a patient hospitalized by court order when the patient's mental condition is such that he or she no longer meets the criteria of a person requiring treatment.

(3) If a patient discharged under subsection (1) or (2) has been hospitalized by court order, or if court proceedings are pending, the court shall be notified of the discharge by the hospital.

(4) If the court orders a person to be hospitalized under an initial or continuing order for hospitalization subsequent to dismissal of felony charges under section 1044(1)(b), the court shall include both of the following statements in the initial or continuing order unless the time for petitioning to refile charges under section 1044 has elapsed:

(a) A requirement that not less than 30 days before the patient's scheduled release or discharge, the director of the treating facility shall notify the prosecutor's office in the county in which charges against the person were originally brought that the patient's release or discharge is pending.

(b) A requirement that not less than 30 days before the scheduled release or discharge, the patient to be released or discharged undergo a competency examination as described in section 1026. A copy of the written report of the examination along with the notice required in subdivision (a) shall be submitted to the prosecutor's office in the county in which the charges against the patient were originally brought. The written report is admissible as provided in section 1030(3).

History: 1974, Act 258, Eff. Nov. 6, 1974 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 290, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 382, Imd. Eff. Oct. 23, 1998