Effective 28 Aug 1996

632.335. Court procedures relating to continued detention or outpatient detention and treatment — continued detention may be ordered — patient's rights relating thereto. — 1. The petition for additional inpatient detention and treatment not to exceed twenty-one days or the petition for outpatient detention and treatment not to exceed one hundred eighty days shall be filed with the court having probate jurisdiction. At the time of filing the petition, the court clerk shall set a date and time for the hearing which shall take place within two judicial days of the filing of the petition. The clerk shall promptly notify the respondent, his attorney, the petitioner and the petitioner's attorney of the date and time for the hearing. The court shall not grant continuances except upon a showing of good and sufficient cause. If a continuance is granted, the court, in its discretion, may order the person released pending the hearing upon conditions prescribed by the court. The court may order the continued detention and treatment of the person at a mental health facility pending the continued hearing, and a copy of such order shall be furnished to the facility.

2. The hearing shall be conducted in as informal a manner as may be consistent with orderly procedure and in a physical setting not likely to have a harmful effect on the respondent. Due consideration shall be given by the court to holding a hearing at the mental health facility. The respondent shall have the following rights in addition to those specified elsewhere:

(1) To be represented by an attorney;

(2) To present evidence on his own behalf;

(3) To cross-examine witnesses who testify against him;

(4) To remain silent;

(5) To view and copy all petitions and reports in the court file of his case;

(6) To have the hearing open or closed to the public as he elects;

(7) To be proceeded against according to the rules of evidence applicable to civil judicial proceedings;

(8) A hearing before a jury if requested by the patient or his attorney.

3. The respondent shall be present at the hearing, unless the respondent's physical condition is such that he cannot be present in the courtroom or if the court determines that the respondent's conduct in the courtroom is so disruptive that the proceedings cannot reasonably continue.

4. At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that respondent, as the result of mental illness, presents a likelihood of serious harm to himself or to others, and that a mental health program appropriate to handle the respondent's condition has agreed to accept him, the court shall order either that the respondent be detained for inpatient involuntary treatment in the least restrictive environment for a period not to exceed twenty-one days or be detained for outpatient detention and treatment under the supervision of a mental health program in the least restrictive environment for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty days.

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(L. 1980 H.B. 1724, A.L. 1996 S.B. 884 & 841)